THE WHITE FALCON OF THE MONGOLS

The falcon has a very special place in Mongolian traditional culture. Its picture used to be painted on flag standards, and pictured on gold and silver identification tags.

They have been used as reliable and fast messengers to deliver letters, and were given as special gifts to khans (kings) and rulers of other countries, but were most commonly used in hunting.

The historical chronicles of Chinggis Khaan's time say he had 1,200 hunting falcons.

Marco Polo, a Medieval Venetian trader who spent more than three decades in Asia, left a vivid description of Khublai Khaan's hunting party using more than 10,000 falcons, 500 eagles and hundreds of other birds of prey.

A deep understanding of nature and its laws has allowed Mongols to develop the skills and methods of training various animals. These even include special songs to influence an animal's reflexes and behavior. Researchers say that Mongolian methods of training of falcons are gentle but effective.

Chinggis Khaan's Great Law (Ikh Yasa), a compilation of laws observed until shortly before the revolution of 1921, contained provisions to protect falcons.

Today, there are no special regulations on protecting and exporting falcons. Some three decades ago, the bird was even included onto a list of "parasite" animals alongside wolves.

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