I probably put more thought into this than most, but every time I kill an animal I always wonder what that animal has experienced during his (or her) life. For the most part, I knew of this individual animals existence for only a few seconds, yet it has had a lifetime of escaping predators, facing the elements, fighting for territory/breeding rights, and general all-out survival.

This got me thinking about elephants. Unlike most game animals with lifespans around a decade, elephants live 30, 40, 50+ years. I'd like to shoot an elephant one day, so let's say I shoot one in 10 years and he's a 50 year old bull. That means, as of today, he's spent 40 years evading poachers, predators, corrupt governments, wars, changes in country's boundaries, as well as doing everything else an elephant does AND he's still got ten more years to go before we meet up. It's just very humbling to me to think about as I sit here far removed from the hardships an elephant, much less any animal experiences over the course of their life.

Do any of you guys, especially those who have taken elephant, ever wonder what your trophy has experienced during its life?

its always a humbling and sad moment - for elephant especially i guess its their age and majestic nature ?

Well, there is always the thought that he will survive and you will not! My thought is that a quick relatively painless death beats a prolonged painful one. If you do your part right, the elephant will not suffer--- beats a snare or poacher anyday I think.

Interesting thought..

I have had the same thought's regarding of all things.. Big old tree's.. This came about when I was a teenager, one of my summer jobs was cutting up a huge old oak tree felled by a storm.. Owner stopped by while I was wolfing down lunch and about a gallon of water. While shooting the breeze I mentioned I was curious about how old the tree was. The aborist(sp?)told the owner the tree was 450 or so years old.. I was then and still am amazed by such things..

If it's a grand old bull with heavy ivory, chances are he has spent most of his life in a national park having his photo taken.

Outside the Parks, the younger bulls have been hanging with their moms until they get pushed out and then they hang with the other young bulls and sometimes with an older bull.

They push over trees and eat stuff most days.

Some get taken down by poachers but generally speaking, an elephant with minor ivory has nothing to fear. The scariest thing about being an elephant (other than an old bull who ventures out of a park) is that culling will be resumed. Culling entails shooting the entire group. Not many elephants experience that and survive to tell the tale.

The odd young bull elephant that gets taken for meat must be the most surprised elephant in the bush. About one tenth of one percent of the elephants in Africa get for meat. Elephant meat is frankly not very good eating. An Eland has a lot more to worry about in this regard than an elephant. Young bulls are much more likely to get shot in PAC situations, where they know full well they are treading on thin ice. That's why they do it at night.

Again, to put the numbers in context:

Number of elephant in Zim/NE Botswana 100,000
No of Cites permits: 500 Zim, ? Botswana
No of PAC/mgmt elephants taken 500 Zim Botswana maybe 30
No. of elephants born each year 5,000
No of elephants that die naturally ? probably about 1000, mostly older cows.
Population increase: 2500

These are all rough numbers, perhaps an elephant biologist can correct them.

Bottom line, no need for guilt over a bull elephant. Feel bad about PG in Zim, especially Sable, if you want to feel bad.

Sevens,

You are a romantic my friend. Which is a good thing. However the Impala that you will also take has not yet been born and I very much doubt that you are now thinking about it's mother.

As Russ commented elephant push down trees and eat them.

Russ,

Why do elephants always push down trees across and not to the side of our hunting roads. In your expert opinion do you think they may have a sense of humor?

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame

As Russ commented elephant push down trees and eat them.

Russ,

Why do elephants always push down trees across and not to the side of our hunting roads. In your expert opinion do you think they may have a sense of humour?

quote:

Russ,

Why do elephants always push down trees across and not to the side of our hunting roads. In your expert opinion do you think they may have a sense of humor?

I know very little about elephants but have noticed and wondered the same thing. I had a gentleman in zim offer a very interesting theory (he did present it as a theory). During a lifetime spent in the bush he referred to ele's as something along the lines of "gardeners"? He stated that he had noticed the same not just along roads but on larger game trails as well. He commented on more attention (more trees, more frequently) pushed over roads and trails that were beginning to erode. He wondered if there was not some instinct in an elephant to detour traffickers off of routes where the soil was beginning to disapear and consequently the vegetation. Don't know if it holds any water, but certainly an interesting theory.

Elephants are a very complicated species in every way...... and that to some extent is also reflected in why the bulls push trees over. Sometimes it's for the leaves, sometimes, the bark on the roots and sometimes (allegedly) to impress the girls but I don't think anyone has actually asked the elephants why they do it.

