Hunting with Eagles and Jackals….

Having first met Larry Pendleton and Paul Valentine through our good friend, Bwana Big Jim Smith, at SCI some years ago, it was immediately obvious that we were all men cut from the same cloth. A passion for hunting was the obvious link, but the manner of hunting, combined with the species these two gentleman were after is what truly bonded us.
It would be their fourth trip to Africa, their first having been Zimbabwe, then Tanzania, and finally Namibia. South Africa’s East Cape would be their choice destination this time round, joining up with Professional Hunters, Carl van Zyl and Greg Hayes.
Together with their teams they took on the mountains for the ever elusive Mountain Reedbuck, Vaal Rhebuck and Klipspringer, before pursuing Cape Bushbuck, Nyala, Warthog, Blesbuck, and Zebra, along our coastal belt.

One particular afternoon up in the mountains of the Great Karoo, while searching for Klipspringer, Carl and Larry spotted a group of three animals high on a ridge above their glassing position. The Klipspringer were feeding in a relaxed manner, and while the spotting scope could hardly make out horns at that distance, the ram seemed to look promising between the mirages of a cold winters afternoon.
We immediately set off into the hills, choosing the “long way up”, earring on the side of caution as not to run off an opportunity. That morning we had already looked over two pairs as well as a single male – none of which warranted a closer look.

Reaching a predetermined rocky ledge, hoping the Klipspringer were still settled in a relaxed manner, we crawled up to the edge.

At first we spotted nothing, sure of the fact that they had to have moved off during the time it took us to reach the top. We indicated to Michael, our local tracker in the area, to move around the rocky ridge as quiet as he could, to see if he could possibly relocate our quarry. Soon he waved us over.
The animals had moved in under a ledge below our position and were in fact a lot closer than what we had expected. We got Larry in position, straddling the right edge of a large boulder.

The younger of the two females was standing out in the clear, presenting a beautiful shot, but the ram was playing hard to get, popping up from time to time, never presenting a shot.

With the sun starting to set in the west we noticed a pair of Black Eagles diving down towards the Klipspringer’s position. The birds were out on the hunt themselves too, immediately catching the attention of the weary Klipspringer. I indicated to Larry to get ready, the Klipspringer would soon be focused on the Eagles, not wanting to let them out of their sight. We waited….

After some time of mock diving by the Eagles it was clear they weren’t going to land a Klipspringer so they moved on further down the ridge hunting for rock rabbits.

With the setting sun casting a shadow ever nearer our position, I decided it was time to try my best predator calling imitation. Klipspringer are known to be extremely inquisitive, often responding to a fellow animals distress call in an alarming manner.
No sooner had we started calling, literally seconds, when three hungry looking black backed Jackal popped their heads up over a rock below us. Wow! This was action in its rawest form. The Klipspringer too immediately all jumped onto a large boulder, only to spot the Jackal and head west. Our chances were quite literally blown.
That evening around the campfire we relayed our experiences to Greg and Paul, when Greg suggested everything comes in 3’s. Both the Black Eagles and Jackals had given it their best shot – we would have our turn the following morning.

The next morning we were sure to head out of camp first, heading up the same ridge again.

We immediately spotted the three again, this time at 350 yards. We decided to give it a go, but the 200 grain from Larry’s 300 WinMag was dropping off just too fast, that after the third shot without success we decided to close the gap between us and the animals.
By now the Klipspringer had run off into a side valley, giving us enough time to regather ourselves and get within range, while at the same time settling down again.

This time Larry made sure of his shot earning his dream Klipspringer.

Our Klipspringer hunt was a mere one experience of the many we shared on safari. The stories around the dinner table will live on in our memories for ever, with Greg’s many comical experiences being a certain highlight.
Towards the end of the hunt when our various team competitions were in full swing, it was decided that hunter against hunter, and PH on PH had been tested, but not tracker on tracker. We dully decided a couple of cull Impala for our trackers, Bless and Zwayi, would provide a great hunt and further challenge as to finally settle who would lay claim to the A-Team status.

The guys did extremely well in fairly limited time and fading light, both earning one shot kills, but more than that breaking out some smiles that will take years to suppress!

On our last day, having hunted all the guys were after and coming to the conclusion that there were no winners or losers, we headed down to the coast for a day of golfing at the Royal Port Alfred Golf Club. Rick joined us, making for another fun-filled day, closing off a safari with two gentleman who arrived as strangers, but left as friends.
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