The demanding craft of eagle hunting was passed on to her by her grandfather, Matei. With him by her side, she and her eagle have even hunted wolves.

Her grandfather taught her all he knew of hunting with eagles — how to call to the bird in the sky, how to whisper to it soothingly when perched on her arm. When he died, she inherited his prized bird.

“After my grandfather’s death, I wanted to continue his way,” Zamanbol said.

Just as Zamanbol began learning the craft at a young age, the training of the birds starts soon after an eaglet is captured from the nest, often after a hunter has made a rugged climb up a cliff. The resulting relationship between hunter and eagle is close and spans years; some last more than a decade, with a few hunters even talking about the eagle as if it were their child.

Hunters will often sing to their eagles to get them used to their voice.

Female eagles, larger and stronger than males, are used almost exclusively in the hunt. Once grown to about 15 pounds, the eagles ride with their hunters on horseback into the mountains, where they are released to scan the landscape for prey, typically foxes and rabbits.