Eagle Hunters
Palani Mohan
portrait
Madina aged 63 is a Kazakh eagle hunter and wears a fox skin coat as he cradles his 6-year-old eagle. In a landscape where temperatures plummet to -40 degrees, he is of the last men who use eagles to hunt on horseback bide. Rugged, formidable, proud, the golden eagles share the same qualities as the men with whom they ride. Only the toughest survive here, but this is a culture under threat. There are no more than 50-60 hunters left, each winter claiming a few more.