FWIW, research by the late Dr Kay Hiscocks proved individual tree species were targeted at different times of year. Unfortunately, Kay got stamped on before she finished the research and as far as I know, no-one followed up on it.

Have they got a sense of humour? - Sometimes I think they do. There's a herd in KZN that were translocated from the KNP some years ago (I think it was the first translocation from the KNP) and the big bull there has pulled several stunts on me that I'd swear were deliberate......... including pushing trees over as we sat in the truck and watched. After a couple of hours, he wandered off and it was only then that I realised he'd boxed us in completely. - I had to use the radio to get someone with a chainsaw to come and cut us out.

These might be of interest as might the reading list at the bottom of the last link:

http://www.shakariconnection.c...lephant-hunting.html

http://www.shakariconnection.c...lephants-in-knp.html

http://www.shakariconnection.c...hant-management.html

I should say the last article is slightly out of date and that a few vets are now successfully performing vasectomies on young bulls but as far as I know, only in areas where the animals in question can be carefully monitored after release.

I agree with Ivan's comment that it is a "sad and humbling moment." It was certainly how I felt when I shot my first elephant this past June. It is a feeling I have always had on any game animal I have taken. If I ever lose that feeling then I quit hunting.

quote:

Bottom line, no need for guilt over a bull elephant. Feel bad about PG in Zim, especially Sable, if you want to feel bad.

I'm not sure feeling guilty or bad would be the way to describe my feeling (not sure I'd hunt if I felt guilty for what I did). It's really more of a curiosity and a respect. We, as people, have lots of modern conveniences; running water, easy access to food, central heating, warm beds, etc. Animals really don't have that (except maybe your dog). Fairgame mentioned the impala. Unlike us, when the impala is thirsty, it has to make its way to a water hole or river. Then it has to avoid being eaten by the crocs waiting in the water and/or the lion/leopard sitting over in the bushes and the snare laid by a poacher on the trail into the water. When I shoot the impala though, I am blissfully unaware of what has happened to him his whole life. All I know is there is a trophy impala, let's shoot it. I don't feel bad that the impala doesn't have running water or a roof over its head, but an admiration that "life" is about survival to the impala instead of "keeping up with the Joneses."

In the case of the elephant, whose lifespan is far longer than any impala, it has several decades of life that I can't help but be curious about. It just makes me wonder, is that big bull elephant I'll shoot sitting relatively care free in some park while tourist filled jeeps snap photos of him right now or, perhaps, he was an askari bull with one of the bulls Ivan's client shot this year. For all I know, this bull could have had encounters with Ivan Carter, Craig Boddington, Saeed (and Walter), Buzz Charlton, Robert Mugabe, Mark Sullivan, and several dozen poachers in his life before we ever meet up and I will never know. Like the impala, all I will know is there is a trophy elephant, let's shoot him.

Yeah, I guess you could call me a romantic.

I concur with the sadness.IMHO if you arent affected at least a little you dont deserve the trophy. Ruark said something about preserving the memories and giving the anumal a kind of imortality. I can go along with that, .we all die so its not feeling sorry for something-its more understand some of the essences of the animals we hunt. I am Catholic-not animist-but we take a little bit of every animal we kill on with us in life and that can be a wonderful thing.

SSR

If the lifespan of an Elephant bothers you when you shoot one then I guess you would feel badly about a Croc you shoot as well eh?

Interesting topic. My wife is pretty darn supportive, especially after our trip in September, about returning with me for more hunts. She has no problem with the mention of cats being on the next menu. She did surprise me with the "But no Elephants" statement last week. I didn't get it. I asked her what the difference is and I think, although I'm not sure she is even certain, it's the "family structure" they seem to have. Of course this doesn't make sense either as I pointed out to her the Hyena I shot probably had a tighter clan structure.

The other part that is a puzzle is she will watch TAA and everytime there's a good brain shot she remarks on quickly the Ele went down. it doesn't bother her in the least to watch this on TV.

Anyone else run into this with their partners?

quote:

Originally posted by Cross L:
I concur with the sadness.IMHO if you arent affected at least a little you dont deserve the trophy. Ruark said something about preserving the memories and giving the anumal a kind of imortality. I can go along with that, .we all die so its not feeling sorry for something-its more understand some of the essences of the animals we hunt. I am Catholic-not animist-but we take a little bit of every animal we kill on with us in life and that can be a wonderful thing.

SSR

As a PH I turned off the sadness switch a long time ago.

It makes me hunt better and me a better hunter.

