Hunting is a deep-rooted tradition in Kazakhstan, for many reasons. For one, the nomadic tribes roaming the steppes, the vast uncultivated lands of Central Asia, depended on the one widely available and indispensable staple food that is meat. Also, the fierce winds and below minus temperatures in the winter made fur hats, coats, gloves, boots and blankets indispensable. Try to visualize a Kazakh nomade, perched on his horse, spending most of his day outside under the open sky, exposed to the elements: appropriate clothing was definitely life saving. Furs and hides were some of the only goods the nomads had to trade and thus acquire items and material the steppes and mountains did not provide for.

All of the animals that were hunted had one thing in common: they were extremely fast and a challenge to the hunter. So the nomads created a perfect alie, the hunting bird.
Hunting with a berkut, a golden eagle, is a very ancient method and one of the most distinctive Kazakh national traditions. In ancient times, a good eagle was worth 5 or 6 camels, a falcon 1 or 2 camels, and you could acquire a bride for one Kazakh Borzoi dog, instead of the usual 47 horses. Hunting has been practised in Kazakhstan since time immemorial. As Bronze Age rock paintings eloquently testify, hunting was the principal occupation of the local tribesmen.

Today hunting is practiced by urban Kazakhs and foreign visitors as a sports and recreation, they thus follow in the line of Geghnis Khan and Kubilai Khan, who were master falconers. For the serious berkutchi, the traditional golden eagle falconers however, it is more than that. It is an art form. Regularly they measure themselves against each other in professional competitions, attended by excited onlookers. And not only hardened men are competing, those with a calling for golden eagle hunting include even teenage girls. Hunting with birds of prey is among the most favorite of sports, but hunting with Borzoi dogs and shotguns is also common in Kazakhstan. While falconry was favoured in Europe, hunting with eagle and various types of hawk is typical in Central Asia and Kazakhstan.
Training one of these wild, proud and aggressive birds to hunt takes a lot of expertise. Berkutchi families have handed down and refined the art of bird hunting over Millenia, raising highly valued dynasties of birds of prey, each type of bird specialized in specific prey. Whereas during Sovjet times eagle hunting was in decline and seen as elitist, berkutchi are perceived noble and as an expression of a return to an ancient true Kazakh culture.
The eagle hunting season always starts off when the first snow has settled because the winter fur is at its densest and most beautiful and sure to fetch the hightest prices. Furs are traded all the way to Europe and beyond. As for the most popular hides from eagle hunting, they are corsacs (steppe foxes) and hares.
Eagles were classically used in the pursuit of steppe antelopes but these are now a protected species. Hawks are flown at large birds and falcons at small game. Hunting with hawks, falcons and merlins begins at the end of September when the birds are preparing to migrate and continues until the first snow. Hunting with an eagle follows a distinct pattern: the hunter perched on his horse provides a platform with his gloved fist onto which the bird is seated and clinging with his long claws.

A discreet signal and the horse sets off in gallop and at the hight of speed, at a carefully calculated moment, the hunter removes the eagle's tomagu, the specially fitted leather hood that is pulled over the eagle's eyes to keep him still.
With a sweeping gesture, the eagle is catapulted into the air in the direction of the targeted prey. Quickly, the eagle picks up speed, spirals upwards to get an overview and then swoops straight down to catch his prey.
An even more elaborate style of hunting is assisted by the wind hound, the Barzoy.
Centuries of breeding and confronting the fiercest snow leopards and wolves have produced animals with remarkable speed and stamina, excellent eye sight and an impressive track record.
visit the Berkutchi museum in Nuran, established with support by the UN, showing photos of the history of eagle hunting and crafts related to this ancient tradition.
The museum also organizes falconery demonstrations followed by a folklore show and national banquet "a person has to be wise to deal with a large wild animal like an eagle. You have to be tough and patient, that is why there are so few eagle hunters. Many people want to be but then realize it is not for them" berkutchi falconer