African Hunting Gazette – July 2019

http://www.africanhuntinggazette.com 81

AfterhuntingvariousregionsofAfrica,Ugandawasnextonourlist.Thissmallcountry,

located between the Congo Republic, Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania, is rich in habitat

andpossesses a healthypopulationof wildgame.These characteristics,combined with a

currently stable social situation, create an alluring hunting experience.

I

t is nota typicalhuntingdestination,
since itdoes notholda widevariety
of game species in comparison with
otherregionsofAfrica.Itdoes,however,
host exotic animals likethe EastAfrican
sitatunga, Nile bushbuck, Nile buffalo,
and Ugandan kob. Our main objective
for thishuntwasto takea sitatunga,an
antelopethatlivesa solitarylifeinthick,
swampypapyrus forests.Second,wasthe
bushbuck.With many similaritiesto the
roedeer I hunt athome, I felta special
attractiontothisanimal.
The country has been involved in
conflictswiththeLord’sResistanceArmy
in the northern part of the country up
until the past decade. This rebel group,
led by Joseph Kony, one of the most
cruel in history, has been blamed for
numerous atrocities,includingtheuseof
thousands ofchildsoldiers.Theviolence
has decreased recently, and we felt safe
and comfortable during the entire trip.
Despite its dark past, happiness is ever
presentamongUganda’speople.
We flew to Entebbe and drove north
for lessthana day totheMayanjaRiver
to reach our camp for the next ten days.

Uganda: 2014

Being by the papyrus swamps, we had

direct access to the river channels to

huntforsitatungaearlymorningandlate

afternoon, which is thetime of the day

theyaremoreactive.Therestoftheday

wespenthuntingthedrylandinsearchof

plainsgame.

Sothe adventure began100% focused

with a sitatunga hunt. These antelope

liveintall,densepapyrusforestsinriver

basins,oneofthehardestterrainsyou can

hunt,especiallywiththebow.Referredto

as“ghosts”,theseanimalscanappearand

disappearina magicalway.Theterrainis

imposibletoglassfromwaterlevel,which

forced us to hunt them from elevated

standscalledserebeti.Thesestandsgaveus

a solidviewofthelandand allowed us to

spot game at a distance.

The main mode of transportation for

thisadventure was a handmade,wooden

canoecalleda mokoro.Therewasnogasor

electricmotormountedonthesenarrow,

shallow boats, so we simply paddled to

ourhuntingspoteveryday.Thismethod

was the most advantageous, as it was

lessinvasiveanddecreasedthechance of

spookinggame.Overall,it gavethehunta

primevalfeeling.

After several days with not much

movement and just a few sightings, we

awoketorain.Thiswasgood,asthebulls

wouldbemuchmoreactiveinthisweather.

As the sun began to rise, we arrived at

our serebeti, and spotted a sitatunga at

a distance. Itwasa gorgeousbull, better

than what I had ever hopedto see. My

heart immediately began to pound. The

bullslowlyfed 200 yardsawayanddidn’t

lookasif weregoingtomoveanycloser,so

I decidedtoattempta stalk.

It was my first time stalking in that

dense, floatingpapyrus,andafter a slow

and tense walk over the soakedground,

I wasabletoget 55 yardsawayfromthe

bull.I was luckytofinda clearshooting

line, and managed to release an arrow. I

The terrain is

imposible to glass

from water level,

A happy hippo enjoying life.