01 December 2011, 07:18
safari-lawyerStop the Truck
Preface“Better lucky than good.” I can hear my father and grandfather both saying those words. I heard it enough that I had no option but to become a firm believer in luck. If that makes me superstitious, so be it, but I credit luck – indeed good luck -- with many of my successes in life, business, love, and hunting. So, here’s a little story about a superstitious boy from Alabama and a little good luck. Enjoy.
Stop the Truck
Racing down the dirt road, my thoughts moved more quickly than our Toyota Landcruiser. It was July of 2011 and we’d just spent the first 7 days of a 21 day safari baiting an area with hopes of attracting one of two Save super cats previously documented by trail cam. We’d had little success, though we did sit for a leopard one night. He and Mrs. Spots came to the party, but from the sound of things, they skipped dinner and went straight to dessert.
Now that our baits were eaten or rotted, we’d decided to hang fresh baits in a new area. We had a zebra quarter left from our first string of baits, but needed some additional meat to go with it. I shot a couple of impala without much fuss and we carried all three pieces of meat to a likely leopard area.
With the fresh baits up, Betsy, Thierry, and I each picked a bait as “our” bait. Mine was the third and final bait hung, a particularly large impala ram. The impala was “a bus”, per Thierry, so we called my bait “the bus bait.” With the baits hung, named, and claimed, the work was done and the wait had begun. The next move would be the leopard’s.
The Bus Bait
As the sun rose the next day, we raced away from camp to check the baits. About half way to the first bait, I saw my tree. “Stop the truck!” I shouted. “My tree” is one of the thousands of baobabs on Sango, but it’s very special to me. We were standing under that tree in 2009 when we received a radio call that one of our leopard baits was hit by a large leopard. It followed that night that I shot “The Professor”, one of the largest leopards ever shot on Sango.
The Professor in 2009
As the truck stopped, I jumped out and ran over to the tree. I pulled my “One in a trillion” crocodile bullet from my pocket and walked around my tree, dragging the lucky bullet across the tree’s surface the whole way. Returning to the car, I told Thierry and Betsy, “Let’s go shoot a leopard.”
My Lucky Baobab in 2009
My tree again in 2011 (different angle)
With luck now firmly planted on our side, we drove up to the first bait, Thierry’s bait, and there was no leopard.
We drove to the second bait, Betsy’s bait, and still no leopard.
Starting to doubt the power of the combo of the lucky bullet and the lucky tree, we drove to the third and final bait. Well, all faith was immediately restored. The bus bait was destroyed, half of the impala was gone, and I was declared the lucky winner of the Third Annual Which Bait will the Leopard Hit Contest.
Later that day, light faded and darkness came, bringing with it the sound of a leopard calling. Then, after just three hours in the blind, spots was on the branch and all went according to plan . . . luckily.
