Thirteen-year-old Ashol Pan with her eagle. Despite her young age, Ashol had the amazing ability to control and be able to caress her eagle, almost as if she had been with it for years. (Asher Svidensky/ Caters News Agency)

When photographer Asher Svidensky embarked on a four-month trek through western Mongolia, his goal was to document the region’s celebrated eagle hunters. He got a big surprise when he discovered a 13-year-old girl practicing the ancient tradition.

Ashol Pan, described as a “sweet, smiling, shy girl,” was thrust into the world of eagle hunting, practiced by the Kazakhs of the Altai mountain range in western Mongolia, when her older brother couldn’t continue his hunting duties after he had been drafted to the army.

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Ashol’s father, Han Gohadok, says that his daughter, who may well be the country’s only apprentice huntress, will continue training, but he doesn’t expect her to do the role full-time — unless she wants to.

Svidensky, who had photographed eagle hunters before, wanted to focus on the next generation of hunters, who will keep the custom alive.

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“I decided to focus myself; stop looking for a portrait of a centuries old image of a Kazakh eagle hunter, and instead represent the future of this ancient Mongolian tradition,” he explained to Caters.

Using eagles to hunt for foxes and hares has been a predominantly male activity for around 2,000 years, according to BBC. In the past, having a female eagle hunter would have been unheard of. Now, girls are being taught to train golden eagles, just like the boys.