Feb 23, 2018 | News, On Shooting
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dangerous Snakes of Africa
By Johan Marais (African Snakebite Institute)
With close on 20,000 snakebite deaths a year in Africa, one may well have good reason to worry about snakes, especially out on hunts.
Surprisingly few hunters get bitten by snakes, and when I do talks on snakes and snakebite for hunting groups, I always ask how many people present have ended up in a hospital after a snakebite during a hunt. Occasionally, one or two hands may go up, and I when ask whether the bite was from a Stiletto snake, the answer is usually yes.
The Stiletto snake is a small, brownish-black snake, usually around 30 – 40 cm, that spends most of its life underground, and feeds on snakes and lizards. It surfaces on warm nights, especially after rain, and for some reason is thought to be a Mole snake, even though it does not resemble one. This snake has very large fangs that fold back against the roof of the mouth when not in use, but when it strikes a fang is protruded and jabbed into the prey or victim. Because of these large fangs, this snake cannot be held safely in any way – if captured behind the head as snake handlers often do, the snake merely twists the head sideways and a fang will penetrate a finger or thumb. The venom of the Stiletto snake is potently cytotoxic, causing severe pain, swelling, blisters and tissue damage, which is mostly limited to the area of the bite. Although such bites often lead to amputation of a digit, in Southern Africa it is not considered fatal. As there is no antivenom, the bites are treated symptomatically and could take weeks to heal. A snake well worth avoiding.
The most abundant snake in most of Africa is the Puff Adder, a large, sluggish snake that rarely exceeds 1.25 m in length. Where most snakes are quick to move off, this snake relies on its excellent camouflage, and is easily stepped on. Hunters are at risk, and over much of its range, this snake is active in winter when mating takes place. Well over 80% of snakebite victims in Africa are bitten well below the knee, and wearing snake gaiters when hunting would provide excellent protection against snakebite.
Our biggest adder is the Gaboon Adder, and in parts of Africa it may exceed 1.5 m in length and weigh over 5 kg. It has the largest fangs of any snake in the world, and they may exceed 4 cm in length. It is a slow-moving and well-camouflaged snake that seldom features in snakebite accidents. Bites are often serious for two reasons – the potent cytotoxic venom of this snake and its massive venom yield (up to 600 mg of dried venom). It is widespread from Mtunzini in Zululand to Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe and elsewhere further north, reaching Nigeria in West Africa.
No snake quite measures up to the Black Mamba, Africa’s longest venomous snake. Historically it reached 4.5 m in length, but in recent years we rarely see mambas over 3.8 m in length. This snake has a fearsome reputation, and there are endless pub stories of it chasing people, showing its aggression and even biting passing vehicles. It is actually a shy and nervous snake and is very quick to flee. Bites are rare, but invariably very serious. Having said that, if you corner a mamba or approach it closely, it will gape, show the black inside of the mouth and strike readily. Black Mamba venom is potently neurotoxic, causing numbness of the lips and tongue, nausea, excessive sweating, ptosis, progressive weakness, and it soon affects the chest muscles compromising breathing. In serious cases victims struggle to breathe within half an hour. The Green Mamba lives in dense bush and is seldom encountered.
Africa has a number of cobras, and several of them can spit in addition to biting. But cobras are quite shy and are quick to escape. The Cape Cobra is by far the most dangerous of the cobras and is found in the Cape provinces entering the Free State, Northwest Province, Botswana and Namibia. The venom of this snake is similar to that of the Black Mamba, and these two snakes account for the majority of fatal snakebites in South Africa – around 12 per year. If tampered with, the Cape Cobra will quickly form a hood and strike readily.
The Mozambique Spitting Cobra is a smallish cobra, seldom exceeding 1.5 m in length, and problematic. This snake is abundant, very active in the early evening, and accounts for the majority of serious snakebites in Southern Africa – even more so than the Puff Adder. It often enters houses, lodges and tents, and bites people while they are asleep. Hunters are at risk and should always zip up the mosquito mesh when camping. If there is a big enough gap under a front or back door for a finger to fit under, the gap is big enough for a cobra to enter. It was thought that these snakebites in beds were because of people accidentally rolling onto snakes seeking heat, but it is clear that they are sensing a mammal in the bed and mistaking it for a meal! Their venom rarely kills but is potently cytotoxic causing pain, swelling, blistering and tissue damage.
