Nepal - Parahawking

Our second day in Pokhara, the crew gathered in preparation for the drive to Diki Danda while Chris and I got ready to go parahawking. At the appointed time, a small taxi with unusual cargo arrived outside the hotel. Scott (the man) and Bob (the bird) emerged to signal our ride to launch.


Chris and I took tandem flights at the same time--me with Scott and Chris with Jessica--while Bob the Egyptian Vulture flew between us. We were feeding Bob bite-size pieces of raw water buffalo. The first step was to lightly wedge a piece of meat into the crook of your thumb. Then, you cover the meat with your other hand so the bird can't see it. If he can see the meat, he might fly into your lap to get it.


Better that he come for it when your hand is outreached and ready for him. When Scott blew his whistle to call the bird, I would stretch out my hand to be ready for him.


Bob would swoop in, land on my arm, eat and then take off.


He was extremely light.


My favorite part was the take off. He would stretch his wings, angle away and appear to just fall off to the side and into flight.


When I watched the video, I learned that I laughed each time Bob took off.


As soon as he was gone, my hand was back in the pouch for the next bite. We did this routine 8-10 times during the flight. Chris was doing the same on his flight. At the end of the flight, on the ground, Bob got a raw egg and that was his share of food and exercise for the day.