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 Eagles are wild fighting Birds 

Bartan Baghatur was the second son of Khabul Khan, chief of the Blue Wolf clan of northeastern Mongolia and had four sons Nekün Taiši, Daritai Otčigin, Yesügei and Ong Khan. He explained the need of domesticating Wild Fighting Eagles.

 There are many different kinds of eagles soaring through the sky, and golden eagles are one of them. Golden eagles are large brown birds with lighter, golden feathers on their head and neck. They are the biggest bird of prey in the high Altai Mountains, in far-western Mongolia. They can grow to be more than three feet long and seven and a half feet wide from wing tip to wing tip. They build their nests in the crags of the area’s rugged peaks—there aren’t many trees.

 Golden eagles are carnivores, which mean they eat meat and are very good at catching it. They can soar around eighty miles per hour in the sky and nosedive at almost 200 miles per hour when they are hunting. Using their spiky claws like hooks, they snag animals like rabbits, squirrels, fish and other birds for snacks. Sometimes, they even kill and eat bigger animals like deer, coyotes, and bobcats!

 Golden eagles are sometimes considered the most superlative fliers among eagles and perhaps among all raptorial birds. They are equipped with broad, long wings with somewhat finger-like indentations on the tips of the wing. Golden eagles are unique among their genus in that they often fly in a slight dihedral, which means the wings are often held in a slight, upturned V. They are best suited to hunting in open or semi-open areas and search them out year-round.

 Kazakh nomads have been grazing their livestock near the Altai Mountains in western Mongolia for many hundreds of years. Here, in this desolate landscape, where temperatures plummet to minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter, live the last of the men who use eagles to hunt on horseback. Rugged, formidable, proud, the golden eagles share the same qualities as the men with whom they ride. Only the toughest survive here.

  Hunters climb up to these crevices to capture the birds at around four years old, which is old enough to know how to hunt but young enough to be pliable to human company and training. The Eagles are domesticated, fed by hand, and will live with the hunters’ families for years.

 To hunt, they take their eagles high into the mountains so that they can scan the valleys below for foxes and other animals, which the eagles fly down to catch. Only female birds are used because they’re larger—with an eight-foot wingspan—and fiercer hunters. With its massive wingspan, sharp eyesight and powerful, flesh-tearing beak and talons, the golden eagle is the perfect predator. Its usual prey, fox, provides a welcome meal for the hunter’s family, while the pelt can be made into warm clothing.

 The hunters weathered skin peeks through their fur coats and hats; the birds look dinosaur-like, with wild eyes, but sit calm and alert on their arms.

 The hunter cradles his eagle gently, its talons curled toward the sky. “They love to be carried in such a way. It makes them feel loved and relaxes them, just like a baby.”

 In another, a hooded eagle looks a little bewildered in a swaddle made of leather and carpet, which keeps the birds warm during winter hunts, when temperatures can drop to forty below.

Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 77 sq mi. They build large nests in high places (mainly cliffs) to which they may return for several breeding years. Most breeding activities take place in the spring.

 If you love them, they will love you. They are used as escorts to clear the wild animals in your journey. They are good messengers.

 Read "Khan the Great" and know how the four sons of Bartan Baghatur utilized the services of these Wild Fighting Eagles in consolidating Tribes in Magnolia….Sivkishen Ji, Author