The two potentially deadly tree snakes, the Boomslang and Twig snake, rarely bite people, and most victims are snake handlers. These snakes spend most of their lives in trees and are extremely docile. If one is spotted in a tree, let it be and nobody will get bitten. Being back-fanged, it is often thought that these snakes can only bite onto a small digit – not quite true as they can open their mouths very wide. But, as mentioned, they rarely bite.
Pythons are often encountered and may reach 6 m in length. Although a large python can easily kill and eat an antelope the size of an adult impala, they rarely attack people and deaths are virtually unheard of. We know of three fatalities in Africa over the past 100 years. Pythons do have very large pin-sharp teeth and a bite from a large individual could result in lacerations that will require stitching up. The biggest danger is grabbing a python by the tail, and many a hunter has the scars and the story. Bear in mind that should you come across any snake in the wild and you are 4 or 5 metres away, you are perfectly safe and cannot get bitten. Move away from the snake – there are no snakes that chase after people.
Most of the 20,000-odd snakebite deaths in Africa are caused by a small snake called a Carpet Viper or Saw-scaled Viper. They inhabit the drier regions of North Africa, and the victims are largely peasant farmers that work the field barefoot. Carpet Vipers are locally abundant, live close to the ground and bite readily. Their venom is potently haemotoxic, causing uncontrolled bleeding and antivenom is needed in serious cases of envenomation. Most of North Africa lacks primary health care, and antivenom is not easily obtainable, hence the high mortality of victims.
More than 85% of all snakebite victims do not need antivenom, and over 99% of them that are hospitalised survive. Snakebite deaths are not common, and are usually caused by snakes with neurotoxic venom – like the Black Mamba and Cape Cobra.
Prevention is far better than cure, and hunters should take some basic precautions – sleep in insect-proof tents and wear snake gaiters at all times. Snakebites are not just inconvenient, but also very expensive – the average snakebite where the victim spends a few days in ICU cost in excess of R100 000,00. In some cases the medial bill may even exceed R1M.
With regards to first aid for snakebite, the most important measure is to get the patient to the nearest hospital. Forget about cutting and sucking out the venom, tourniquets and all the other instant cures. For more advice on first aid for snakebites, get yourself a book on the subject and avoid the Internet – it is full of good and bad advice and there is no filter.
Johan Marais is the CEO of the African Snakebite Institute. It offers courses on snake awareness, first aid for snakebite, advanced first aid for snakebite and venomous snake handling. Go to www.africansnakebiteinstitute or visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AfricanSnakebiteInstituteOfficial/
Cell: +27 824942039[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14139,14140,14141,14142,14143,14144,14145,14146″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Feb 17, 2018 | News, On Shooting
“THE DEADLIEST THING IN CAPTIVITY!”
Johan van Wyk
The key to success is a bit of basic knowledge of ballistics and, of course, practice, practice, practice!
I have a good friend who is a mechanical engineer by trade, but happens to be a gun dealer by vocation, specialising in rare and collectable firearms. Much of his time is spent reloading for obscure, old black powder cartridges, or regulating double rifles. Often, after one of his marathon sessions at the shooting bench or in the reloading room, I would hear my cell phone ping, and be confronted with an image of a target with two neat bullet holes through it as proof positive of another successful project. Without fail, the caption added by my satisfied friend would be: “The deadliest thing in captivity!”
Well, as nice as the old double rifles are, the real deadliest thing in captivity is actually the man (or woman, to be fair) that is really familiar with his or her rifle and can use it the way it was intended. Just about every professional hunter out there has a few horror stories to tell of clients who arrive for a hunt in Africa, but who are unable to hit the proverbial barn door from the inside. Poor marksmanship is one thing, but I must admit that I’ve seen some people that are beyond hope insofar as shooting is concerned. I pity the PH that has to guide such a hunter on a hunt for even the most benign creature!
In my humble opinion, many hunters underestimate the value of regular practice, and even competitive shooting, as far as skill with a hunting rifle is concerned. As a rule, most of us don’t shoot at animals at extended ranges (meaning past the 300-metre mark in my own case) but with a bit of practice it is usually not too difficult to get consistent results at longer ranges. I’m fortunate in that I belong to a shooting club where we take part in shooting competitions from as little as 25 metres up to 200 metres and more on a monthly basis, using life-sized animal targets with the vital areas indicated as scoring areas. I readily admit to being an average rifleman at the best of times, but the monthly practice sessions certainly do make a difference by the time hunting season rolls along.
