T
LI
ME FE
MEMBER
wo very important men in my life were why I was riding in the suicide seat of the articulated, all-terrain vehicle known in shorthand as a Hägglunds BV, or even shorter hand, a BV. PH Julian Moller and Sena Trackers Dolish and ME MBER Francisco were taking my wife, Frances, and me out for a second time in an attempt to harvest a Cape Buffalo. We were passing through the beautiful Acacia-Mahogany-Palm woodland of Coutada 11. Coutada is Portuguese, meaning, well, a lot of things – a civic region, a committee’s topic – but in this case, it stood for a hunting area in the Zambeze Delta of Mozambique. We were on a safari with Mark Haldane’s Zambeze Delta Safaris. More accurately, I was on a safari. Frances, a confirmed non-hunter, was there to record with video and photography not only the various hunts but two TEDx presentations and material for several articles and an upcoming book. The current hunt was actually not in pursuit of a ‘trophy’. Instead, I had purchased the right to hunt a so-called ‘community buffalo’. It was really a trophy hunt in reverse. And, before it was over, I would understand
MY DAD’S RIFLE FEEDS A VILLAGE BY M. ARNOLD
that it is just as difficult to collect a ‘non-trophy’ as it is a ‘trophy’ Cape Buffalo. I would also understand that non-trophy bulls are just as huge, tough, and likely to turn the tables if the hunter makes a poor shot. Why was I hunting a bull whose horns and cape would never grace my trophy room wall? The answer is complex, and involves the two men mentioned at the front of this article, who are my mentors, one teaching me how to be a hunter and the other teaching me how to conserve African wildlands. The first was my late dad, the second is my friend Mark Haldane. Each has modeled the passion for pursuing game animals. Mark has also modeled the passion for ecosystem restoration.
A NON-TROPHY HUNT WITH A FAMILY HEIRLOOM
The genesis of my community buffalo hunt came about as I discussed the upcoming Safari in Coutada 11 with Mark Haldane. I mentioned that I would like to film one of the regular ‘meat drops’ by Zambeze Delta Safaris. A key facet of the conservation of Coutada 11 is the provision of 10-pounds of red meat per week, to each Sena family, from animals taken by sport hunters. In combination with the cooperative fishing program – also begun by Zambeze Delta Safaris – the meat drops provide 62 HUNTER'S HORN™ FALL 2021
MBER
