Skinny Tire AH
This ain't all folks! Skater368
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2010
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Counterintuitive.
Most folks here know I'm a serious hunter. I do consider myself to be an ethical international sportsman. I travel the world looking for adventure. Wanderlust always has and always will fill my soul. I crave new, dangerous and fantastic places, I fear complacency and stagnation as I would a death sentence.
I have fished and hunted this incredible globe for the last 20 plus years looking for those last few remaining wild places. Adventure must be sought out as it is never delivered easily.
I recently retuned from Tanzania, East Africa. Yes, I was hunting and no, this is not a hunting thread. There will be no hunting pictures.
This is simply a thread to hopefully engage and educate my friends and perhaps even those who find me repugnant because I do hunt. The realities on the ground and the images of who and what threatens these very places and creatures, you may find interesting.
Africa means many different things to different people. There is no right and there is no wrong, there is only the truth. My Africa is about the men and the dust and the diesel, it sticks to your skin, it cannot be washed away nor does it wane. Her magnificent animals and indigenous hard peoples have left a deep and permanent mark in my life. I have been to most of Sub-Saharan Africa and she is changing and not for the better. My life is better, due to my relationship with the African continent.
I say this with much introspection and contemplation as to the future of the continent.
Africa is calling out for to us for help. Her bounty is being plundered. Plundered by the Chinese and to a lesser degree, other Asian cultures. Plundered for its Ivory.
The hunting concession I was in, is roughly 3250 square kilometers. That's damn big. There are merely 5 elephant bulls on the annual hunting quota for the entire block (I was not hunting elephants). I will go on record, right now and state, elephant hunting in all of Tanzania, should be immediately stopped. Not because of me or people like me, but because the Asian markets desire to have ivory chopsticks, figurines and dildos, more than they care for elephants to remain for their heirs to enjoy.
As you can see by the photographs, it's beyond brutal. The poachers sit and wait at water and simply assassinate any elephant with any ivory, whatsoever. Once dead, the poachers just simply cut the face off the animals, take the ivory and fuck off. I lost count of the carcasses. If I had to guess, it was in the low to mid 100's. I saw a grand total of 9 live elephants. The Professional hunter I had, told me in every preceding season, they would see 100-150 elephants every day. They are all but gone.
There is yet another unintended consequence to this poaching. It affects all the animals in the hunting block. I was there in late October thru early November, which is the end of the dry season. The rains come usually in late November. The rivers here are what are called "sand rivers". There is much ground water, it is, in most cases, 4-6 feet beneath the surface. The elephants, use their tusks to dig holes to drink. These holes allow for all the other animals to also drink. Without these holes, the animals will and are dying horrible deaths from dehydration. I must have seen 200 dried up carcasses of Zebra, Wildebeests , Sable and Cape Buffalo.
Every minute of every day, every where we hunted, the rancid, putrid aroma of rotting flesh, permeated the air. My nostrils actually began to burn from the consistent smell of death. Vultures were everywhere, it looked like a horror movie, especially when we would arrive at a "waterhole" that had but a few swallows of water remaining. We spent many hours widening and deepening these holes. If we returned the next day, the massive amount of watering animals would push the sand we removed back into the water, rendering it nearly useless.
On my second hunting day, we came across one of these holes in a sand river. It was actually dug into an overhanging bank. There was a adolescent Cape Buffalo who had stuck his head in the hole to drink. His horns got caught in the top of the hole. He was struggling mightily to free himself, his back, along his spine was bleeding from it rubbing it raw against the top of the hole, in its struggle for life.
The hunting team, including the Tanzanian game department scout, who accompanies all hunting safaris, all tried to figure out how to free this stuck animal. We even attempted to tie a rope around his legs to extract him with the cruiser. We were unsuccessful. Eventually it came down to the harsh realities of life for these animals, die humanely, or be eaten alive by lions, who had been there just prior us.
Personally, I didn't want to euthanize a trapped, immobile animal. Conversely, I can't imagine the horror of being consumed while alive by lions or hyenas. We chose a fast humane end to his suffering.
