No one in my family knows how to train eagles. In our area, we only have hunters who train hunting dogs, so they can only watch eagles from afar.
We used to keep a few hunting dogs at home, but I don't know if this dog training method is suitable for training eagles, or how effective it would be.
"Never mind, we're forcing them to do it anyway, so what difference does it make how we train them? It just takes a little more time."
I muttered to myself as I stretched out my right arm. The harpy eagle, which was used to eating from my hand, jumped directly from the shelf onto my forearm without the slightest hesitation.
Even with the python skin as a barrier, the harpy eagle's claws were still digging painfully into my arm. It seems the python skin handguard is too thin; my hand can't take it like this.
However, this problem is not difficult, and there is a temporary solution. I wrapped several pieces of whole raw eucalyptus bark around my right arm and then tied them with hemp rope to secure them.
For now, I'll make do with this. Later, I'll use wild boar skin to make a special leather glove.
I carried Pat outside; he had been staying in his shelter, which never saw the sun, for so many days.
Pat was clearly excited to see the sun again, and he flapped his wings, eager to take off.
At this moment, I gently placed my hand on Pat's body, and Pat's restless heart gradually calmed down. Seeing this, a smile appeared on my lips. It seems that the time spent together these past few days has not been wasted.
When we're at the accommodation, I'll do some simple interactions with Pat. For example, like dog training, I'll use food as bait to tell Pat to listen to my commands and not move around.
Top had never liked eagles, and now that I'd brought this thing out, he immediately thought I was having an affair.
Top gave Pat a disapproving look, then started walking forward on its own, carrying a small basket on its back, heading towards the stream.
Seeing that Pat's mood was relatively stable, I placed him on a beam next to the shed and gave him a command.
He's doing quite well training indoors with food available, but it's hard to imagine how Pat will perform outdoors where there are more distractions.
Pat, who could understand my simple commands, stood on the beam and waited quietly.
But as I slowly walked away, Pat on the beam became a little anxious. This had never happened before during previous training sessions. It started shifting its feet restlessly on the beam, pacing back and forth.
Several times it tried to take flight, but I kept looking back at Pat every three steps, and whenever it had a thought, I would shoo it back to stand in its original spot.
I walked until I was about ten meters away from Pat before stopping and shouting to him, who was still standing there.
"Go back!"
At this distance, Pat could hear my voice. Having been waiting for a long time, Pat immediately flapped his wings and took off, flying quickly toward me.
I stretched out my right arm, and Pat landed steadily on my bark-bound handguard.
"Well done!"
I boasted to Pat, stroking its broad back feathers for a while, and then rewarded Pat with a small piece of soaked jerky.
Pat snatched the jerky I offered him, tilted his head back, and swallowed it whole.
Pat and I then did several more sets of these practice exercises. Pat didn't disappoint me; he only felt a little uncomfortable at the very beginning. He was able to complete the later exercises smoothly.
Then it's about practicing this action repeatedly, so that it becomes a conditioned reflex in its mind. Every time I call it, Pat knows I'm commanding it to come back to me.
We spent two days reinforcing this subject, and now Pat can follow my commands anywhere, up to about thirty meters away.
It's not that Pat will stop obeying my commands if we go too far away, but if we go too far, factors such as wind and distance will interfere, and he might not be able to hear my commands.
There's only one subject left. As long as it can complete this subject successfully, even if the harpy eagle doesn't help me go hunting, my trip won't be in vain.
That's why I brought it back to my place instead of putting it in the pot. I plan to use it as my aerial viewpoint, and take it out to check things out when needed.
Birds of prey like eagles have excellent eyesight. As long as I have air superiority and can survey the area, they can help me avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.
But this is also the most difficult step. It's not hard to make Pat fly, but it's hard to make it understand the meaning of the exploration and then transmit the news of the discovery back through the cry of the eagle.
I've thought about this problem for a long time, but I haven't come up with a suitable solution. Right now, I can only do this transitional training, getting Pat to fly and hover above my head.
I came up with a solution: throw Pat into the air first, then give it the command to fly.
After repeated actions and food inducements, Pat finally understood my intentions over three days.
Every time Pat, who was perched on my right arm, saw me point to the sky with my left hand and shout the command: "Fly!", it would immediately flap its wings and take off from my right arm, circling ten meters in the air.
Each time, I would let Pat hover in the air for a few minutes to allow it to gradually adapt to the process.
After another full day of practice, Pat was able to fly overhead and hover completely on my commands. Only when I called him back did Pat immediately fly down and return to my side.
The final step is to enable Pat to provide effective early warnings of large targets appearing on the ground from the air.
Before we take this step, Pat needs to learn to respond to my commands with the eagle's cry. This is also very important; it's our only way to communicate.
This step also put me in a bit of a dilemma, because eagles don't usually bark like dogs, unless they encounter something that makes them angry or afraid, in which case they will let out a sharp hawk cry.
But this problem didn't bother me for long. By chance, after Pat finished a training session, I was about to take out some jerky to reward him.
Because of a slight delay, Pat was getting a little anxious as he didn't receive his reward immediately. He kept flapping his wings and walking back and forth around me.
I knew this was a good opportunity, so I changed the training plan over the next few days.
After each training session, or when Pat is eating normally, I deliberately feed him meat slowly.
As a result, Pat, who had always been hungry, finally saw some meat to eat, but it wouldn't come out of my hands. This finally made it so anxious that it let out a cry like an eagle.
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