In a similar vein, a bit of thought regarding equipment is in order as well. Far too often I have had to help out fellow shooters who arrived at the shooting range with a jumble of ammunition in different brands and bullet weights for their rifles. There is simply no way to shoot straight with such a mess of ammunition. At other times, I have seen guys struggling to sight in rifles with guard screws that hadn’t been tightened for years, and on one memorable occasion a guy was surprised to find himself holding his riflescope in his hands when trying to make adjustments after he’d fired a few shots, so loose were the rings!
The hunter who understands and has confidence in his equipment, and can shoot really well, is “the deadliest thing in captivity”, while the guy who pitches up totally unprepared with untried or poorly maintained equipment is exactly the opposite. I reckon we owe it to the game animals as well as our hunting companions and guides to do a bit of preparation and practice for the sake of success.
Some hunters handle their firearms with such precision and confidence, though, that it is a joy to behold. I recently accompanied two Australian friends on a hunt in South Africa, and it was clear that not only were both very capable marksmen, but very confident and familiar with their rifles as well. The first quarry to go down was a nice nyala bull. The first shot with a .30-06 from about a hundred and thirty metres across a gully was textbook perfect, and the bull went down in his tracks. It was a good start, but the next day two old giraffe bulls were even better examples of field marksmanship. They were hunted with an open-sighted .500 NE double, and even though the shooting distances were typically modest to accommodate the double, shot placement on both of the big animals was once again impeccable: the bullet holes in both (an initial shot with a follow-up shot, the good old left-and-right from the double rifle) could be covered by the palm of one’s hand – right through the heart on both of the big animals. On the last day a wildebeest bull made the mistake of pausing for a few seconds at long range when he shouldn’t have. It was a tricky shot with the bull standing at a strange angle, but again, the .30-06 spoke but once, and the result was a quick, clean kill.
It is a real pleasure to hunt with such people. They not only had a thorough knowledge of their rifle’s ballistics, but of basic animal anatomy as well. More importantly, they were both extremely confident shots who spent many hours back home on the shooting range honing their skills with a rifle.
And believe me, it showed in the field!
Feb 15, 2018 | News, Optic Guide
Optic Guide Special
Nightforce Optics
One scope to rule them all: The new Nightforce NX8™ 1-8 x 24 F1
Africa has always presented a quandary to the hunter seeking a mixed bag. You need a high-power riflescope for plains game, plus another scope or open-sighted rifle for dangerous game.
Consider instead the new Nightforce NX8™ 1-8 x 24 F1, less than 8.5 inches in length and 17 ounces in weight. Its remarkable 8:1 zoom ratio means that now, one scope can provide the same wide field of view as open sights (at 1x), essential for dangerous game, as well as plenty of magnification at 8x for long shots at distant antelope.
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Feb 11, 2018 | Hunter Proud Foundation, News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hunter Proud Foundation: Duplicity and Deceit: How Rural Livelihoods Were Compromised in Botswana.
By Zig Mackintosh
An interesting paper was published in the South African Geographical Journal in March, 2017. “The effects of the safari hunting tourism ban on rural livelihoods and wildlife conservation in Northern Botswana” was written by Joseph E. Mbaiwa from the Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana.
This paper examines the effects of the safari hunting ban of 2014 on rural livelihoods and wildlife conservation in Northern Botswana, using the social exchange theory (SET). Basically,
SET follows the premise that humans strive for a positive outcome, maximizing benefits and minimizing costs, when engaging in a transaction. To calculate the value of a relationship, costs are subtracted from benefits. If benefits outweigh costs, it’s a positive relationship. Conversely, when the costs are greater than the benefits, it’s a negative result. When SET is applied to conservation and livelihoods, net benefits will foster positive attitudes towards tourism. If local people are actively involved in wildlife management and benefit economically from participation, then wildlife will be conserved as community welfare improves. Remove or reduce the benefits, and the outcomes will turn negative.
An aerial wildlife census was completed in 2011 by the NGO, Elephants Without Borders. The researchers concluded that wildlife populations in Botswana had been decimated by hunting, poaching, human encroachment, habitat fragmentation, drought, and veld fires. They reported that 11 species numbers had declined by an average of 61% since a 1996 survey. This included ostrich: a 95% decline; wildebeest: 90%; tsessebe: 84%; warthog and kudu: 81%, and giraffe 66%. The Botswana Government cited the census results as the key factor that led to the safari hunting ban across the country in January 2014. Plains-game hunting on private land was still permitted.
