First, I believe that Jim and company have raised the bar in regard to hunting shows programming. It is one of the few shows that address the total experience, not just......well you know what some of the other crap is on the t.v.
That said, I am asking for a weigh on from all the cumulative experience of African hunters on this website. Jim and Mike go after a belligerent, crop destroying, dangerous bull hippo at the request of villagers suffering at the hands of this trouble maker. Throughout the show, everyone is covered up in hippos plowing through the bush and mud holes, until at the end of the show, both Jim and Mike Fell face a charge by a bull hippo. The scene is certainly exciting and the hippo is dropped. Jim, in particular, is upset because they have not killed the bad ass bull. Mike goes pretty quiet, and the game scout rather nods that it was a case of self defense, which it obviously was.
Now, the villagers are happy because they've got a ton or two of meat to eat, and the episode ends with the troublesome bull having never been killed nor seen again. It is inferred that the trouble has stopped. Huh?

This doesn't make sense to me. (1)Why didn't they continue to hunt the rogue troublemaker? (2) Couldn't the game scout grant them the latitude to continue the search, and thus end the trouble? (3)Not enough hippo on license for Adam Clements? (4) Did the rains come and all the little hippos go back to the river? (5) Did the production company have to pull out for another part of the world?

If this hippo was such a problem, and he was supposedly roaring, growling, grumbling, etc. in the bush at the climax of the show, did he just mysteriously disappear or suddenly have a change of attitude and become a nice hippo? Seems to me, once a problem hippo, always a problem hippo until terminated.

What am I missing here?

Only one on license? Besides, the bull was itself a dandy!

Perhaps he was only a troublesome hippo to add a little drama to the show?

i thought they determined it was too dangerous to continue chasing one hippo when so many were running around. Didn't want to get anyone run over or have to shoot more non-target hippos.

To the front of the class Bakes!

His 458 winnie proved it was a stopper.

Drama to the show? No doubt

Too dangerous for the crew? That's reasonable since they seemed to be surrounded by a lot of stressed out hippos away from the security of their deep water. Hell yeah it was dangerous, IMHO.

I guess that Mr. Bad Boy is cooling his heels in the Tarangire. I dunno.

Great Show! Keep it up Jim!

Maybe they did get the right hippo? They all look about the same and they were only going on the physical description from one farmer. I really don't know how particular you can get in trying to distinguish one old bull hippo from another.

My experience in Mozambique is once you have a crop raiding animal (hippo/elephant) or maybe you don't have a crop raiding animal, but the locals find out there is a foreign hunter nearby....then all of a sudden you have a crop raiding animal that the foreign hunter (who is rich) can feel like a hero for shooting this dangerous menace to the poor desperate villagers. The locals get the meat and get rid of another animal they don't particularly like having around anyway.

It was certainly a hippo hunters dream having all those hippos on dry land like that. If this is a regular occurence for that area then I would reccomend all hippo hunters to book their hunt in that same area.

Green is such a wonderful color huh? Liked the last episode very much. Will record it today when it comes on as a repeat. Don't know why some here "always" have to inject their biased comments. It's a great show, just watch and enjoy without all the BS.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member
R8 Blaser

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Fulson:
To the front of the class Bakes!

Did not say it was not a exciting show. It was. I answered the question that started the thread. Wrong hippo, simple as that. Locals could have cared less, they got meat.
My apologies to the King Of Unbiased ( insert anything SCI) Larry Sellers for upsetting him so.

I personally thought this was one of the best and most exciting episodes of hunting dangerous game in Africa in quite some time. Hunting a hippo on land with a double rifle up close and personal is definitely on my list, but I am afraid I can't quite afford the hunts in Tanzania that would allow me to do this. I talked to quite a few PHs at the shows - Andrew, Buz, Mike etc, - and they all recommended an auction hunt in Sapi. I was actually planning a hunt like this with Owain Lewis before his untimely demise. I hope I get to do one some day.

And I know Owain would have loved that as much as you. Still miss him and think of him, and Gibbo, every day.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Fulson:
And I know Owain would have loved that as much as you. Still miss him and think of him, and Gibbo, every day.

+1