Deep within the wild, mountainous regions of Mongolia, a small group of nomads keeps the ancient art of eagle hunting alive. The traditional form of falconry involves training birds of prey to help hunt wild animals such as foxes and small hares—a powerful skill that has been handed down from father to son over thousands of years. German photographer Leo Thomas recently visited Western Mongolia’s Altai region to capture this fascinating culture.
There are approximately 300 remaining eagle keepers today, and the vast majority of them are male. However, while on his trip visiting the remote Altai region, Thomas had the opportunity to meet Zamanbol, 1 of just 10 eagle huntresses in Mongolia. She’s part of a Kazakh nomad family, and spends most of her days going to school in the city. On the weekend, she trains with her trusted eagle alongside her brother, Barzabai. Thomas' images capture Zamanbol on horseback and dressed in handmade fur clothing, emitting her free-spirited strength and unbreakable bond with her eagle.
One look into the menacing eyes of any bird of prey and shivers start rattling through your vertebrae. Their cold-blooded stare pierces your soul. They're not looking for a new friend. They're in the business of hunting, and business is booming.
If you ever watched a Master Falconer work closely with one of their razor-clawed trainees, you immediately understand how careful the handler must be. Birds of prey like owls, hawks, and eagles reign down with full-force when provoked. But all the predatory birds pale in comparison to one Brazilian beast.
The first eaglet, which fully emerged Friday morning at
8:30 a.m., took nearly 36 hours to come out of its shell.
Julia Cecere, the publicity, marketing and social media
manager for the American Eagle Foundation, said they believe DC3, the initial
name of the second eaglet, fully emerged at 3 a.m. Sunday. She said they were
able to get some video of all four in the nest Sunday morning.
Photos on Saturday showed the second egg started the
pipping process. Pipping is when the outer shell begins to crack due to
activity inside the shell.
This is a wild eagle nest and anything can happen. While we
hope that two healthy juvenile eagles will end up fledging from the nest this
summer, things like sibling rivalry, predators, and natural disaster can affect
this eagle family and may be difficult to watch.
WATCH: These might be the CUTEST siblings we have ever seen! Can you believe these little fur-balls will one day be majestic bald eagles? READ MORE ABOUT EAGLET #2 HERE --> http://bit.ly/1WAjDKQ
Posted by Fox 5 DC on Sunday, March 20, 2016
Washington, DC -
We've been watching...and waiting... and today it happened! At around 7:35
a.m., the American Eagle Foundation Bald Eagle Cam at the U.S. National
Arboretum showed us the first pictures of a fuzzy baby eaglet emerging from its
shell!
The two bald eagles, affectionately named "Mr.
President" and "The First Lady, have been nesting high up in a Tulip
Poplar tree amongst the Azalea Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum since
2014.
After first seeing the eggs in the nest last month - a
'pip' or small crack was spotted developing earlier this week which let us know
that one of the eaglets was on the way.
The crack turned into a hole yesterday and we could even
see the eaglet's beak poking out of the shell.
Officials at the American Eagle Foundation told us that the
egg would hatch within 48 hours of the ‘pipping' beginning - and they were
right on time.
Still no names for the eaglets (the one who hatched or the
one who hasn't yet).
Washington, DC - High in a tree at the National Arboretum,
there's a crack in a shell. We know the bald eagles as the First Lady and Mr.
President. The couple is waiting to meet one of their babies.
It's not exactly the White House, but they built their home
of sticks. The first lady laid the eggs in February. They are the first nesting
pair of bald eagles in D.C. since 1947.
The Eagle cam showed us the cracked egg just before
midnight on Wednesday, March 16, and it will soon reveal an eaglet.
"Over the next up to 12, 24, or 48 hours, the eaglet
is going to be doing everything it can to force its way through that hole, make
it bigger, and when it steps out, when it splits out, you're going to see a wet
chick, wet eaglet, that's going to take a few days to dry off," said Dr.
Richard Olsen, the director of the U.S. National Arboretum.
Unlike labor and delivery, mom and dad don't help the
eaglet break free. It's the first step in the survival of the fittest.
A field trip here is like an open text book for kids.
"They are all learning about birds at school. So it's
exciting for them to see, you know when they see things in the sky, that we can
tell them there's an actual eagle's nest," said Jen, a mom who only wished
to reveal her first name.
The public is held back 330 feet from the tree that holds
the nest. We learned the eaglets will eat fish from the Anacostia River,
brought back by mom and dad.
The eagles — known as "Mr. President" and
"The First Lady" — built their nest in a tulip poplar tree in 2014.
Washington, D.C., could soon be home to a new -- tiny --
first family.
The National Arboretum's eagles — known as "Mr.
President" and "The First Lady" — are expected to welcome two
eaglets as early as next week.
The pair built their nest in a tulip poplar tree in 2014
and raised one eaglet there last year, according to the American Eagle
Foundation.
This year, two eggs were laid in the nest. The first egg
arrived Feb. 10, and a second egg followed on Valentine's Day, according to the
American Eagle Foundation. The first egg could hatch as early as March 15.