Prior to implementing the ban, the Government consulted with stakeholders such as local communities in wildlife areas, tourism operators, researchers, academics, conservationists, scientists and the Botswana hunters’ association through workshops and public meetings. NGOs such as the Kalahari Conservation Society and Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organizations were also included in the consultations. There was significant opposition to a hunting ban at these meetings. Academics criticized the Elephant Without Borders findings as being flawed. They argued that the study was just a snapshot, and that knowledge of long-term wildlife trends or time series data on wildlife populations in Botswana were a prerequisite before a decision on a ban could be made. The ban was, nevertheless, imposed.
In his paper Mbaiwa goes on to quantify the loss of revenue and jobs to local communities after the ban was effected. It was calculated that safari hunting generated 15% of tourism revenues from only 1% of tourist arrivals, making it one of the lowest impact forms of tourism in Botswana. At its peak, hunting in Botswana generated more than US $20 million annually, more than US $6 million of which was hunting license revenue that went directly to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Between 2006–2009, safari hunting generated US $ 3 120 000 for rural communities, while photographic tourism generated only US $ 415 000. Of this, 49.5% of revenue from the safari hunting industry is used in the local district, 25.7% at the national level and only 24.8% was being paid overseas mainly in the form of agents’ commissions and profits. Conversely, only 27% of photographic tourism revenue is being retained within Botswana, while the rest is leaked outside the country. Over 600 jobs were lost and 4 800 livelihoods affected. Photographic operations have not picked up the slack in marginal areas because these areas are not suited to photo-tourism. Community projects such as the construction of houses for the needy, funeral insurance, scholarships and household dividends have dried up.
The loss of protein in the form of meat from the hunted animals is substantial. In the last 5 years prior to the hunting ban each community was allocated a total of 22 elephants or 154 tonnes of meat per annum, this in addition to the meat from other animals hunted such as buffalo. The communities were permitted to sell any excess meat and in one area alone, Sankoyo, $600,000 was realized from meat sales in 2010.
So, as per social exchange theory, it follows that when the costs are greater than the benefits, the outcomes turn negative. Human-wildlife conflict has increased appreciably, and the nationwide reports rose from 4 361 in 2012 to 6 770 in 2014. Poaching is on the rise and is having a significant impact on wildlife populations.
There is no scientific study that has so far proved that safari hunting in Botswana was carried out on an unsustainable basis to warrant a ban in 2014. On the contrary, there is evidence that safari hunting in Botswana was regulated, particularly through the quota system, to promote sustainability.
The safari hunting ban represents a retrogressive step and a top-down imposition that contradicts the goals of conservation and rural development which the Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) program was established to achieve. The ban is reducing huge benefits generated by communities from safari hunting.
Lessons need to be learned from past experiences. Kenya banned hunting in 1977. Between 1977 and 1996, Kenya experienced a 40% decline in wildlife populations, both within and outside of its national parks, due primarily to poaching. Kenya’s wildlife numbers have continued to fall, with wildlife numbers today being less than half of that which existed before the ban. Similarly, the 2001–2003 ban on safari hunting in Zambia resulted in an upsurge in poaching due to the removal of incentives for conservation.
Why do we have to keep re-inventing the wheel? As shown in this paper, sustainable consumptive utilization works. The keyboard conservationists spouting their shrill alarmism should be ignored and left to themselves in their social media cesspool groups. Wildlife management must be left to the wildlife managers on the ground in Africa.
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Feb 9, 2018 | News
Dear Richard,
I always look forward to receiving my copy of the African Hunting Gazette which I have regarded as one of the best magazines that I subscribe to and was shocked to read your editorial in the Spring, 2018 edition. As a result, I am writing this to you as a response to, and a criticism of, your editorial. I have issues with many of your arguments and I also think your conclusion that ALL hunters must stick together is dead wrong and here’s why.
