07 September 2009, 00:31
GraftonAn amazing journey...
A tick hangs onto a blade of grass somewhere in the lowveld. An old eland bull walks by and the the tick crawls up the leg and attaches itself in the arm pit of the eland.
The eland goes for a drink of water and is shot by an American bow hunter. The eland is skinned, the skin is fleshed, washed, salted, dried and stored. Then the skin is transported, dipped, folded, stored, packed, air shipped, unpacked, rehydrated, tanned, shaved, frozen, stored, truck shipped, refrozen, thawed, washed, mounted.............and here I am (one year after the tick was hanging onto that blade of grass) pulling the dead tick off the armpit before the mount is finished drying.
Am I just crazy or is that an amazing journey?
08 September 2009, 05:56
L. David KeithI used to see them all the time on Buffalo. The pink and green variety. What amazed me was they were still attached after tanning. Cool story you wrote about their journey. I guess Ticks can "safari" too!
David
Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris
http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333
Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com
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Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added
http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#926103994110 days in the Stormberg Mountains
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson
Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running......
"If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you."
08 September 2009, 15:25
Equinsu OchaI've thought that MANY times over as well! Those big green ones are some tuff hombres.. They get buried in there and they'll hang on for the long haul!
08 September 2009, 21:38
tendramsI'd be tempted to leave it on the mount for the sake of authenticity.
08 September 2009, 22:51
Mary Hilliard-KruegerGood one Grafton!
A flat artist, taxidermist, sculptor AND a writer...your list grows larger my friend.
While working on zebra rugs, which have lion claw rake scars on their hind quarters or scars from other zebras biting them, I find myself daydreaming of the life the creature lead before he made it to my rug table.
Mary
09 September 2009, 14:40
BakesWhat would of been amazing is that when you went to pull it off the mount....it moved!
