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fair hunting and ethical business practices within the hunting industry.
From a hunting perspective, the preservation of biodiversity on the
African continent is the first and foremost priority. The emphasis
is however also on the sustainable utilisation of wildlife.
Selous mosaic - Mark Radloff
On the 15 October last year, Pat Beaird and his father, Clark, arrived at Madaba Camp in pursuit of a leopard, buffalo and plains game.
Shortly after sighting his rifle, we went for a "settling-in" drive and happened upon a lone buffalo bull. Storm clouds were rapidly building and we had to move briskly into position to get a shot. In effect this became a "practice run" as ammo needed to be found, rifles loaded and shooting sticks figured. By the time we reached the point where the buffalo was standing, the rain had saturated our clothing and washed out the dagga boys' tracks, making it an exercise in futility to continue the stalk.
A large leopard had fed on bait in the Nyanga Forest area, and a pop-up blind was built in which we decided to sit in on the bait the following morning. After two hours with no sign of the cat, we pulled out leaving the bait and camera set up.
The following morning we returned to find the leopard had not eaten but we still felt confident of its return. Bait hunting was on the day's programme and to this end we were happy to sight a small herd of Lichtenstein's hartebeest.
A hartebeest bull, with unusually high pointing tips stood out from the herd, making it an attractive animal with a good measurement/age ratio. After a short gentleman's stalk (no crawling), Pat was up and ready on the sticks, culminating in a brilliant one-shot kill on his first African animal at approximately 60 yards. It measured an impressive 17" per side.
Pat's next animal was from the ranks of the striking Nyasa wildebeest found in the Selous Game Reserve. This was a stalk of variation, not in style, but in animal selection. We had seen a lone wildebeest bull with a herd of zebra and impala and set off after it. Zebra have extremely sharp vision and once spooked they make for "them, thar far hills!" The wind favoured us, however, and we crawled into position, with only an occasional snort from a weary impala. I was certain that the zebra were going to grow edgy and stampede the whole valley…
By the time we got down to potential shooting position, the wildebeest had receded into the thick Miombo forest. Zebra it was to be then! Just as we made ready to make good our stalk on the zebra, the lone wildebeest strolled into view. An opportunity for such a fine animal was not to be missed. Pat steadied himself on seated shooting sticks and let the "beest" have it with his .375 soft. Another perfect shot at 150 yards and a fantastic 26" Nyasa wildebeest was taken.
Leopards were still feeding on three of our four baits, but no big cats were showing up. Some good rains had fallen and the impact of this was clearly visible; green grass and ample water made for a lush paradise for the game. Impala, hartebeest and warthog were dropping their young and this was going to make leopard hunting difficult.
As the baits started to go bad in the heat and humidity, we moved some to a tree to hang as bait with which to taunt hyena, hanging it just high enough to allow for a tempting meal just out of full reach. This drove the hyena into a frenzy.
Just as first light broke, we crept along the soft earth to a position from which to shoot at a hyena darting around under the bait, taking leaps at the decaying meat. It was clearly frustrated and distracted which allowed for us to move into a closer position than might otherwise have occurred. Pat's first shot, made at the same time as the frenzied animal took another leap to bite at the maggoty meat, hit it too far back. Despite this, the hyena's hunger and obsession to feed got the best of it and Pat was able to put in a killing shot.
Days in the Selous heat tend to blend, mix and mash into another, and on one such day we found a lone buffalo bull standing some 80 yards from the road in the Miombo forest line. In what seemed like an eternity, we sat motionless, looking at the black mass and it stared back at us. The wind was in our favour and so the odds, for a change, were on our side. When the car engine scared it off we bailed off like reaction troopers, quick in pursuit. With our eagle eyed trackers on the spoor, we made slow progress for a good three quarter mile. "Psst, Psst!" hissed Pat, "Mark, what's that?" Not 120 yards in front of us stood the bull, trying desperately to see and locate his threat. As our eight feet crept over the cornflake leaves we felt that familiar tension building. Not keen to risk giving the buffalo wind of even our thoughts we edged forward hunched over like weathered tramps towards the buffalo, all the while looking at him out of the corner of our eyes.
The bull went to ground, barely visible, in a low patch of green shrub not 45 yards away. I moved a few yards left – "no shot" – and a few yards right – "no shot" – and glanced back at Pat who was looking over a turned-down scope. He shook his head indicating that he did not have a clear shot either. The wind had been kind to us but was close to blowing onto Nyati. Three impala ewes came dancing out from the thicket where the bull lay impassive as he stared them down. No doubt the impala had settled his anxiety as they crunched past him.
Pat was geared up to shoot the moment Nyati stood up. I was equally prepared as we had discussed a back-up shot should it be required. As we stood next to each other I pushed a Miombo leaf into my ear to limit the muzzle noise. The agility of these beasts will never cease to amaze me. Despite their great size and even in old age they seem to stand up with such ease. I wonder if it's their diet? Waiting for the killing time, a myriad of such thoughts can fill one's mind.