First off I am a passionate hunter living in Canada where just recently, in our game rich Province of British Colombia the hunting of one of our iconic game species, the grizzly bear, has been banned by the provincial govt. This was as a result of an emotion based outcry against what was termed “an outdated and barbarous practice” according to an alleged opinion survey that supposedly was performed by the authorities. In my, maybe cynical opinion, this was something that was fuelled by the anti-hunting fraternity. This ban happened in spite of and in the face of, a recent exhaustive and scientific study by the province’s environmental experts which found that the grizzly population of some 16,000 to 17,000 bears was thriving and increasing and that the grizzly bear hunts were being well managed on a sustainable quota basis. Public perceptions matter, whether it’s in Canada, Europe or in Africa and we better get that straight right off the bat if we hunters, who unquestionably are under attack, wish to survive. Living in a large city and being a “social animal” I am well plugged into public opinions of hunting in general and hunters in particular. Our image is rapidly eroding and the anti- hunting organizations all over the world are beginning to win the war of public opinion. We live in democracies and public opinion matters and not all non-hunters are anti- hunters as your editorial implies. People vote. Fuel for the anti- hunting bonfire is not hard to find and some of our fraternity provide this fuel.
Your editorial fails to acknowledge the precarious situation that hunters, not only in Africa, but all over the world are currently facing – something the breakaway group from PHASA obviously has.
As with grizzly bears, there is a universal and often emotionally charged regard for the African lion, an animal central to your editorial. “A huge swell of public emotion” is a characteristic both these iconic big game species have in common. Beware, because without any tangible reason, and without the above mentioned “fuel”, this British Columbia hunt for an impeccably managed species was banned . This action provides a good example of what can happen when alleged negative public opinion is harnessed and this could easily happen, and obviously has happened in South Africa where there are some real and controversial, issues surrounding lion hunting. I do a fair amount of African hunting and I have invoked the ire of some African PH’s when it comes to the issue of “canned lion hunting”, a practice I have challenged. This is ironic because this is something I am also confronted with by anti- hunting “groupies “– some of whom seem to make a living by moving from protest venue to protest venue. I do not buy the theory put to me by some PH’s that for every captive bred lion (CBL) hunted, a wild lion’s life is spared. Properly regulated, sustainable “wild lion” hunting should not constitute a problem to the species and should not be an issue. Unlike you, I personally find the hunting of a CBL in a limited fenced enclosure repulsive and not defensible. 500 acres is ostensibly a large chunk of real estate, but the operator generally know where the lions like to hang out -usually where they are fed donkeys.Yes, through lion “farming” the numbers of these magnificent felines have soared, but I believe the motives behind these programs are not altruistic and have nothing to do with conservation, but have everything to do with making money- lots of it. This, after all is perhaps the top ranked, and most expensive species to hunt of all the African big game.
If hunting CBL was banned, I would not feel sorry for those businessmen who have seen the hunting of this iconic species as a route to riches. If they see this as a business they have to take the risk all businesses have to take. Tough.From what I have heard most of these operators are either wealthy businessmen or ranchers so I am not shedding too many tears for them.
So what does one do do with the thousands of farm raised lions.?? I don’t rightly know the answer, but there are areas, former lion ranges in Africa which conceivably might benefit from the reintroduction of these animals. Somehow I doubt this as the indigenous people probably have moved in with their domestic animals. This relocation would cost a lot of money and maybe this is a time when the genuine animal rights, animal lover, etc. organizations would step up to the plate with the cash or an alternative solution and this might be doable -but my gut feel says “dream on”. Sadly human greed has resulted in too many lions and a huge problem.
In the meantime I believe that if “wild lions” are to be hunted in established habitats as they should be, this must only be permitted on the basis of a sound scientific evaluation, taking such important factors into account such as sustainability and the benefit to the local communities. If the price for such a hunt goes up, so be it. Only a small and select group of hunters would be able to afford the privilege of such a hunt for what is unquestionably a magnificent animal. I will not dignify the practices to do with ‘turbocharged” horn growth and colour variations with any observations other than once again it’s all about money and makes a mockery of nature with which mankind seems hell bent on interfering.
The schism in the hunting community in South Africa I think has everything to do with the above factors which in the end boil down to the “business” of hunting and money vs. ethics. My parents brought me up to believe that in life one is often judged by the company one keeps. I believe this to be true. As a hunter I do not want to be judged and lumped in with those individuals in the hunting community with whose practices I totally disagree. Individuals whose approach to something I hold to be precious seem to be based on factors such as greed, results,awards, boasting rights, killing genetic aberrations, quantity not quality. And the list goes on. Their actions could lead to the ending of all hunting on this planet. This, after all, is the goal of the anti hunting groups. The word “slob” is usually applied to some drivers -it can also be applied to some hunters -and they give us all a bad name.
