The Wolfkeepers of Mongolia
Published in the February 2026 print issue of National Geographic
Photography and Additional Reporting by Dimitri Staszewski
Written by Erica Berry
The Wolfkeepers of Mongolia is a 20-page print story presenting an excerpt of my ongoing long-term documentary project exploring the spiritual relationship nomadic Kazakh herders have with wild wolves in western Mongolia. The project examines how myth, ecology, and survival intersect in a landscape where wolves are understood not only as predators, but as ancestral and spiritual beings.
This community is simultaneously reverent towards and actively hunting wolves. Kazakh herders serve as both practical and spiritual stewards of the land. They see themselves as an integral part of keeping the land in balance—protecting their domestic animals from hungry wolves while ensuring a healthy, but controlled wolf population (Serikbol Koshegen, 2023).
The urgency of this story lies in the accelerating pressures reshaping nomadic life in Mongolia. Climate change has reduced wild prey populations and pushed wolves to hunt domestic livestock more frequently, intensifying conflict between herders and predators. At the same time, extreme winters and shifting economic realities are pushing many Kazakh families to consider abandoning nomadic life and migrate to Kazakhstan. As these conditions change, the spiritual and cultural dimensions of wolf hunting risk disappearing or transforming into purely pragmatic practices.
This work expands the visual narrative of Kazakh herding culture beyond the widely circulated, somewhat myopic image of Kazakhs as eagle hunters by focusing on a lesser-known tradition that has never been documented holistically.
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I am currently looking for a literary agent to represent this project as I continue working on a much more expansive book of this work, which will be equal parts writing and photography.
