The Lord's Kudu

by Donna Rae Nathan

In October 1999, I was invited to hunt at Professor Fanie Nel’s new bowhunting ranch, Kwikstaart, in the old Northern Transvaal, South Africa – a 2 ½ hour drive from our home in Pretoria.  In appreciation of Tink’s advice and guidance in converting his game ranch to a bowhunting facility, and our personalized instruction of himself, his sons, his son-in-law, and his ranch manager at the Tink Nathan Bowhunting Institute, Dr. Nel offered me a five day safari hunting package consisting of 1 Blue Wildebeeste (male or female), plus 1 Impala (male or female), and 2 Wart Hogs (male only). 

            After an early start on Monday, and having experienced the usual “Murphy’s Law” delays, we were finally in our pond-side blind by noon.  The blinds are 15 yards from the water.  They are steel frame base 21 feet in the air, 7x7foot concrete floor, split pole wood walls lined with green shade cloth, and a metal roof underlined with split poles.  The two vertical shooting slots were on opposite sides of the blind and open from the floor to the roofline.  Access to the blind is handrailled metal stairs.  Gear hooks all around the inside railings, two cushioned chairs.  We spent some time customizing the interior to our specific needs – adding bow hooks, removing a small table for more floor space, and closing down the shooting slots to a workable level with shade cloth and camouflage bandannas.  And of course, checking shooting distances, marking yardages with natural objects, and taking practice shots.  Liberal use of Tink’s Non Stink on shoes, clothes, and skin minimized the contamination of the area with human scent.  One last check on the visibility of the bowhunter at the shooting slot, some last minute camouflage modifications to minimize the animals sensing movement in the blind and we were ready.  

            Camouflage is vitally important in bowhunting because of the necessity to get CLOSE to the animal.  I use different camouflage patterns to fit the situation – and even the time of day.  Inside the blind I use a very dark to black pattern (Advantage, Bob Fratzke, Rhodesian) to minimize the silhouette illusion if the animal looks up into the shooting slot or just up at the blind in general.  Anything that moves, hands, heads, faces must be darkened to be effective.  Shoes are often overlooked.  Soles must be both flexible and quiet. A slight scrape sound on a blind floor will send the animals leaping – better barefoot if need be.  On the ground, I pick more natural colored illusions in large outline breaking patterns to blend in with the terrain (Sticks n’ Limbs, TreBark Sniper) and choose soft finishes for silent tracking through the brush. The leafy gilly suits are superb in stand hunting, but the African “wait-a-bit” acacia trees with their myriad of tiny hooks play havoc going through the bush.  Mix and match patterns on shirt, pants, hats, bandannas, etc for maximum effect.  “To paint or not to paint” – that is the question each person decides – face, neck, hands, fingers.  Fingerless gloves are great so I don’t have to remove my jewelry.  Nail polish color is a moot point – reflection and shine are the determining factors here. Equipment and gear need to be checked for all levels of camouflage – sound, smell, color, pattern, texture, shine, color intensity, and UV factors.  

            The animals started coming in!!!  Kudu – Impala – more Kudu – more Impala – female wart hogs and babies --- and birds – Cape Turtle Doves, Yellowbilled Hornbills, Grey Lourie “go away” birds, yellow and black Weaver birds, Redbilled Woodhoopoes.  A veritable Garden of Eden.  Five kudus – all average size cows and one lead bull.  None impala ewes lead by a large, wise female.  A group of six kudus – one HUGE herd bull, a younger bull, a spike bull, and three cows.  The kudus concentrated on the cabbages put out in the shooting areas, glancing up to the blind occasionally when they detected any TINY movement or sound.  

            The Kudu is a large (males – over 650 pounds), tall (60 inches at the shoulder) antelope, greyish fawn to greyish blue in color with up to 10 very faint white vertical body stripes.  The males have to most magnificent horns in the world – massive black horns that corkscrew away from each other forming a pair of ivory tipped spirals. A distinctive white chevron is found under the eyes and on the bridge of the nose. An upright greyish-white mane runs from neck to tail, while a second shaggy mane runs from jawline to chest.  The bump at the shoulders echoes the curved shapes of neck and horns.   Kudu have some of the longest legs found on any antelope, and frequently clear 7 ½ foot game proof fences.  Kudu have a short black-tipped tail, white underneath, that they flash like a white tail deer when they run.  Some people call them the African  Whitetail.  They are widely regarded as the most intelligent and most stealthy antelope in Africa.  Ernest Hemingway sang their praises time and again.  Their oversized ears remind me of radar as they swept the area for sounds.  Their large brown eyes move constantly to check out the situation and alert them to ANYTHING unusual.  Even the youngsters are extremely alert. No wonder Kudu are considered the most difficult of the antelope family to hunt – and the most sought-after trophy in Africa!!  