Where have I heard that before?

Frostbit--

My wife does not hunt and has repeatedly turned down my offers to take her with on my next trip to Africa or wherever. Not sure why. It isn't because she's a real "girly girl" in need of hotel-quality bathroom and meals. We have done a lot of tent camping over the last 25 years, which she enjoys, so I know that African-styly "roughing it" is not the barrier.

In any event, she has no problem with me spending thousands that might otherwise go to the higher education of our children, lets me hang the taxidermy on the living room walls, take the kids out of school to go along on hunting trips, etc. She has said I can shoot anything that our income allows-- except elephant. No elephant. OK, I can live with that, I guess (though I would really love to hunt elephant!) But why? Like your wife, she seems to have difficulty articulating the reason. The best she has come up with is that they are "too smart." Which I can understand. They are much more intelligent than nearly any other species on the planet, from what I've read, and killing something that much closer in intelligence to us than, say, a warthog, does seem a little problematic at some level.

quote:

Originally posted by sdirks:
Frostbit--

The best she has come up with is that they are "too smart." Which I can understand. They are much more intelligent than nearly any other species on the planet, from what I've read, and killing something that much closer in intelligence to us than, say, a warthog, does seem a little problematic at some level.

It is called anthropomorphism; giving human qualities to animals, spirits or inanimate objects. Its probably caused by too much Dumbo, TV commercials, circus elephants, and riding them at the safari park.

That being said, I was taught by my father to honour the spirit of that which gave it life to us. I lift a silent prayer for everything I kill, be it for food, for sport, or for survival.

You have it easy though. My darling bride is a vegetarian and roots for the bulls when I have taken her to the Plaza de Toros. She did not have to come but chose to. I asked her after the bullfights were over why she watched so intently if she did not really enjoy it.

"For the bull," she replied, " I looked him straight in the eye so if he saw me, he would know that at least one soul stood with him and honoured his passing."

I can respect that.

My wife would never try to dictate to me what I can and cannot shoot.

Such a situation would be intolerable and none of her business anyway.

Similarly, I don't try to rule her life either.

Well something is definitely wrong with me; I have never felt sad after taking a big game animal. I always give thanks for the gift of the hunt and the critter, and have been moved deeply - even overjoyed, but never saddened. I've never killed an ele, but that should change next June.

It may be different for ele since they are long-lived animals and I may be sad at taking the life of something that's been around nearly as long as me - we'll see.

quote:

Originally posted by John Frederick:
My wife would never try to dictate to me what I can and cannot shoot.

Such a situation would be intolerable and none of her business anyway.

Similarly, I don't try to rule her life either.

Congratulations and I’m sure you both are very happy. My 36th anniversary married to the same and only woman was 5 days ago. I think I can deal with a wish or two.

BTW, if I want to kill an Elephant it will die. She will agree to stay at home. That’s how our partnership works.

quote:

Originally posted by Antlers:
Well something is definitely wrong with me; I have never felt sad after taking a big game animal. I always give thanks for the gift of the hunt and the critter, and have been moved deeply - even overjoyed, but never saddened. I've never killed an ele, but that should change next June.

It may be different for ele since they are long-lived animals and I may be sad at taking the life of something that's been around nearly as long as me - we'll see.

Have you shot a Croc?

No. My first trip to Africa will be in June.

I have respect, and some feeling for all the animals I hunt. When I hunted my elephant in 2008 we found a huge baobab tree that had been killed by elephants. Thet told me it was probably 2,000 years old. I thought about what that tree had witnwssed in all that time.

As far as the elephant goes, They are so majestic, and in hy mind the ultimate hunt. I try to concider how much the local comunity will benifit from the meat, the money from the hunt, and the anti poaching. He will also have a place in my home, and my memory for the rest of my days. Hopefully longer as I relate the hunt to my grandchildren.

I feel the sadness, too. It's a somber thing to take the life of any big game animal.

And there's something about an elephant that magnifies that feeling, at least in me.

Still, they are game, and I'm a hunter.

I make no apologies.

I'VE NEVER FELT SORRY FOR ANY ANIMAL I'VE KILLED!!!

And I've killed my share plus - some of you aren't working hard enough so I've picked-up your slack. New member sfhr defined cogently the problem of what I have always referred to as the Bambi Syndrome, so I won't belabor that issue other than to say it is a real problem in American society which even some hunters fall prey to.

