Paddy Curtis (Blood Nut), another legendary PH has left us under tragic circumstances.
The sad news has just been relayed to me and it appears he was murdered in cold blood by unknown assailants during a robbery in his residence in Bulawayo in the early morning hours of today.
The police are on site conducting their investigations.
Damn! He was a legend for sure. Rest in peace Blood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J. Lane Easter, DVM
A born Texan has instilled in his system a mind-set of no retreat or no surrender. I wish everyone the world over had the dominating spirit that motivates Texans.– Billy Clayton, Speaker of the Texas House
No state commands such fierce pride and loyalty. Lesser mortals are pitied for their misfortune in not being born in Texas.— Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Texas in May, 1991.
Wow... terrible news. Like Jay, I saw Paddy last October in the Selous. Great guy, great PH. May he rest in peace.
Tough news but thanks for passing it on Fulvio...
On the plains of hesitation lie the bleached bones of ten thousand, who on the dawn of victory lay down their weary heads resting, and there resting, died.
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch... Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son! - Rudyard Kipling
Devastating news. He was the consummate professional and, hands down, with my clients, the most requested ph to hunt with. He never disappointed. I will miss him.
Very sorry to hear this, my condolences to his family and friends.
Frank
"I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money." - Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953
NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite
Posts: 12871 | Location: Kentucky, USA | Registered: 30 December 2002
Apparently, he went to let his dogs out in dark early morning, and robbers were waiting when he opened his door. He got an alarm out, but help wasn’t able to arrive in time. He was found with gunshots to his head, but his gun safe still locked tight.
They apparently hit 2 other homes, but Paddy was the only one shot. A security team is now hunting down the POS’s who did this.
Posts: 3971 | Location: California | Registered: 01 January 2009
Funny Paddy story. Several of us met Paddy on a trip last year to hunt in the Selous. Paddy was hunting in Luke Samaras' camp on the Rufiji River with a client hunting lion. We drove up to the river one day to fish and relax and it just so happened that Paddy's client shot a beautiful male lion the morning before we arrived. By the time we got to camp late morning the team was already pretty well lubricated and there were several empty Jameson bottles outside the back of the dining chalet. We sat down and were visiting. Paddy got a bottle of water and started to drink it. His client, feigning urgent concern, said, "Paddy be careful, I have never seen you drink water before and you might poison yourself with that since your body is unaccustomed to fluids other than scotch." The person with the biggest smile and laugh at the joke was Paddy. I am sure his friends, clients and colleagues will miss him.
In 2012, Paddy was hunting with a client hunting lion in Luke's block in Simanjiro. We were hunting a fly camp and stopped by the main camp for lunch. They had eland steaks, my favorite. I congratulated the hunter, who had only arrived the day before, on already getting an eland, and he corrected me. Paddy explained that they had heard a lion kill the night before and harvested some backstraps and tenderloins from the eland that was the lions' dinner. Fine with me. I had a second and third helping.
The next morning, we were hunting up high again and my PH got a call from Paddy inquiring into whether he, and me, were OK. I got the drift, but said switch to English, and it turns out, Paddy's client thought he had food poisoning from the lion kill. Everyone else was fine.
We had a good laugh on the power of the mind. Paddy will be missed.
I don't think he would deny or disavow anything in this unauthorized biography:
Those tales are all true .... I heard them from the horse's mouth and the author of the biography was also one among at least 5 on the receiving end of a buffalo charge in Kitiangare and was lucky to have survived.
I have not been on AR much lately but just saw this post. I spent 21 days with Paddy - he wasn't my PH but Fulvio was. I remember when we got to camp he had just shot a giant cobra in or near the kitchen. I have a photo of him holding it up.
Fulvio, I think it was you who told me about him being gored by a buff and getting on all fours with his ass sticking up in the air while a nurse (wife a client?) sewed him up.
Fulvio, I think it was you who told me about him being gored by a buff and getting on all fours with his ass sticking up in the air while a nurse (wife a client?) sewed him up.
This incident which took place in Kitiangare (Masailand) was also mentioned in Paddy's obituary by Hannes Wessels.
What I didn't know is that the client's wife (who was a nurse/assistant in an operating theater back home) used dental floss for the want of something better than thread.
The above surgery could be regarded as a "field dressing" to keep his guts in place while arrangements were being made to evacuate him to a hospital.