In the midday heat we encountered a herd of three zebra moving lazily along an open pan. As their striped images danced in the heat, we did a careful stalk over baked, charred earth which brought us to a comfortable shooting range of 90 yards. The animals had taken to the shade of a tree and looked relaxed. The stallion was standing sentry, allowing for an easy shot. Pat took it squarely and it made 30 yards before expiring. Clark was witness to much of the action and was reliving his hunt in Zimbabwe some 25 years ago – no doubt his son Pat was making him proud!
The Nyanga Forest leopard had moved off and we dropped the bait. On returning to camp, we spotted the warthog we had seen only days before. He looked good with long curled tusks. Generally, warthog in the Selous tend to be around 9" and this one looked to be a sound 11". Pat had the hang of the shooting sticks by now, and the .375 bullet took it squarely in the heart. Despite this it still ran a good 100 yards into the forest thicket before dropping.
Nyanga Forest has some beautiful Roosevelt sable and we had seen these animals on numerous occasions, but had not had any luck with getting close enough for a shot. If it wasn't the wind then the animal's horns were too short, but we kept trying…
Buffalo kept us busy in between other animals and Pat was now getting even more exercise. We went for an 8 mile walk after three educated buffalo on the day that Pat took his kudu! These buffalo appeared to have figured out that they needed to keep going downwind so that they could both see ahead and hear and smell from behind. A cunning plan indeed! We were suckered three times, as they would go downwind and then turn off their path's direction, only to stand and watch us fumbling along in the sticky heat, to dash off downwind again. Buggers!
Later in the day we chanced upon a kudu some 250 plus yards away, silhouetted against the afternoon sky as we were making our way north to the Rufiji camp. He looked magnificent and majestic against storm clouds brewing in the background. Distant thunder rolled through the valley towards us as the darker clouds illuminated with lighting. It was a hearty signal of the advent of the Short Rains. The staff smiled at this, as we could feel the relief of rain rolling in.
A large flat rock served as a shooting bench and with careful aim, Pat squeezed off a shot. To our amazement, the bull continued to stand and watch us bobbing behind the rock. Pat reloaded and squeezed another round off. Again the bull stood! "Am I too low?" enquired Pat. I had seen dust, but not any distinct hit mark, so I was not able to clarify. "Hold high," was my eventual response. With that Pat let go with another round and this time it hit home and the bull took off.
The bull was down and Pat, again happy and excited, showed his elation to all. This was what he had yearned for and had been rewarded with through perseverance and hard work – a fine old bull measuring 47". It was a long haul back to the car and road for the staff, while Pat and I sat and enjoyed the scenery and experiences we had shared.
By the time Clark and the team arrived back to assist with picture taking and caping, the clouds had thickened and thunder clapped overhead. On the way back to camp we saw two big lion, in our headlights, which Jack and Amy were trying to hunt… a fine day indeed.
Leopards seemed to be giving the three hunting teams a serious go for their money. We had one walk right up to the tree, look at the bait and decide that carrion was not on his menu of choice – lovely young juicy game was far better… While inspecting the tracks an eland cow walked out some 25 yards from us. As carefully as we could, we moved around over a hill, expecting to find the rest of the herd.
Yep, our luck was in. The 30 plus giants were feeding roughly 80 yards in front of us. Shooting sticks came up and the pressure was tangible. Pat was excited and asked, "That one?" "Hold tight, Pat. That's a cow…" Moments later the herd bull started to feed into the gap. I told Pat to take a chance at the shot as it had no intention of stopping its slow meander.
At rifle report the bull took off, but was clearly uninjured. The herd milled about in uncertainty and presented us with a chance to get down into a dry river wash without them detecting us. We hastily crept, bent over, until right in front of us stood the bull, not 70 yards away. Pat performed his magic and the bull only moved another 40 yards before collapse. It was a beauty at 34"!
Pat and I had discussed the shooting of an impala. They are fairly common in the area and we thought it best as emergency back-up bait should a leopard hit one of our baits. The leopard had stopped playing with us, so it was time to take an impala. Again, Pat did not let us down when a very nice 20" impala decided to bless us with his testosterone-filled presence. Due to the early rains the impala had started to rut and the watered areas were abundant with grunting, snorting rams. He was no exception and we executed a perfect gentleman's stalk before taking him with a good, clean shot. Another animal in the salt!
As we started to wind down the 14-day safari, bird shooting took hold of the team and Pat collected a few African species to be mounted. I guess the challenge for Pat is now more "where to put them" than "where to shoot them". The numerous guinea-fowl, doves, spurfowl and francolin taken completed what had been a truly eventful, successful and enjoyable African hunt.
On our last afternoon we tried again for a sable, but without joy and Pat ended his hunt with an old duiker who had offered us a clear shot in the forest.
It is a true pleasure to hunt with people of Pat and Clark Beaird's calibre. I can commend Pat's shooting ability and fully appreciated the easy going nature, intellect, humour and life interests of both these men. Thank you for a superlative hunt!