I fall on the side of sfhr, fairgame and others. I respect and enjoy the beauty of all animals - exception granted for snakes, who should all be killed out of hand, by any means available - but I don't feel sorry nor humbled after I've killed 'em. (ATTENTION: analogy warning) I also don't have regrets about what I've done in the service of my country. In fact, after more than 40 years I'm down to only a couple of nightmares of the Nam per year and they have nothing to do with killing others.

So, when I return to Africa next year and kill another Ele, my feelings will be of accomplishment and pride in my ability to slay such a magnificent beast.

Semper Fi - We were winning when I left.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
I feel the sadness, too. It's a somber thing to take the life of any big game animal.

And there's something about an elephant that magnifies that feeling, at least in me.

Still, they are game, and I'm a hunter.

I make no apologies.

No apologies taken.

Humble is a good descriptive word as so is somber. There are many emotions evoked by hunting and as individuals we express them in our own way.

Privilege is not an emotion but more related to what I feel.

Not sure about respect but the Europeans would argue differently.

Sadness for me is reserved for the wounding or unnecessary suffering of an animal.

Happiness is a cold beer.

Yes, Andrew, there is humility, and respect. Also appreciation, privilege and thanks. And paradoxically, perhaps, happiness.

I have found that it's complicated, what we do.

But never will I offer an apology. It's just not part of the equation.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame: Sadness for me is reserved for the wounding or unnecessary suffering of an animal.

This has been my experience as well. However, FTR, I meant no disrespect for any who feel sadness at killing game. I only noted that I don't because it has seemed so foriegn a concept to me for so long and that I see it espoused so often. I could certainly imagine that after I take an ele I may experience emotions that I never have before. It's happened before - the first time I was very close to a very large brown bear I dealt with feelings that I never had previously.

Antlers,

I think one of the attractions of hunting and probably more so dangerous game is that it does evoke emotions that are absent from everyday life.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Sadness for me is reserved for the wounding or unnecessary suffering of an animal.

Happiness is a cold beer.

The above sentence is my take on this subject, as well! The only time I feel sad is when I make a bad shot that allows the animal suffer while I have to chase him down to finish what I started! Happiness is a hot shower, and hot cup of strong black coffee, around the campfire after a successful day of hunting with a clean STOPPING SHOT!

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Sadness for me is reserved for the wounding or unnecessary suffering of an animal.

Happiness is a cold beer.

The above sentence is my take on this subject, as well! The only time I feel sad is when I make a bad shot that allows the animal suffer while I have to chase him down to finish what I started! Happiness is a hot shower, and hot cup of strong black coffee, around the campfire after a successful day of hunting with a clean STOPPING SHOT!

Could not one indulge in something a little more celebratory than "a cup of strong black coffee"?

I have a few suggestions.

Cheers!

It's nothing new and nothing unusual about people, especially hunters to put 'ol big ears into a separate catagory (I tend to feel the same way myself) to the other animals and at the risk of introducing a bit of culture into the discussion, the poem below is a good example of that.

The author died in WWI but was a very experienced African hunter and it's claimed he once crawled into a cave with nothing but a Masai spear, killed a leopard with it and dragged it out just to prove a point to some Masai who had been bragging about how brave they were.

You need to remember that at the time of writing, the general opinion was that elephants were a lot longer lived than we we know the case to be nowadays.

THE FALL OF THE MIGHTY

By Brian Brooke

I AM CRAWLING THROUGH THE FOREST, CREEPING IN AMONGST THE HERD,
I CAN SEE THE SUN REFLECTED ON A TUSK.
I MUST KILL HIM NOW OR NEVER – CURSE THAT NOISY HONEY BIRD!-
I MUST HURRY FOR THE LIGHT IS GROWING DUSK.
ONLY ONE BUSH LEFT BETWEEN US, THOUGH IT’S MORE BY LUCK THAN SKILL.-
I AM ROUND IT, AND HE GREETS ME WITH A SNORT.
HE IS COMING, - NOW THEN FOR IT, - ‘TIS A FIGHT WITH STRENGTH OF WILL.
THERE IS ONLY HALF A SECOND, AND IT’S DEATH TO FAIL TO KILL;
HE IS ONLY SIX FEET FROM ME, - BUT HE’S LYING DOWN AND STILL.
CAN YOU TELL ME, WAS THERE EVER SUCH A SPORT?