I do not buy in to the arguments, either, about the “law permits the status quo.”(with regard to CBL hunting) which, somehow, makes it “alright. I say this because laws change and politicians can be lobbied towards many different decisions as they have in British Columbia. At the end of the day the things that count should be obvious to any ethical hunter and they should conduct themselves accordingly. In addition, I do not think any compassionate hunter that I know of would decry the right of a handicapped person or a wounded war veteran to their right to hunt with the assistance of some sort of mechanical device be it a wheelchair, a vehicle or any other means of conveyance. There are always sensible exceptions to be made to any rule.
The saying, “words are what we live by” is a fact of life, but lets not play word games with words such as “ethical”, “fair chase” etc. I think my nine year old grand daughter understands what is implied by these words given the context in which they are used – without the need to resort to a dictionary
In this modern world few people need to hunt to feed themselves as mankind as hunter gatherers had to in the past. We live in an era where, for example, thanks to all the technical advances that have occurred, “ hunting” (killing) from the back of a vehicle with a heavy calibre machine gun is certainly possible and has, indeed, occurred in some of Africa’s many wars. What about hunting with drones in the future?? Long ago and anticipating similar practices with the emerging modern world, organizations such as the Boone and Crockett Club in North America and the East African Professional Hunters Association, as two examples, laid down what they regarded as rules for “fair chase” and “ethical” recreational hunting. In my book these efforts were and are admirable and still valid.
“ United we stand, divided we fall” is an often heard clarion call. It sounds good on the surface but one has to have a clear understanding of the issues that one is “standing up for” Based on the fractured state of the of sport hunting industry I don’t see that a “united front” holds true at this time. If a thorough house cleaning is required and I think it is, only then can we stand united with a set of common ethical values.
At the end of the day, I believe, that if the hunting industry promotes acceptable hunting ethics and conservation models that the non-hunting public can understand, this segment of our society might just appreciate what hunters have contributed to wildlife on this planet. Lets not turn non-hunters into anti-hunters. They need us and we need them. As already stated – they vote.
Sooner rather than later, editors such as yourself will have to take a position on these crucial issues if hunting is going to survive. Your editorial endeavours to be” all things to all people.”I understand that the publication that you edit is a business and, given the vehemently opposing positions in the hunting world I can only guess at the fallout that inevitably will occur whatever position you take, but that is the hard reality of life. With reference to the last line of your editorial in which you declare “I am not sure – you have to be the judge” I see this as” passing the buck “-I can only suggest that you make up your mind about these crucial issues before it is too late.
Tony Marsh. Toronto, Jan. 2018
Feb 9, 2018 | News, Uncategorized
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mountain, Bush, and Little Blue.
By Ken Bailey
Blue duiker is not a species most hunters consider when creating their African wish list. They don’t have the immense size of an eland or a Cape buffalo, or the regal bearing of a kudu or sable. And in a beauty contest, an impala or lechwe would certainly put them to shame.
No, by most standards, the blue duiker simply does not match up. But rather than focus on what a blue duiker is not, hunters should focus on what they are, because if you’ve not hunted them, you’re missing out on an exceptionally challenging and enjoyable experience.
Blue duikers are among the smallest antelopes in Africa, and the smallest in South Africa, roughly the size of a large jackrabbit, about 15 inches high at the shoulder. Their coat color is variable, but is often the bluish-grey that gives the species its name. Both sexes have horns up to two inches long, making it very difficult to distinguish males from females, especially given that you seldom see them standing still. They’re secretive and cautious by nature, nearly always confined to dense forested cover where they feed on leaves and fruits.
I recently hunted blue duiker in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, a province I’d not previously hunted, and it completely exceeded my expectations. Leading the mission was long-time friend and PH, Eldre Hattingh, owner/operator of Lucca African Safaris. I’d last hunted with Eldre in Limpopo a few years previously and had quickly said yes when he invited me to explore the Eastern Cape with him. To fully appreciate the diversity of the region, we planned to hunt from the thick coastal thorn bush along the Indian Ocean coastline up to the very peaks of the inland snow mountains. Our quarry would be the iconic species that characterize the Eastern Cape – blue duiker and Cape bushbuck along the coast, mountain reedbuck and, if the opportunity presented itself, Vaal rhebok at the highest altitude.
