Feline encounters on safari

While I've not had the opportunity to hunt any of the big cats yet, a safari dedicated to lion and leopard hunting would make for a wonderful adventure and a proper test of patience, endurance, cunning and the stamina to hang in there when the going gets tough.  Deliberate hunting of the hyenas has certainly taught me a few things about hunting large predators - its a tough game!

In August of 2012 we spent three weeks in South Africa hunting elephant, hyena and a couple of the plains game species I had lucked out on in during previous safaris. We were fortunate enough to have encounters with lion, leopard and cheetah - so very lucky to have these sitings in such a short space of time! The photography certainky doesn't do justice to the experience; poor light, distance, thick bush and brief encounters mean that we don't always capture the moment as we would like to...

But the stories are part of the adventure... here's what we saw...

We were hunting Southern Greater Kudu on a private property in Mica north west of Hoedspruit, when I spotted a small face watching us from the long grass on the other side of a game fence fence; we were hunting land adjoining Olifants North Game Reserve http://www.olifantsnorth.co.za/. As we approached, the small face turned out to be that of a female cheetah with a full belly and a radio tracking collar.  I walked up to within 10 yards of the cat feeling rather vulnerable and insignificant, albeit with a fence between us. Our first ever encounter with a wild cheetah!

On the way into Kruger National Park via Phalaborwa Gate for a day trip, an oddly dark, round shape in the Mopani Forest caught my attention as the Range Rover cruised along the bitumen.  We packed up and I pulled out the Zeiss 10x40 binoculars from my pack to take a closer look.  Two lions lay in the long grass.  This male posed long enough for me to get a steady shot off with my Canon... of his ear!

Mid morning, with the hot sun having climbed to full height, we spotted three lionesses trotting through the bush, heading towards the river.  We were not too far out of Shingwedze Rest Camp. I snapped off a string of shots but with the sun beating down ahead of us, this was as good as it got.  There were no males in this group and we spotted a sick old roan bull crossing the dry Shingwedze River moments after this photo was taken.

Perhaps our greatest encounter with a big cat in close to ten years of visiting the Dark Continent.  We were heading out of Shingwedzi Rest Camp for an evening game drive, keeping a sharp eye out for one of the Sharpe's Grysbok we had hoped to see in this part of the park. As we drove along the riverine bush I couldn't help but scan the horizontal branches of the ancient trees looking for Mr.Spots... and there he was on the ground 20 yards out to our left... this very big tom had just brought down a young bushbuck ram and was crouched over his kill when we pulled up. Amazing.

A pair of lionesses.  These two big cats spotted us long before we were onto them as they lay in the long grass with their ears flattened against their head. The lead cat made a few mock charges towards us, never covering more than a few metres at a time.  These cats were photographed on the 34,600 acre estate owned by Ekland Safaris in Soutpansberg in the north eastern reaches of South Africa. http://www.eklandsafaris.com/

A shot of a tsessebe

Last Friday afternoon I was archiving (read: deleting) files that have accumulated on my office computer and I came across a very special photo I wanted to share...

A couple of safaris ago we spent a bit of time hunting the bush along the Matlabas River in Limpopo Province. We had set aside 10 days to hunt hyena - both the spotted and the brown - and were successful with a big Spotted Hyena in the salt on day nine.  The problem with hunting hyena is that you need to be up most of the night and you spend quite a bit of the day checking baits, making drags, building blinds, hypothesising and strategising. And of course, you're on safari, so you want to have a bit of a hunt by day as well. It wears you out.

On our final full day on safari, with our most special animal in the salt, we decided it would be an easy hunting day. There were some white blesbok getting about at the back of the place we were hunting, however on the way out there we bumped into a herd of the very rarely hunted tsessebe. We had no intention of hunting these unique and once endangered antelope as part of our safari; populations of tsessebe - Damaliscus lunatus, the fastest antelope on earth - have come back so well in southern Africa that they have been completely removed from the CITES appendices, a wonderful thing for both the game and hunters.

I was with the missus on this safari, six months pregnant at the time. Our daughter (who was 16 months old) was along for the ride, as was a good friend of ours from Sydney who was playing nanny on safari. The whole lot of us were in the bakkie while our PH Stephan rode up front with Fanwell - tracker and skinner. 