++++

I AM HIDING IN THE BUSHES, KEEPING LOW AGAINST THE GROUND;
I AM WAITING FOR THE COWS TO GO AWAY.
ONE’S BY NO WAY THROUGH ONE’S TROUBLES, WHILST THE HERD IS CHASING ROUND,
AND YOU NEVER KNOW HOW LONG IT IS THEY’LL STAY.
BUT AS LAST I SEE THEM GOING, AND I HEAR THEIR PURRING HISS
DYING OUT AS DIES A BROKEN HEARTED SIGH;
THOUGH TWO COWS COME BACK IN SILENCE TO THEIR LEADER WHOM THEY MISS,
AND IN SPITE OF ALL THE DANGER, WITH AN ELEPHANTINE KISS;
THEY HAVE TRIED IN VAIN TO RAISE HIM – IS OUR PLUCK AND LOVE LIKE THIS? –
THEN THEY TURN WITH ONE GREAT SOB THAT MEANS GOODBYE!

++++

I AM SITTING ON HIS CARCASS, I AM THINKING OF THE WEALTH
THAT HIS WEIGHT IN TUSKS IS GOING TO MEAN TO ME.
IT IS ONLY HALF AN HOUR, SINCE IN ALL HIS PRIDE AND HEALTH
HE WAS BRIGHTENING THOSE TUSKS AGAINST A TREE.
THEN I SLOWLY START TO WONDER, HAVE I REALLY DONE A DEED
TO BE PROUD OF, WHEN I CAUSED THIS BULL TO FALL?
WHEN FOR YEARS AND GENERATIONS AS THE MONARCH OF HIS BREED,
IN THE FORESTS, AND THE MOUNTAINS, HE’S BEEN WONT TO RULE AND LEAD.
I, A HUMAN OF THE PRESENT, AND WITH ALL A HUMANS GREED,
I – SUDDENLY HAVE PUT AN END TO ALL.

++++

SINCE THE DAYS HIS MOTHER BORE HIM, WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HE’S SEEN,
BUT WE KNOW THE SORT OF THINGS THAT HE’S BEEN THROUGH;
OF THE DAYS OF REVOLUTION, OF THE DAYS OF GUILLOTINE,
OF TRAFALGAR, BONAPARTE AND WATERLOO;
OF THE WAY WOOLFE, MOORE AND NELSON EACH ENNOBLED HIS CAREER,
OF PRINCE CHARLIE AND THE BLOODY “FORTY-FIVE”.
OF THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA ALL THE HORROR AND THE FEAR,
OF THE DEATH OF CHINESE GORDON, OF THE STRUGGLES OF CRIMEA;
YET THROUGH ALL THIS STRESS AND TROUBLE, IN THE SILENT FORESTS HERE,
THIS BULL BENEATH ME HAS BEEN ALIVE!

++++

I AM WALKING THROUGH THE FOREST, I AM WALKING HOME TO CAMP,
I AM WALKING BACK IN SILENCE AND ALONE;
FOR TONIGHT THAT GRAND OLD MONARCH, KNEELING THERE BENEATH THE DAMP,
SHALL BID FAREWELL TO KINGDOM, - REALM, - AND THRONE.
I AM CROUCHING O’ER MY CAMPFIRE, IN THE VALLEY DOWN BELOW,
I AM DREAMING O’ER THE THINGS THAT BULL HAS KNOWN:
O’ER THE STRUGGLES AND THE CONFLICTS THAT HE FOUGHT IN LONG AGO,
THEN TO THINK THAT I AM GUILTY, THAT T’WAS I WHO DEALT THE BLOW,
WELL I HOPE I DIE AS GAMELY, FOR ALTHOUGH TODAY I SOW
AND I GUESS I’LL HAVE TO REAP AS I HAVE SOWN.

quote:

Originally posted by John Frederick:
My wife would never try to dictate to me what I can and cannot shoot.

Such a situation would be intolerable and none of her business anyway.

Similarly, I don't try to rule her life either.

Well I figure it is my wife's business what I spend OUR money on. We are people of modest means, with a mortgage and two boys headed to college in the near future, yet she has never voiced even the smallest objection to or reservation about my spending thousands of dollars on hunting trips that really only benefit me. I don't think she really understands why I need to go, but she does understand that I do. If she draws the line for that understanding at a single (and expensive) species, I'm not going to argue. Successful relationships include a certain amount of compromise. This is one I can live with.

quote:

This has been my experience as well. However, FTR, I meant no disrespect for any who feel sadness at killing game. I only noted that I don't because it has seemed so foriegn a concept to me for so long and that I see it espoused so often. I could certainly imagine that after I take an ele I may experience emotions that I never have before. It's happened before - the first time I was very close to a very large brown bear I dealt with feelings that I never had previously.

