African Hunting Gazette – July 2019

africanhuntinggazette.com 7

Editorial

ReadingTerryWeiland’sbackpagegaveme the nudge I needed - I am actually ashamed that it’s taken

me so long to get down to writing this.

T

hirty-five yearsago, a family friend
in Bulawayo, now a retired hunter
andco-owner ofSouthern Comfort
Lodge,mentioned thathistrackerHlayisi –
(pronouncedShlice,exceptclientscalledhim
Slice),was sotalentedthathe couldtracka
butterfly! Having collected butterflies as a
youngster,I willneverforgetthatcomment.
Fast forwardto 2012 when I was at an
AfricanProfessionalHunters(APHA)dinner

inReno,wheretheDangerousGameAward

wasgiventoJohnSharp.WhenJohnwalked
uptothestage,heinterruptedtheapplauseto

saythatthetrophywasnotforhim,butfor
hisfaithful andloyaltrackerwhohewould

liketorecognizeandhonor,andheaskedhim

tojoinhimonstage.AsIsaacNcubewalked
up, completely bewildered, a thundering

ovation erupted. There couldn’t have been

a dryeyeinthehouse.Johnhadflownhim
in from Zimbabwe, and what a gestureof

recognition. What aneye-opener for Isaac.

AsJohnsaid,hunterstakethegloryandyet
whenthechipsaredown,where would they

bewithoutthetracker?

Fastforwardagaintojustlastmonth,and
evenI cananswerthatquestion!Hackinglike

a blind woodsman, I was an observer ona

buffalosafariwithBobbyHansen(andI hope
hegetstowriteupthefullsafari,becausethat

wassomethingtobehold)butthisparticular
segment was tracking a wounded buffalo.

George, Bobby’s tracker for 20-plus years,

was following whatI couldonly describeas
ridiculous hints ofbloodspoor. I willshow

you the pic above and then will circle the

blood inanotherpicture.Itwas likeoneof
those frustratingFacebookimagesthataskif

youcanidentifysomespecificobjectina mass

ofconfusion,butfarworse.Addtothatbeing
hotandhavingthorns in your legs and looking

outfordanger.

The next day they went back to resume
the search.I decided notto goas I felt it

wasa personalexperienceforthehunteron

his own with his PH. Over five hours later,

wegotthecalltothecamp.Ontopofsome

hill,inthickundergrowth,rockseverywhere,

thismonsterhadgivenhisfinalcharge.And

Bob,a PHofseveraldecades,couldn’texplain

howGeorge,histracker,foundthebuffalo–

whichis thecommonthemewhenPHstry

toexplaintheirtrackers’abilities.Meanwhile,

theclientwasdisgruntledbecauseBobhadto

shoottofinishthehuntasthe1300-pound

steam train charged and fell just 10 yards

fromthem.(Theclientcouldnotunderstand

thatwithoutBobby’sintervention,hewould

probablyhavebeenrunover – but that is the

subjectofanotherday!)

Intimeslikethis,trackersaretohunters

what seeing-eye dogs are to the visually

impaired.Maybenotexactly– butyouget

theidea.I digressagain,butthatexpression

• “seeing-eyedog”- is probablyoneofthe
  greatest “Americanisms”I haveeverheard.
  The rest of the world simply calls them
  “guidedogs”.
  Anyway,it is nevertoolate(thoughit has
  takenmedecades),sohereis a challengefor
  bothhuntersreadingthis,andforindustry
  professionals who rely on these trackers
  to make world-class safaris: Let’shear the
  storiesand let’s honor these wizards of the
  wild.
  Ifyouhaveanexperienceorstoryabout
  a tracker,jotitdown asyourecallit,and
  send it to me. Include a picture as well if

youhaveone.Thisis somethingI reallyfeel

passionate about, and wewill publishthe

anecdotestorecognize these bush craftsmen

• ourtrackers.

RichardLendrum

[email protected]

“He can track a butterfly...”

Lifemember:If youlovethismagazineand

believeinwhatwedo– takea minuteto see

whattheLifeMembership offers on

page 14 &82.

Shipping: As 2019 isin fullswing and

hopefullyyouareheadingto theAfricanshores

or have just been – remember the grudge

purchase of shipping your trophies. AHG

Shippingis hereto savemore,so you can hunt

more– pleasevisitpage6.

Afton: Whether you need help with gun

permits, accommodation, a shuttle while

waitingforyourPH – popintotheAfton

Safari Lodge to say hello. Have a coffee,

shower,relax– justfeelat homeandlet’shelp

takethehasslesfromyourtravelsintoandout

of Joburg – please visit Inside Back Cover.

Farleft.Shouldn't

be toodifficulttosee

thisblood,smack in

themiddle.

Left.Thisgetsa bit

trickierandtheclue

is atthebottom of

the page.