Africa Safari July 2017
NB Safaris, Limpopo Province
Day 7 “The Unbelievable Wildebeest”
Time to regroup. Need to stay focused after the final success of the six-day Cape Buffalo hunt. I must continue to hunt.
We decide to go after a group of elusive Red Hartebeest bulls. We haven’t seen them this week, but we know they are out there, staying hidden in the same high bushveld that we found the beautiful Sable Antelope. We’ve seen plenty of Red Hartebeest cows in the low plains. We think the bulls come down at night when fancy suits for a romantic rendezvous, then disappear into the hills again before first light.
While searching for the Hartebeest, we stumble across a herd of Blue Wildebeest. There is a beautiful and hairy Golden Wildebeest bull among the herd, but he is still a bit young. The lead bull, the herd bull, is very nice – big bodied with large, hard bosses and respectable horns, even if a bit of a high curl. I decide to shoot.
He is presenting a perfect broadside to my .338 at 110 yards. As I take aim, he turns to face me. My crosshairs center on the front of his chest, just at the shoulder line. My position fully supported, and I decide to take the shot. He’s hit hard, stumbles, and runs in to the nearby trees. “Congratulations,” says Andre. If all my clients could shoot like you, my job would be a lot easier. Uh-oh. He may have spoken too soon. We give the big Blue Wildebeest bull about 10 minutes, then go out to collect him.
We follow a massive blood trail, complete with scattered lung tissue. Tracks show that he’s stepping hard on his front left leg, stumbling and dragging the hoof. He won’t go far.
Eventually, the blood trickles to a stream, then a trickle, then a few drops, and then stops altogether. Four hours later, we are still tracking the incredible beast with the stamina of Atlas. By the time the light runs out at the end of the day, we have tracked over 8 miles, and lost the trail in the grasslands, where crisscrossing tracks of plains game – antelope, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, and countless others – makes the trail impossible to follow further. This Blue Wildebeest bull, “the Poor Man’s Buffalo”, is giving us a run for the money. “Unbelievable!”
The tracker was holding the camera, I understand !