We hunted near Port Alfred, a small coastal town settled by the English in the 1820s and named in honor of Queen Victoria’s son, Alfred. The area is dominated by mixed farming, but is also the widely acknowledged blue duiker capital of South Africa.
In the thickly-forested slopes that we hunted, every plant seemed to have thorns. We duck-walked and crawled, invariably snagging our shirts every few steps, often having to back up to get free. Stepping into this dense thorn bush is like entering another dimension – there’s no transition. In one step you literally cross from the light into the dark, and your first impression is ominous and foreboding.
Blue duiker forage under the canopy along well-defined trails. They’re territorial, so it’s unusual to find more than a pair in any one bush. The trick is to find a small clearing adjacent to one or more of their active pathways where you can sit and wait. Once you’re settled, the handler turns his dogs loose to find and pursue a duiker. Our handler uses braces of beagles and Jack Russell terriers, allowing one to spell off the other when they tire. By the frequency and volume of their baying or barking you can tell when they’re on a hot scent. You wait in expectation, hoping the duiker will run near you in its efforts to shake off the dogs.
You don’t really see the first blue duiker. Or the second. It’s more that you sense them or, if you’re really lucky, you catch a blur of movement out of the corner of your eye. No matter how much warning your PH gives, it’s never enough in the beginning.
They say some blue duikers are runners while others are sneakers – the sneakers seem to be pretty rare in my experience! We set up in four locations the first day, and at each saw a blue duiker – or at least a flash of movement I was told was a duiker! In any case, I didn’t get so much as a shot off at any of them. They were too quick, or I’d see them too late, or they emerged from a direction opposite to where I was watching. Still, I was having great fun, and Eldre assured me my experience was pretty typical for a first-timer, and that persistence would pay off.
Day two, on just our second setup, things started to change. Remarkably, as I crouched among a tangle of thorns listening to the baying of the beagles, a duiker ran straight up the trail towards me, stopping only 30 yards away. I raised my shotgun as quickly as I could and took the shot. A shower of earth revealed that I had missed low. There was no second shot, as the tiny antelope wasn’t about to stick around to see what all the fuss was about. It was frustrating, as in reflection I probably had time to aim more carefully. But considering the previous day’s episodes, snap-shooting seemed like the best option. All we could do was laugh at my ineptitude and keep hunting, so I settled back, listening to the familiar sound of dogs on the trail.
Only 20 minutes later at nearly the same spot, I picked up a flash of movement darting from left to right. Pure instinct took over, and I swung the smoothbore just as I do dozens of times each fall on crossing bluebills at my favorite duck lake. Just that quickly, our blue duiker hunt was over.
From there we set our sights on Cape bushbuck, heading southwest along the coast towards Jeffrey’s Bay, a town revered in the international surfing community. Bushbuck are one of my favorite antelope to hunt. Elegant and compact, they’re also maddeningly elusive. They’re also exceptionally pugnacious and have a well-documented reputation for being dangerous when wounded – no other antelope is as likely to attempt to separate you from your bowels as is a bushbuck. The smallest of the spiral horns, perhaps they have “little man’s syndrome”, such is their predisposition to aggression at any perceived injustice.
I’d hunted Limpopo bushbuck successfully with Eldre, and was especially excited to pursue the Cape subspecies, mid-sized in the bushbuck family and noted for its dark, almost black, coat. We’d be hunting on a large dairy farm and, like much of the Eastern Cape, it would be completely free-range hunting – fences designed to confine cattle and sheep mean little to game animals. Pulling in before first light, we hiked to the back of a secluded irrigated hay field, sitting inside the treeline for bushbuck that, as it turned out, would never arrive. Two bushbuck ewes feeding three-quarters of a mile away at least provided hope and entertainment while we sat. With late morning the wind picked up, which has a tendency to discourage notoriously nervous rams, so we opted to regroup and headed back to the truck for a snack.
Early afternoon we hiked towards the same field, and had not gone far when we spotted movement. Through our binos we could make out 11 bushbuck grazing at the end of the hay flat, nearly a mile distant. Closer inspection revealed a ram with eight ewes and a separate pair of rams. From our vantage point, both appeared to have pretty good horns. So, from within the cover of the thorn bush we slowly picked our way towards them, pausing occasionally to peek out and confirm they were still feeding. Chacma baboons frequent the area, so we remained well hidden to help avoid the inevitable alarm barks if one saw us.
