Day 30 of 31

Looking for ninety-plus

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

Gusty wind late in the night, then light rain. Strange weather. We walk to the Jackpot Pan and find several young-bull spoors plus two big-bull prints from the previous evening. We decide on the north-east spoor and go. Fifty meters out, cold dung. The bull walked a trail for two hundred meters and then went his own way — through tall grass, bush, thicket, anywhere but a path.

Gusty wind late in the night, then a light rain. Strange weather for this week. We walked to the Jackpot Pan and read the ground: several young-bull spoors and two big-bull prints from the previous evening. We wanted the ninety-plus bull from two nights ago. We chose a spoor going northeast.

First light at the Jackpot Pan, day 30 — Back at the Jackpot Pan — several tracks, one worth the gamble

Fifty meters from the pan: cold dung. He walked a trail two hundred meters and then stepped off it and went his own way — through tall grass, through bushes, through thickets, never on a path again. Hard ground, tall grass, lost him constantly, found him again, again. At two point one kilometers, a mud hole. He had stopped to wallow. We kept on.

Tracking through the raisin-berry bush, day 30 — Lost-and-found tracking — on and off the line all morning

At six kilometers his track mixed with cows. The trackers took a long time to find it. We spotted an elephant four hundred meters out — a small young bull. The trackers had been following the wrong line when the print mixed. We sent them back to cast for the big bull. They could not put him back. He was with the cows.

Broken line in cow sign, day 30 — The big-bull print dissolved into cow sign — he was with them

We looped to intercept. By twelve-thirty we had not cut either. A lunch break in the bush and a decision: walk to the Jackpot Pan in the cool and loop around it rather than drive. Felix sent Xhau up a tree. Cows in the distance — we walked in. Felix climbed a tree and glassed himself. No bull. Two more kilometers and Xhau up a second tree: a bull six hundred meters out. We rushed. Not our bull.

Xhau in the tree, glassing for the bull — Xhau up the tree, twice — and the bull was never the right one

Another smaller pan one point two kilometers from the Jackpot. Big-bull spoors there — they had been drinking during the night. We marked the spot.

Evening return with the second pan marked for tomorrow — A second pan to try tomorrow — the big bulls are drinking at night

Sixteen point seven kilometers for the day.