Spot on Antlers - ele's and brown bears have something in thier demeanor, perhaps it's their presence of an "untouchable" position in nature's scheme - that inspires awe.

Don't be surprised if you don't feel much after taking an elephant however, that'll be up to what's in you and not how others feel. I too thought I was supposed to cry like Ruark said I should but I didn't. It was and is not that simple.

Before I shot my 1st ele. I thought I would feel sad or something along those lines. I did not. I did feel glad that all those people showed up and took every single crap of meat.
I fed alot of hungry people. I feel proud about that. I feel very lucky to have had the oppertunity to hunt ele. I feel admiration every time I walk past the tusks in my office and home. Like someone else said. sadness is a poorly placed shot.
The wife gives me no shit. She did ask if I would not shoot a giraffe. Since she asked and gives me no shit about the taxidermy all around our den. I happly comply. Did not really care about a giraffe anyway.

Steve,
I really enjoyed that.
Thanks,
Rich Elliott

Rich,

Glad you enjoyed it. Brian Brooke was a much underrated poet who really had a feel for Africa.

Here's one of his with a festive ring for you.

The New Year
By Brian Brooke

The sun is sinking in the west, like one great brazen orb of light,
Till poised upon the mountain crest, it seems to halt before its flight;
Of all God’s gifts, by far the best, of all his blessings, far most blest,
Then swiftly sinks before our sight; the day is dead, God bless the night!

So dies the year, and who would hold it back if even power he had?
The New Year comes, farewell the old! Why stand and mourn in accents sad?
Some plunge ahead with spirits bold, and some may stand with conscience cold;
But each and all his share may add, there’s none too good and none too bad.

Some sit alone this New Year’s eve, and some within a crowded place;
To some the old year seems to leave of joy and gladness not a trace.
But joy and sadness interweave, and if you laugh, you fain must grieve;
Death is a thing we all must face, and time is of unaltered pace.

The old man feels the time go fast, he knows his years are growing few;
The cloak of youth from him is cast – ah, if the young man only knew!
But do not think your time is past; your heart is young until the last;
Where’er there’s youth there’s work for you; let each year start your youth anew.

For you, East Africa, I trust this coming year with joys may fill;
May this year ever further thrust you up the steep and stony hill.
Then, to your sons, it is but just success should come; for come it must!
And to officials all goodwill; may improve a little still!

We all have friends in other lands, friends whom we love to call our own;
We may not grasp them by the hands, - but are our wishes thither blown?
The lonely settler silent stands, the night breeze fans the firebrands;
There’s much on earth which is unknown; I fancy he is not alone!
The sun is rising in the East, the morning light is cold and clear;
The lion leaves his midnight feast, the jackal slinks away in fear;
The sky with golden lines is creased; good luck to all, both man and beast;
To all our friends, both far and near, a prosp’rous, happy, bright New Year!

You know i often think and ponder on these sort of things around the bushveld tv at night listening to the elephant complain when they catch the scent of camp... i have been promised some interesting research on a couple of 40 pound bulls that were collared in KNP that have been known to walk through my area in Zim to Gonarezhou... i still wait with baited breath.

on this last hunt we saw plenty of elephant and watched a herd of elephant decamp from a waterhole in 30 seconds when the two mombies that were sleeping nearby woke up.... they literally shat themselves

besides the above, we shot a real nice elephant of 77 pounds this year and to think that he had lived through two bush wars (Rhodesia and Mozambique), evaded poachers, landmines, snares, human conflict, ie - crop raiding and thus becoming PAC it is a wonder that they still grow to that age and size at all

Aubs,

They GPS collared a bull in Botswana a while ago and radio tracked for several years...... over which period, it went all the way up to Congo and then started working his way back down again....... he got Mozambique and some bugger dropped him. So that was the end of that.

Nat Geo or one of that lot are going to screen a documentary on it and FWIW, the working title at least is 'Elephants Without Borders' and having seen it, I can tell you it's well worth a watch.

Congratulations on the tusker BTW!

"and time is of unaltered pace............"
Spot on!

Rich Elliott

Below are my favourite lines of that one...... and we always use them in the Christmas card we send out.

The sun is rising in the East, the morning light is cold and clear;
The lion leaves his midnight feast, the jackal slinks away in fear;
The sky with golden lines is creased; good luck to all, both man and beast;
To all our friends, both far and near, a prosp’rous, happy, bright New Year!