Eventually we ran out of cover and huddled behind the last available tree, about 275 yards from the grazing rams. One was clearly the elder statesman, with thick black horns, one noticeably broomed, his swollen neck a sure sign the rut was in full swing. Despite a good rest, my initial shot was a couple of inches low; a second anchored him before he could escape into the adjacent stream valley. Had he made it, we’d have been challenged to root him out of the thick stuff. As we walked up to where he lay in the tall grass, his magnificence became apparent. This was a true “Dagga Boy” of a ram, well-muscled with thick horns, and bearing a wound in his side undoubtedly suffered fighting a rival for dominance. Eldre estimated him at nine years or more.
The ecological variability of the Eastern Cape is second to none in South Africa, and while best known for its beautiful coastal region, it also boasts the highest mountains in the country apart from the Drakensberg. It was to those mountains we headed, arriving at a secluded lodge high in the Sneeuberge, an Afrikaans word meaning “Snow Mountains”. This is not an easy place to hunt – the steep terrain makes every stalk a lung-scorcher, and vast properties with few fences ensure truly free-range pursuit.
The diverse habitats of the Eastern Cape support a wide array of species. Glassing from the lodge our first evening revealed no shortage of game on the surrounding hillsides. Without leaving the comfort of a deck chair, I identified kudu, red lechwe, impala, bontebok, waterbuck, steenbok, giraffe, zebra, eland, gemsbok and black wildebeest. And I knew, somewhere high on the open grassy slopes, was the mountain reedbuck I was seeking.
Mountain reedbuck are the smaller, prettier cousins of the common reedbuck. Standing 30 inches or less at the shoulder, a mature ram weighs about 60 lbs., with a woolly reddish-grey coat and forward-curving horns. As the name implies, they live on mountain slopes, descending into the valleys each evening to graze and water, climbing back early in the morning. There they take refuge in the highest, open slopes, intermittently grazing and bedding in sheltered nooks among the rocks.
I quickly discovered that, while calm when undisturbed, mountain reedbuck become extremely skittish at the first sign of anything unusual. With little cover beyond the natural swales of the open slopes to conceal one’s movement, closing the distance on them is difficult. If they do spot you, they quickly flee with their distinctive “rocking horse” gait, rarely stopping until they’ve covered several hundred yards.
Over a few days, Eldre and I made several half-hearted stalks on reedbucks, mostly to familiarize me with the species and to learn to differentiate rams from ewes, and good rams from average. That’s a much more difficult task than it sounds, complicated by the relatively short horns of even the largest rams and their long, slim ears.
At some point we had to get serious, however, so decided to make a concerted effort one afternoon. We slowly walked the grassy tops of the highest peak, pausing regularly to glass the surrounding slopes. It wasn’t long before we spotted a lone male that looked promising, about three-quarters of a mile away, so we ducked behind cover and began to work our way over. We hadn’t gone more than 100 yards, however, when a ram and ewe scrambled out of a rock pile and galloped towards the edge of nearby ravine.
“He’s a good one. Get ready in case he stops,” Eldre whispered excitedly, simultaneously setting up the shooting sticks. Instantly I nestled into the “V”, trying to follow the up and down motion of the escaping ram.
We all need a little luck now and then, and good fortune smiled on me that afternoon. Rather than follow his mate over the crest and out of our lives, that ram, for reasons known only to him, stopped on the precipice for one look back. I didn’t waste the opportunity, and the largest mountain reedbuck a client of Eldre’s has taken was down.
My hunt ended the following day. As it turned out I didn’t get to hunt Vaal rhebok before leaving, but I wasn’t the least bit disappointed. There will be another time, another hunt. For if I learned only one thing while hunting the Eastern Cape from top to bottom, it’s that there is no shortage of reasons to return.
Ken Bailey is an avid hunter and fly-fisherman from Canada who has pursued sporting opportunities across four continents. A wildlife conservation consultant by trade, he has been writing about his outdoor experiences for more than 25 years. He has served as the Hunting Editor for “Outdoor Canada” magazine since 1994.
Note: Hunting the Eastern Cape or the nearby Karoo with Eldre Hattingh and Lucca African Safaris begins in Port Elizabeth, which is serviced by air from major cities in South Africa and elsewhere. To learn more about the many hunting opportunities offered, check out their website at www.luccasafaris.com or call Eldre at (011 27) 82 879 5966.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14099,14100,14102,14104,14105,14106,14107,14101″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