In 2014, a pair of mated Bald Eagles chose the most idyllic
of nest sites within the United States’ National Capital (Washington, DC),
nestled high in a Tulip Poplar tree amongst the Azalea Collection at the U.S.
National Arboretum, which is operated by the United States Department of
Agriculture. This is the first Bald Eagle pair to nest in this location since
1947. The two Eagles have been iconically named “Mr. President” and “The First
Lady.” Join us in viewing the most patriotic nest cam in the United States, 24
hours a day.
We are officially on egg-watch alert! Egg #1 is expected to
hatch as early as Tuesday March 15th. If you want to try and guess the hatch
dates/times of the eggs, hashtag #dceaglecam on Twitter, Instagram, and
Facebook with your prediction (Eastern Standard Time).
Peregrines nest in towns and cities from coast to coast in
the United States. The urban locations make the birds easier to watch, which
leads to an abundant supply of photos and videos as the puffy progeny come out
of their shells each spring.
Peregrines, like bald eagles, nearly went extinct during
the mid-20th century because of exposure to the pesticide DDT. By the time the
species was given federal endangered species protection in the 1970s, there
were just 324 known nesting pairs, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Today there are 2,000 to 3,000 pairs, according to the
agency, which took the species off the federal endangered species list in 1999.
Wildlife officials around the country continue to monitor
the birds, however. Many cities make special efforts to manage local peregrine
nesting sites, providing special structures and banding baby birds for future
tracking. Partly this is good public relations, but with peregrine numbers
still relatively low, the extra attention also helps biologists keep tabs on
the health of individual birds as they grow up and find mates of their own.
This new peregrine family includes one baby male and three
baby females. They live in a special nesting box set 215 feet up a tower of the
Marine Parkway Bridge in New York City. City and state wildlife officials
recently banded the chicks so they can be tracked as they mate and raise their
own families.
Peregrine falcons have endangered species status in New
York state.
In Lowell, Massachusetts, last week, a peregrine named
Merri flew over the head of a staffer from the Massachusetts fish and wildlife
agency, who had just returned her newly banded chicks to their nest.
This falcon family’s home is a rooftop nesting box atop the
18 story tall Fox Hall, a dormitory on the University of Massachusetts–Lowell
campus.
One of Merri’s chicks, newly banded and ready for its
close-up. UMass regularly posts video streams and status updates on this falcon
family.
Merri has been raising chicks at Fox Hall for 10 years,
according to the university.
These downy peregrine babies—two males and two females—are
nesting 693 feet above sea level atop New York City’s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge,
which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island.
According to a statement from the Metropolitan Transit
Authority, which manages the city’s river crossings, 12 peregrine babies are in
residence this season on three of the city’s bridges.
The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a helicopter survey Thursday along the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, although it had to be cut short due to wind. All three of the nests sighted were active, with an adult either brooding (caring for young) or incubating, said the agencies. At the National Arboretum, an adult female was spotted sitting on a nest. Experts said it was difficult to confirm whether she was incubating or brooding, but they believe there is a recent hatchling or hatchlings in the nest due to the way the female positioned her shoulders and a slight "blanketing" of her breast feathers. There were two fish in the nest. During a ground survey the same day, a male bald eagle was seen delivering a fish to the nest. The female stood and began breaking the fish into small pieces, appearing to demonstrate feeding behavior. The agencies will make another check of the National Arboretum in mid-April.
Residents in the northern Dutch town of Purmerend, have been advised to arm themselves with an umbrella when going out at night
There have been a rising number of owl attacks.
An European eagle owl has silently swooped on dozens of residents over the past three weeks, causing many victims to seek medical attention.
The latest attack, two members of a local athletics club were attacked. One person required stitches for six head wounds caused by the nocturnal bird of prey's talons.
The club has cancelled all training until further notice.
Residents and workers at Prinsenstichting home for the handicapped have been left terrified following at least 15 attacks, spokeswoman Liselotte de Bruijn told AFP.
"During the day there's no problem. We only venture outside at night armed with umbrellas, helmets and hats, anything really, to protect ourselves," said De Bruijn.
"The problem is that you don't hear the owl before it strikes. Its claws are razor-sharp," she said.
Purmerend city council said it was trying to find a solution.
"We want to catch the owl as our city's residents are in danger," it said on its website, noting however that the European eagle owl is a protected species that requires special permission to be trapped.
"These procedures can still take some time. Meanwhile, we are advising people to stay away from the owl," the city said, telling night strollers in the area to shield themselves with umbrellas.
Gejo Wassink of the Netherlands' OWN owl foundation said the bird's behavior was unusual.
"Either the owl was reared in captivity and released into the wild and now associates humans with food -- meaning it's not really 'attacking' people."
"Or it may have heightened hormone levels as the breeding season starts, which influences its behavior and makes it defend its territory," Wassink told AFP, saying the bird "appears to be a female".
He pointed to the wider problem of people hand-rearing owls and then releasing them into the wild when they become too big to handle, potentially leading to an increase in attacks.
The European eagle owl is one of the largest owl species, with a wing-span of up to 1.80 metres (almost six feet) and weighing up to three kilos (seven pounds).