I was deeply affected by this trip. The overwhelming sense of sorrow I feel for these animals will stay with me for my remaining days. I now see how some others may feel about my hunting. However, It doesn't change my outlook on sport hunting. As a matter of fact, the poachers have free reign in these wild areas because there isn't adequate safari hunting going on. Fact; hunting/hunters stop poaching.
A depressing photo that shows the seriousness of the symbiotic relationship between a healthy elephant population and the "plains game" animals. This sable was only feet from both our Cruiser and a dry waterhole that he had probably used his entire life. This magnificent sable bull was too weak to stand. If he lived to see the morning I would be surprised. We drove away and left him to Africa. Just prior to this, we came across an elephant bull with approximately 25 pound tusks. He had a "Tanzanian bracelet" on his left front foot. A wire snare that was cutting into his foot. He will eventually lose his foot and or his life. There was nothing we could do. A helpless feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed me for much of my time on this safari.
The entire hunting team would drive for long periods of time in a silent state of shock at the conditions.
The day after the sable, we drove (tried) to check on his condition. The pictures here tell all you need to know. I can't imagine the horrible death. The circle of life.
This animal is called a Kongoni. It is in the Hartebeest family. We pulled it out of this mud hole at around 9am. We pulled its body out into the bush. We drove back past it around 4pm the very same day. Africa is terribly efficient.
I am in no way trying to change any minds here, just laying out facts with hard, saddening photographic evidence to support my position and the position for conservation through well managed hunting. Some here, whom I've debated lively, wonder why a hunter wants to save something, just so he may later have the opportunity to kill it. I agree, it's counterintuitive, yet taking the few to save the many also has sound wildlife conservation merits.
In closing I will openly admit that the death I witnessed on this safari saddened me. I am internally conflicted and will do some soul searching. One side of me wants to save these beasts . The other side is wise enough to know they must have hunters in the field to offer them the protections they need from threats they don't understand.
The grim beast that threatens them has no shame, no morals and no mercy.
Most folks here know I'm a serious hunter. I do consider myself to be an ethical international sportsman. I travel the world looking for adventure. Wanderlust always has and always will fill my soul. I crave new, dangerous and fantastic places, I fear complacency and stagnation as I would a death sentence.
I have fished and hunted this incredible globe for the last 20 plus years looking for those last few remaining wild places. Adventure must be sought out as it is never delivered easily.
I recently retuned from Tanzania, East Africa. Yes, I was hunting and no, this is not a hunting thread. There will be no hunting pictures.
This is simply a thread to hopefully engage and educate my friends and perhaps even those who find me repugnant because I do hunt. The realities on the ground and the images of who and what threatens these very places and creatures, you may find interesting.
Africa means many different things to different people. There is no right and there is no wrong, there is only the truth. My Africa is about the men and the dust and the diesel, it sticks to your skin, it cannot be washed away nor does it wane. Her magnificent animals and indigenous hard peoples have left a deep and permanent mark in my life. I have been to most of Sub-Saharan Africa and she is changing and not for the better. My life is better, due to my relationship with the African continent.
I say this with much introspection and contemplation as to the future of the continent.
Africa is calling out for to us for help. Her bounty is being plundered. Plundered by the Chinese and to a lesser degree, other Asian cultures. Plundered for its Ivory.
The hunting concession I was in, is roughly 3250 square kilometers. That's damn big. There are merely 5 elephant bulls on the annual hunting quota for the entire block (I was not hunting elephants). I will go on record, right now and state, elephant hunting in all of Tanzania, should be immediately stopped. Not because of me or people like me, but because the Asian markets desire to have ivory chopsticks, figurines and dildos, more than they care for elephants to remain for their heirs to enjoy.
As you can see by the photographs, it's beyond brutal. The poachers sit and wait at water and simply assassinate any elephant with any ivory, whatsoever. Once dead, the poachers just simply cut the face off the animals, take the ivory and fuck off. I lost count of the carcasses. If I had to guess, it was in the low to mid 100's. I saw a grand total of 9 live elephants. The Professional hunter I had, told me in every preceding season, they would see 100-150 elephants every day. They are all but gone.
