Zambia World Wide

The second encounter

This was at Bore Hole 2. Dave Ward the manager of the Chobe Safari Lodge wanted to accompany us as he intended applying for a license and this would give him the opportunity to know what to expect. I gave Dave the .375(9.5mm) rifle to cover me only in case something went wrong. The reason being, if he also shot at the elephant he could be found guilty of hunting without a license. We came across three large bulls. The one with the large tusks kept turning his head away from me as if he knew what my intentions were. I sensed that it was only a matter of time before he ran off. With the elephant about twenty-five metres away the only line of site I had was its heart. Once I shot the elephant I soon realized I was in trouble. The elephant just shook his head a couple of times and then came charging. I tried reloading the .458(11,6mm) but without any success. Then what sounded like music in my ears I heard the bullets flying pass me as Dave started shooting. I am convinced that had the elephant come one step closer before veering off to the right it would of have been the end of me. Having an elephant charge at full speed and actually feeling the ground trembling under your feet as it gets closer, is something one cannot describe. I often ask myself “Was it the bullets that changed the direction of the elephant or was it because I stood motionless?” Once the elephant passed me the adrenalin flow kicked in and I immediately realized that in my haste I had not ejected the empty shell far enough. I started running after the elephant but my tracker grabbed me by the arm and headed in a completely different direction to that which the wounded elephant had taken. Some 50 metres away I could finally end the hunt. On questioning the tracker on how he knew where we would again encounter the elephant I realized how little I know of wild life. All he did before following the wounded elephant was to check in which direction the other two elephants had run and he knew that the wounded elephant would return to them.

The third encounter

This also took place at Bore Hole 2. I so wanted to hunt an elephant whose tusks were the same size. The reason being, that I wanted it for a trophy I intended making. This meant hunting a female as the males often have broken tusks. After tracking a large herd for sometime I eventually saw a female with the perfect tusks. As we got closer to the herd the tracker warned me that the herd had got wind of us. On shooting the elephant I wanted, the rest of the herd ran away. I always find it amazing to see how quick these big animals can disappear in the bush. Before getting too close to the elephant I threw a handful of sand in its eye. This was a standard practice as a blinking eye told you to exercise caution. After ensuring that everything was fine I decided to sit on the elephant until Ken Mompson arrived with the transport. Suddenly the silence was broken with the herd charging in our direction. Once again I heard the words of Pat Car-Hartley “Don’t run away”. In no time I was standing on the elephant. Once I had released the safety catch I started shouting and waving my arms. I knew that with the .458(11.6mm) rifle I would at least stop an elephant. Had I known that the tracker had done the disappearing trick with the .375(9.5mm) I might not have displayed such confidence. Apparently when he saw me challenging the herd he decided it was a good time to run. I expected Ken to arrive soon but after so many repeated charging and retreating of the herd I realized that I was further from him than I had anticipated. When I eventually heard a vehicle approaching it was like music in my ears. To my surprise it was the Game Warden Mike Slowgrove who happened to be patrolling the area. I could hardly talk to him as my throat was sore from the dust and all the shouting. I am convinced that I had a Guardian Angel with me that day?