Mongolian Eagle Hunters

Meet the people upholding a 4,000-year tradition deep in Mongolia's Altai region: the Kazakh eagle hunters.

For centuries, the Kazakh have nurtured a special bond with golden eagles. Painstakingly trained to hunt small mammals and return to their handlers’ arms, these majestic birds are the product of an extremely rare, age-old art and are treated like family members. This time-honored tradition survives today due to the diligence of these people, and is passed down from parent to child starting with children as young as 10 years old. In 2019, Claire Thomas traveled to Mongolia to photograph these iconic eagle hunters. Thomas' collection captures an artistic expression of these families’ lives, exhibiting the relationship between the people, the land, and the animals they raise.?

Mongolian Eagle Hunters depicts hunters clad in traditional garb who spend days fending off sub-zero temperatures, magnificent portraits of bird and hunter, and vignettes of the daily life of the sport. This photographic tribute provides a beautiful snapshot into this ancient practice. Experience the close bond between the burkitshi and their birds of prey against the stunning, rugged Altai backdrop. ?

Thomas has undertaken several independent photography projects in diverse and remote corners of the world, including Alaska, Wyoming, Lesotho, Mozambique, and most recently Mongolia. Thomas’ work has been selected as a finalist for a number of awards, including second place for Photo Essay of the Year in the 2018 UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Photojournalist of the Year at the 2017 Press Gazette British Journalism Awards, the 2018 Amnesty International UK Media Awards Photojournalism category, and Women Photograph: 2019 Year in Pictures. Thomas has served as a judge on several international photography competitions including the Amnesty International UK Media Awards in 2019, 2020 and 2021, and the 2021 Xposure International Photography Festival Awards.