There is yet another unintended consequence to this poaching. It affects all the animals in the hunting block. I was there in late October thru early November, which is the end of the dry season. The rains come usually in late November. The rivers here are what are called "sand rivers". There is much ground water, it is, in most cases, 4-6 feet beneath the surface. The elephants, use their tusks to dig holes to drink. These holes allow for all the other animals to also drink. Without these holes, the animals will and are dying horrible deaths from dehydration. I must have seen 200 dried up carcasses of Zebra, Wildebeests , Sable and Cape Buffalo.
Every minute of every day, every where we hunted, the rancid, putrid aroma of rotting flesh, permeated the air. My nostrils actually began to burn from the consistent smell of death. Vultures were everywhere, it looked like a horror movie, especially when we would arrive at a "waterhole" that had but a few swallows of water remaining. We spent many hours widening and deepening these holes. If we returned the next day, the massive amount of watering animals would push the sand we removed back into the water, rendering it nearly useless.
On my second hunting day, we came across one of these holes in a sand river. It was actually dug into an overhanging bank. There was a adolescent Cape Buffalo who had stuck his head in the hole to drink. His horns got caught in the top of the hole. He was struggling mightily to free himself, his back, along his spine was bleeding from it rubbing it raw against the top of the hole, in its struggle for life.
The hunting team, including the Tanzanian game department scout, who accompanies all hunting safaris, all tried to figure out how to free this stuck animal. We even attempted to tie a rope around his legs to extract him with the cruiser. We were unsuccessful. Eventually it came down to the harsh realities of life for these animals, die humanely, or be eaten alive by lions, who had been there just prior us.
Personally, I didn't want to euthanize a trapped, immobile animal. Conversely, I can't imagine the horror of being consumed while alive by lions or hyenas. We chose a fast humane end to his suffering.
I was deeply affected by this trip. The overwhelming sense of sorrow I feel for these animals will stay with me for my remaining days. I now see how some others may feel about my hunting. However, It doesn't change my outlook on sport hunting. As a matter of fact, the poachers have free reign in these wild areas because there isn't adequate safari hunting going on. Fact; hunting/hunters stop poaching.
A depressing photo that shows the seriousness of the symbiotic relationship between a healthy elephant population and the "plains game" animals. This sable was only feet from both our Cruiser and a dry waterhole that he had probably used his entire life. This magnificent sable bull was too weak to stand. If he lived to see the morning I would be surprised. We drove away and left him to Africa. Just prior to this, we came across an elephant bull with approximately 25 pound tusks. He had a "Tanzanian bracelet" on his left front foot. A wire snare that was cutting into his foot. He will eventually lose his foot and or his life. There was nothing we could do. A helpless feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed me for much of my time on this safari.
The entire hunting team would drive for long periods of time in a silent state of shock at the conditions.
The day after the sable, we drove (tried) to check on his condition. The pictures here tell all you need to know. I can't imagine the horrible death. The circle of life.
This animal is called a Kongoni. It is in the Hartebeest family. We pulled it out of this mud hole at around 9am. We pulled its body out into the bush. We drove back past it around 4pm the very same day. Africa is terribly efficient.
I am in no way trying to change any minds here, just laying out facts with hard, saddening photographic evidence to support my position and the position for conservation through well managed hunting. Some here, whom I've debated lively, wonder why a hunter wants to save something, just so he may later have the opportunity to kill it. I agree, it's counterintuitive, yet taking the few to save the many also has sound wildlife conservation merits.
In closing I will openly admit that the death I witnessed on this safari saddened me. I am internally conflicted and will do some soul searching. One side of me wants to save these beasts . The other side is wise enough to know they must have hunters in the field to offer them the protections they need from threats they don't understand.
The grim beast that threatens them has no shame, no morals and no mercy.
