Hunting foxes with eagles

The landscape of Zhaosu grassland [Photo provided to China Daily]

Wormanbek's current eagle is nearly a year old. The birds live 11 years on average.

That said, elderly eagles are typically set free to live out their last days in the wild. It's like retirement.

Incompetent predators are laid off early.

"Some are born hunters. Others just steal their prey," Wormanbek says.

His yearling hasn't yet had the chance to prove itself.

The season for hunting with eagles starts in September, when snow makes tracks conspicuous.

"The fun isn't in the killing but in watching the birds diving, tackling and wrestling prey."

There are more than 100 burkitshi in Sarkuobu village.

"Some of the old-timers have died. But even more youth are taking up the tradition," Wormanbek says.

It's a rare example of an ancient custom that's flourishing, rather than evaporating, in contemporary times.

Tourism helps rejuvenate burkitshi, he says, but remains an anemically nascent industry in Zhaosu county.

Wormanbek joins a team of eagle hunters during the county's Heavenly Horse International Tourism Festival to display the tradition for tourists.

They perform for free.

About 8,000 visitors attended last year. There isn't much else to Zhaosu's tourism beyond the festival - yet. The concept of it as an industry only arrived two years ago.

"Tourists like larger eagles. But they often aren't the best hunters," Wormanbek says.

"Bigger isn't better. The grander-seeming birds are often clumsier."

But Zhaosu's tiny tourism industry is far from the main motivator.