When An Eagle Cannot Soar

Bayankhangai, Mongolia. A couple of weeks ago I went to the area of Bayankhangai, near to Ulaanbaatar with my favourite Mongolian family. One of the family members had been watching the television advertisements on Mongolian TV and liked the look of a tourist park that was there. The tourist park was in a nice area, although not so exciting of and by itself. It did have one claim to fame however. An eagle.

The only trouble with the poor eagle was that it appeared as though both of its wings were useless. I do not know if this was from an accident or the result of a deliberate act, however, the bottom line was that the eagle was unable to fly at all. All it could do was walk and run. I must admit, it appeared to get along at a fair clip on the ground - and it was still supporting the rather extensive beak as well as some very nasty looking talons.

The bird seemed well fed and allowing for the fact that it was an eagle that could no longer soar, it appeared to be in reasonable health.

The tourist park that the eagle was in was about 30 minutes drive or so from downtown Ulaanbaatar.