Scott Mason serving an in-flight snack to "Skyguide" Kevin. Photo credit: Courtesy Scott Mason
By Paul Ross
From October to April in Sarankot, Nepal, a village in the foothills of the Himalayas, you can jump off a 5,000-foot-high cliff, sail in tandem with a paraglider, and hand-feed fresh meat to a bird of prey. “It’s a privilege to be a part of these birds’ world,” says Scott Mason, who dreamed up the sport to combine his two passions, paragliding and falconry. It has also become a way for Mason to help the rescue and rehabilitation of injured adult and abandoned baby raptors, some of which he releases back into the wild. The others? He trains them to fly alongside you - and snatch dead rodents from your hand - as “skyguides” ($135; parahawking.com).
This article originally appeared in the April 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.
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March 30th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Hi,
Just to clarify, Yes I do train birds of prey to fly with us and to guide us to thermals in the Himalayas. But we DO NOT feed them dead rodents in the air. Our birds are rewarded during the flight for guiding us to the best lift but they are fed fresh pieces of beef.
For actual information of Parahawking, please visit the website - http://www.parahawking.com
Thanks
Scott
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