Hunting with cormorants. China 1949.
Mankind has learned to attract animals to its hunting a long time ago. Falconry existed in the Middle Ages, and greyhounds, hounds, terriers, and other hunting dog breeds were traditionally used in Europe. But the people of East Asia managed to surprise everyone. They not only decided to improve the ancient fishing process, but also attracted waterfowl for this purpose — the well-known cormorants.
Cormorant hunting is an ancient tradition that has been around for thousands of years. Its essence is that the cormorant hunts fish not for itself, but for the person who taught it. It was the one who taught them, because all the cormorants involved in this process are trained birds. They know their owner very well, navigate well among the boats on the water and obediently give the caught fish. However, there is a small subtlety here. It is very difficult to convince a bird of prey not to eat its prey. No amount of training will be able to kill the instinct. Therefore, hunters use a trick — they put a thin ring on the bird's neck. A bird can breathe, fly, drink and swallow small fish as thick as a little finger, but a large fish will not pass.
Cormorant hunting is widespread in Japan, China and Vietnam. However, each country has its own traditions and its own differences in fishing methods. And if in Japan it looks more like a theatrical performance (which, in fact, it is, since tickets are being sold for this show), then in China fishing with cormorants is an everyday process, one might say, a routine and a way to feed your family.
In Japan, cormorant hunting is called ukai. The birds here are almost like a national treasure and a great attraction for tourists. It used to be that Japanese fishermen used cormorants to feed themselves and sell their catch at the market. And now all this is a thing of the past, and the birds are not able to compete with fishing trawlers. And their owners receive income not from fish, but from the tourism department for the spectacle they arrange.
But in China, the approach to cormorant fishing is somewhat different. The birds are cherished and cherished there, they live in Chinese fishermen's families almost as family members. Offending them with some kind of leashes — no way! Chinese birds themselves bring fish into the boat and release it from their beaks.
Cormorants are great divers who can dive up to 15 meters deep. And muddy water is not a hindrance to them, they just feel the movement of fish in the water column. Following the boat, cormorants suddenly plunge into the water, then come to the surface. The birds fill their throat pouches with small fish, and hold the large fish with their beaks. Hunting closely monitors the process, and if the cormorant catches a particularly large prey, it lowers a bamboo pole into the water. The bird obediently climbs onto it, holding the wriggling fish tightly in its beak. The hunter pulls the pole into the boat and alre
