ULAN BATOR, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's annual spring eagle festival kicked off near the capital city of Ulan Bator on Sunday, which is part of the country's efforts to attract tourists.
The event called "Spring Golden Eagle Festival" was co-organized by the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the Mongolian Eagle Hunter's Association and others with the aim of boosting tourism by promoting the tradition of hunting with eagles.
"The festival is part of our efforts to attract more domestic and foreign tourists. I am very happy that the number of domestic and foreign tourists visiting the festival has been increasing year after year," Tsegmid Tsengel, state secretary at the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, said at the opening ceremony of the festival.
A total of 20 eagle hunters aged 18-77 from Bayan-Ulgii Province are competing in the 12th edition of the two-day festival, to catch fake animals, such as foxes and hares, with specially trained golden eagles, showing off the skills of both the birds and their trainers.
Previously, the competition used live animals to test the eagles' skills, but at the request of animal rights activists, fake animals began to be used instead in recent years, according to the organizers.
Eagle hunters also will compete in calling their eagles at the top of the mountain, and the quickest to recognize its owner and sit on its owner's forearm will be declared the winner.
Hunting with eagles is a tradition on the Eurasian Steppe. Mongolia is said to be one of a few countries that keeps the thousand-year-old tradition alive.
The Golden Eagle Festival is held twice a year in spring and autumn in Mongolia. The autumn festival is held in Bayan-Ulgii Province.
