The hippos are going bonkers outside our chalet each night. The big bulls emerge from the river and fight it out on the river flats below. Admittedly it is haunting. The missing front wall does not calm my wife’s concerns as she elbows me awake each hour to check on our imminent demise. Finally, after this goes on for a few nights, I assure her we are safe from the hippos but it is the leopards that are more concerning. One time I wish I could have kept my sarcastic trap shut. A male lion begins his solemn drumming each night at 9 pm on the cue. Again, he begins to wale his sorrows at 4 am. We find very fresh lion tracks several days during our forays into the river.
The days are rapidly dwindling. I always make a special note at the exact time any safari is halfway over. Lots to go, lots have gone. The third animal I’m really interested in is the spotted hyena. I have seen brown striped hyena in South Africa before. Don’t get me started on USFW regulations. They raked havoc on my honey badger baits back then. The spotted hyena has always represented Africa to me. Maybe it’s the National Geographic shows I watched as a kid, but whatever the reason hyena equates to Africa for me. I saw a spotted one leaving the Marakelle National Park once, but it was nothing more than a mere running dust cloud. Lots of hyena was the report on the Omay before I booked. We have heard them every night since our arrival. We see tracks all over the roads, even right up to the skinning shed where they tipped over the gut bucket being saved for an upcoming lion hunt (spoiler alert, the lion hunt was successful). York instructs the camp crew to save the buffalo ribs and hang them out for bait. The process is slow it seems. It’s not until Day 6 that the bait gets hung. We only hunt for 9. I’m semi-concerned but don’t guide the guide as they say. Day 7 finds us checking the bait site. No bait. The hyena have managed to tear it free and have absconded with the big daddy rib combo meal. No problem York exclaims. We’ll use the e-caller. Now we are on to something!
Before dinner I reduce my usual two pre-dinner cocktails to one. I abstain from the evening red wine. Nothing to cloud my abilities, I think. Maybe I overthink. The time has come, and the crew is ready at the truck when I arrive in the evening darkness. We don’t venture too far. We take the first road into the dry river basin. Same place we killed the bushbuck a day or so earlier. We back the truck against a cliff face with the sand flat in front. A speaker is produced and York ques a few hyena-ish sounds from his phone. He surveys the valley with his FLIR. The sequence of calls continues, two minutes, five minutes. Nothing. Eight minutes, ten minutes and I’m losing faith in this set up. Maybe we should move to another area. Heck York isn’t even looking through the FLIR anymore. A ghastly heckle of some sort comes from immediately above us over the cliff. The FLIR confirms a hyena is within 5 yards and 15 feet ABOVE us. I’m sure Zvito and crew dove from the back seat to the truck bed at this point. He continues to circle and issue his territorial call toward what he believes to be a group of intruders. York whispers, “He’s in front. You won’t have much time once I switch on the torch. Are you ready?” Yep. I find him quickly but as advertised he is moving left to right and picking up steam. Not my best follow through side. My skeet shooting will attest to that. I make the shot and he appears hit. A semi-technical gun malfunction for 20 seconds and he is gone in the darkness. Everything is eerily quiet again. The mood is TENSE I’d say. Night hunting tends to heighten the senses.
We slowly drive to the last spot in the reeds where he was visible. I think everyone is hopeful he’ll be laying right there. He is not. Due to the volume of very large night predators/animals in the area: lions, leopards, hyena, elephants, hippo Oh My, the decision is made that only a smaller group will pick up the trail. I remain at the truck with all the normal doubts creeping in. It is dark, I mean unusually dark tonight. I can see the group has ceased zig zagging and is now moving in the same direction as they disappear from my rear-view mirror. Tick tock, tick tock. My mind is racing when a single shot rings out. Well at least I know they have caught up with it. Finally, I see a single light approaching from the rear. It’s Sunny Boy and he is all smiles! Alright- all is good in the hunting world again this night. The first shot was good. They followed a blood trial until coming upon him trying to scramble up a river island bank. York just shorten the remaining tracking job and I was happy for that. Finally, my African iconic animal.
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Few animals scream Africa more to me than the hyena.
I still need to go through and put them all together
