ALTYN-EMEL NATIONAL PARK, Kazakhstan – With a loud thwack of their wings, the falcons took flight, quickly soaring high above the rocky desert landscape of Altyn-Emel National Park in southeastern Kazakhstan.

The 34 birds were on an important mission: To help restore Kazakhstan's population of saker falcons, which for centuries have symbolised nobility and freedom for the nomadic peoples of the Kazakh steppe, as well as serving as faithful hunting companions.