Cape buffalo hunting can be hours of boredom punctuated by moments of adrenaline. A hunter in search of an exceptional bull will work hard. Key is finding a fresh track—not always the simplest task.
A tip from a villager in the Caprivi Strip puts professional hunter Phillip Fourie on the tracks of a herd of 600 Cape buffalo: Can he close the deal for his client?
Professional hunter Hardus van Zyl and Iowa’s Mike McNichols line up a shot on a great Cape buffalo bull. But McNichols’ shot is high, and the bull leads the hunters “straight through the jess”—not a place anyone wants to track a wounded buffalo.
While Africa’s Cape buffalo may be more infamous, the wide-horned bulls of Australia’s Arnhem Land are no less of a force to me reckoned with. Realizing that is simple, especially when the locals—and history—provide the lesson.