17 August 2014, 21:30
Carl Frederik NagellThe Hog on the mountain – Cameroon
The Hog on the mountain – CameroonIt seems some claim they do not want to post hunt reports being afraid to be bashed – I am taking my chance!
Well this is not a really hunt report but rather the highlight of a hunt to Cameroon some 15 years ago. This hunt was for elephant and Lord Derby Eland. I did shoot an elephant and in retrospect that was kind of an interesting story and I might post that one later. We never saw a LDE.
This day we were tracking western buffalo. As usually we were too late out in the morning and the buffalo had already moved up from the lowland were they graze during night to in the mountains were they seek cover during daytime. The mountains or hills in this part of Cameroon have a most particular shape. Many are shaped as a sugar cone. And as many of them are not very big they have a defined top were you can stand and look down and see the slopes 360 degrees around you.
The ground is covered by soft red soil. At the base the vegetation is shattered trees but nearer the top they grow closer with the leaves making a canopy shading for the sun. The obscure light and the red slopes giving it a magical atmosphere.
The group of 7 – 10 buffalo was easy to follow even for me. At first they climbed right up but then they turned parallel to the top and continued around the backside of the mountain. At this point I was sure we would see them at any moment and as my ph was a bit slow I took the lead and began to trot in the tracks. The tracks took me around the back side and soon I realised that I had encircled the mountain and was standing the same place were the tracks had turned but a few hundred meters higher. This meant that the buffalo must be moving in front of me just out of sight due to the curve of the hill. Not being very smart I thought I could catch up with them and began running after them. This took me another one and half circle around all the time climbing higher. Now only a few hundred meters from the top I felt sure to catch up with them as suddenly out of nowhere a huge animal obviously a pig with an almost luminous orange colour came trotting along side me on my way towards the top. I had never seen a red river hog before. Only knowing it by name I thought they lived near water. So seeing one here on the mountaintop had never crossed my mind. Forgetting all about buffalo I swung my rifle around and shot it on the run.
That day I had forgot my camera so we cut out the back half of the carcass and carried the front part with the skin attached down the mountain.
Despite the bad photos we got when we came down; I will never forget the orange/red colour and the long white hairs on its ears as it lay in the flickering sunlight on (almost) the top of that mountain in Cameroon.
A bad day in the bush; http://forums.accuratereloadin...811035831#4811035831
Elaphant bull and buffalo with Buzz Charlton; http://forums.accuratereloadin...151050381#8151050381
Good Hunting
Carl Frederik
