A memorable stalk

He wasn’t on the list but this was going to make for a memorable stalk and a great trophy.
Originally the trophy list comprised of some pretty difficult animals which would mean some high mountain stuff. Unfortunately the client picked up some bug on his trip over and the high altitude stuff was going to have to wait for another adventure.
The change now involved a Burchells zebra. These were known to be quite wild on the concession and would make a hunt of it if we found them at all.
We woke as usual for breakfast with the bright rays of sunshine streaming across the dining room table. My client still weak after his days of not being able to keep any food in and also trying to come to terms with the time zone changes. Considering he came from literally the other side of the world was acceptable.
With our breakfast washed down by coffee we headed out to the hunting vehicle to start the day. Tracker and tracking dog ready in their places waiting in anticipation for the rundown of what would be our chosen quarry for the day. The word zebra was greeted with a look which obviously meant good luck with that one.
Leaving the lodge we headed along the rocky road towards an open plain. Passing springbuck and red lechwe on our way well within shooting range but strangely as it is they seemed to know that they were not on the quarry list. If they had have been I can guarantee that they would have been hot footing it in the opposite direction.
We stopped to glass the area from the safari seats on the back of the vehicle where after a few minutes we saw a herd slowly making their way away from us up a small set of rocky hills. We sat and discussed and then drove to a spot where we would be able to try to stalk in and ambush them. No such luck. When we reached the top of the hill they had disappeared. We sat and glassed again. They had turned and headed back across the plain. Busted.
We gathered are thoughts and moved on to look for others.
At the far side of the concession we climbed a acacia covered hill in search of another herd, but visibility was reduced and you could only see the legs if you kneeled down.
Then my tracker clicked to get my attention. Pointing to the North. Standing in the shade below us on a small hill was another herd about 1 kilometre away. They knew nothing of us so we had the upper hand but it would certainly not be easy.
Leaving Pride the tracker on the high ground with a radio we headed off in the opposite direction so we would have dead ground between us and the zebra. We moved slowly over the rocky terrain and keeping our eyes peeled for any other animals which may give our intentions away with a bark or fleeing up the hillside. So far so good. Nothing had bust us and Pride was telling me every now and then that the zebra were still in the same place as they had been when we first saw them. Turning every now and then to reassure the client that everything was fine and that this hard work on his suffering body was worth it me continued.
Then the radio went off in my ear, “they are moving”. Quickly asking which way and at what speed. The reply came back that the herd had partly split and some had moved to an open area. We continued on our way down and keeping our attention on the direction of the wind and our surroundings. Slowly now, they must be close. Still not being able to see our quarry we sat and I asked Pride, my tracker, where they were. He said they were close but then I realised we had past them. His directions were not fantastic which is understandable as what he could see from his vantage point on the hill was very different to our view down in the bushes.
We slowly edged forward and then my client clicked his fingers. He was quite a bit taller than me which on this occasion was an advantage. In front of us he had spotted a slight movement which turned out to be a zebra’s ear twitching. This only being about 70 yards in front of us but luckily in a dip. We edged to our right, keeping low and trying to get to a position where we had a good view of the herd. We got to a tree only 50 yds from the herd but still we could only see the top half of our quarry. Many of them standing facing away and others covered by the bushes. We waited. Pride sitting with the client’s family on top of the hill waiting in anticipation for the shot and wondering why on earth we were not shooting. Only finding out later the real reason.
My client waiting patiently on the shooting sticks. Every now and then looking through the scope and shaking his head. A mature animal took a couple of steps forward. I saw the safety catch get pushed forward and the client nodded to me. Slowly taking up the slack on the trigger the 300 win mag went off sending the bullet straight and true. The zebra dropped where he was standing. An eruption of black and white burst out of the bushes with the familiar vocals of the zebra. We moved in slowly to admire the trophy we had just harvested. He was a great old stallion with his wolf teeth worn down from years of fighting.
He will now be heading across the pond to where he will be the rug in the nursery, where I am sure the story of this great stalk will be told to the future hunters of a certain family.