Tsessebe - Damaliscus lunatus

We all looked at the tsessebe in the distance. I looked at the boss. The boss looked at me. We both looked at Stephan... We sat there bending spoons in our mind and without saying a word agreed to have a closer look at the herd "just in case" there was a good bull amongst them.  Stephan and I headed off with the sticks and my .300 Weatherby Magnum. We chased the wind and the tsessebe and almost two hours later found ourselves some 170 yards out from the herd. There were two very mature bulls worth looking at and it came down to taste really - long but thinner horns, or a thick set of horns with heavy bases,  shorter tips from the wear that comes with age.

"The short one" I whispered to Stephan as I got myself comfortable over a mound of dirt. Stephan grinned and nodded.

The 180gr Woodleigh PP bullets were being launched out of my Weatherby at a very modest 2,950fps and sighted for a 300 yard zero. We ranged the bull at 170 yards and watched him feed casually until he had turned broadside facing to the left.

"When your ready Dan," came the instruction from my PH.

I sighted up the foreleg to edge of the dark patch at the shoulder joint, then followed it up and back to the withers of the animal. I used the reticle to quarter the scapula, made a small adjustment as my shot would be almost 4" high at his range, and squeezed the trigger till it broke. The bullet smashed the bull's spine and all four legs folded at the same time sending him crashing to the ground with a thud. 

DaggaBoy and the little one with our tracker and skinner Fanwell (centre) and Professional Hunter Stephan Olivier on the right.

After a quiet moment alone with the bull, our team walked over for a close look.  We took a few photos for the safari album before the taxidermist in me came out and I was snapping away at every detail in readiness for the work ahead of me in the studio. 

Stephan happened to be admiring my rifle in the background, shouldering it the way that shooters do when they get their hands on a new gun.  And that's when I was busy looking at the vestigial nictitating membrane, preorbital gland, eyelids, folds and wrinkles...

Hyenas in Addis Ababa

I'm a huge fan of the hyena and think they are a wonderful animal. One of Africa's most successful predators, perfectly adapted to long pursuit hunting and total utilisation of their prey. They kill the old and sick grazers, helping to maintain the health of herding animals and clean up dead carcasses across Africa greatly benefiting the ecosystem. 

Hyenas offer wonderful game viewing opportunities for travelers and are a very challenging and unique game animal for hunt the hunter willing to put in the effort.  I have been fortunate to hunt the Spotted Hyena and the Brown Hyena and have had success with both species; the Striped Hyena is not easily available to the hunter. 

You can read Part I of my hyena hunting exploits by clicking the link below. Part II is a "work in progress" and will be online soon. http://huntingafricasbiggame.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/hunting-hyena-part-i.html

The latest issue of African Indaba has an article by Ludwig Siege titled "Hyenas in Addis Ababa".  Another example of the human animal conflict that can arise in fringe areas across Africa where humans and wild animals must co-exist.  This article relates to hyena in Ethipoia's capital city, Addis Ababa. To view the current African Indaba issue in full click on this link http://www.africanindaba.co.za/Archive12/AfricanIndabaVol10-2.pdf 

African Indaba is a publication of the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) that is dedicated to the people and wildlife of Africa.Following is an excerpt from the current issue:

"Following incidents of Hyena attacks on humans in Addis Ababa in recent weeks, during which a baby was taken and killed, the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA) organized a hyena cull in the city. On December 10th EWCA-appointed hunters destroyed 10 spotted hyenas in an area right in the city center, close to the main river crossing the town. The carcasses were disposed of by the Addis Ababa police.

Why hyenas started man-eating is not known. Hyenas are known as scavengers, but they also hunt. There are large populations of hyenas, and possibly also leopards, living in and around Addis Ababa. Estimates range from 300 to 1000. The wildlife Authority has reports from seven sites with dens in or close to the city center.

Hyenas remove animal carcasses from the streets of Addis and keep the burgeoning stray dog population at bay, so they also play a positive role in the city. There is a joke going around in Addis that the city council should pay the hyenas for keeping the city clean!"