Ex-soldier finds new passion in falconry
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After years of dedicated military service, Mohd Amin Musi, a 45-year-old retired soldier from Kampung Payas-Payas, has found a new passion in falconry. Initially drawn to the art during his time in the peninsula in 2012, Amin's interest in training eagles grew, as it demanded discipline, patience, and knowledge.
In 2014, Amin met a friend in Kedah who owned an eagle, offering it to him, marking the beginning of his journey as a falconer. However, he lacked the skills to train the bird, relying on online videos that primarily showcased indoor methods, unaware of the complexities involved.
Amin sought guidance from fellow enthusiasts, learning essential techniques and practices directly from experienced trainers. He now owns ten eagles, including a crested serpent eagle, Wallace's hawk-eagle, white-bellied sea eagle, and mountain serpent eagle. The spectacle of an eagle soaring and returning to its trainer's hand is the result of a meticulous four-stage training process.
The initial stage, manning, involves acclimatizing the eagle to its trainer and humans. Next is the calling stage, where the eagle learns to respond to its trainer's calls, typically associated with feeding. Bagges follows, introducing live bait and prey to teach the eagle its natural hunting instincts. Monitoring the eagle's weight is crucial during this phase. After mastering these stages, the eagle is ready for the hunting stage, where it is taken out in the wild to hunt real prey.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