            The impala groups were nice, with many ewes and average rams.  There was one exceptional ram that stayed in the underbrush and never came to drink – smart Big Boy. The impala ewes danced in to drink, saw their reflections in the water, and skittered away only to return with mincing coquettish steps to finally spread their legs and lean down to drink the clear water.  One ewe hears a dove coo and frantically scrambles up to check the area – ears twitching back and forth anxiously.  Another leaps up and they all disappear into the brush in graceful 12-foot leaps.  Once again all is quiet, except for the soft cooing of the Cape Turtle doves – the song of Africa.  

            Monday ended at sundown with no arrow shot and a number of pictures taken.  

            Tuesday morning I was greeted with the news that Dr. Nel had decided to change my hunting package to A CHOICE OF 1 Blue Wildebeeste or 1 Kudu cow or 1 Kudu bull plus the original impala and wart hogs.  FAN-TAS-TIC!!!  

            Tuesday morning in the blind was quiet – few animals moving.  Anything that came in was spooky and skittish – no shots.  Quiet time in the blind is spent reading, reviewing shot placement, or sharpening broadheads while the other person watches.  About 1 PM I was reading my daily Bible study when Tink nudged my ankle and mouthed ”Kudu”.  I nodded in acknowledgement but I was not too eager to get set to shoot since Kudu DO NOT move in the heat of the day.  They prefer early morning and late evening.  Imagine my shock to see a BIG BULL KUDU WITH TWO TURNS DOUBLE SPIRALED HORNS calmly nibbling leaves at 14 yards with nary a glance to the blind!!!  

            My Cobra release with “animal” handgrip is always on my right wrist, so all I had to do was lift the arrowed Jennings Micro Carbon Extreme bow with X-Ring stabilizer from the padded bow hook next to the shooting slot. I have total confidence in my Tru-Glo Range Rover sight set for 10-15-20 yards. I just KNEW every animal in a five-mile radius could hear my heart pounding.  Oh no, the Kudu moved – he’s walked away to the left out of range.  “Come back. Please come back” I prayed in my mind.  He drifted back in range – AT 10 YARDS!!  A cow kudu grazed too close to him and he chased her away with an arrogant toss of his double spiral horns with the ivory tips.  The shooting angle is too tight – too much quartering away.  I have to wait and hope for a better shot.  I shoot 25” 1818 XX 75 Easton aluminum shafts (no longer manufactured). 3 fletch, white dipped and custom crested by me the night before the hunt, with Modoc Warrior single blade 125 grains broadheads for total arrow weight of 450 grains.  That’s right for me pulling 35 pounds.  But I need the broadside angle to do a double lung shot for maximum effectiveness with my light tackle.  Tink whispers in my ear “ Wait, don’t draw.  I know he’ll turn”.  

            But Tink cannot see clearly from his angle over my shoulder.  He can’t see the twitch of the kudu’s skin where a fly lands and he flicks it off irritably again and again.  Tink can’t see the bull losing interest in the feeding and thinking about the cool shade in the thickets. He’s broadside – draw, anchor, aim – PICK THE SPOT – PICK THE SPOT – straight up the front leg 1/3 of the distance to the top of the back – First stripe on him- see the spot.   Breathe in, breathe out, relax, JUST TOUCH THE RELEASE TRIGER! The arrow is flying. OH NO – he’s moving – how can he do that?! The arrow is in him – only the fletch is showing – but it is too far back – I can’t believe it went in so far!! The angle, the angle is good – going forward, lungs, and maybe heart.  He lunges forward and runs off into the brush on the south side of the area across the narrow dirt access road.  

            I turn to Tink and chatter in my excitement – “ Did you see where he went?” “I hit him, but he moved and the arrow hit further back than I aimed” “ I think I had the angle right for lungs and everything” Tink silences me with a quick wave of the hand – “Quiet! I can hear him. I can hear the gurgles in his breathing. He’s not far away. I think he might be down.”  

             I collapse in my chair, amazed that NOW my hands start to shake – I was so cool and steady during the shot.  We have to wait one hour – a full sixty years! – before we venture out t find the Big Bull.  I spend the time changing to tracking and stalking camouflage, reviewing in my mind shot placement at ground level and tracking techniques, and checking my broadheads one last time.  I wish my stomach would settle down to a steady rumble rather than these flip-flops it keeps doing.  

            Tink and I make an action plan at the base of the blind.  Tink is amazed at the death gurgle sound he heard.  This was a first for him in all his years of hunting – I know it is a first for me!  At the road, Tink exclaimed, “ I can see him. Wait here. I need the camera”  “Where, where?” I’m all thumbs trying to hold the arrowed bow, look in the desired direction, and spot my Kudu.  Forget it – I want to track my animal – Where’s the arrow? Here’s a spot of blood – and another.  He came this way.  Look there he is – He’s so close!  Is he dead? I better walk around him – I have to stay away from the horns in case he is still alive – Kudu have been known to kill their hunters.  He’s not moving – I’ll touch him with an arrow.  He’s really dead – YA-HOO!!!!!  

            I’m happy and sad at the same time.   I can’t believe I did this. Thank you, Dear Lord. Thank you for giving me this magnificent animal. Thank you for the clean, quick kill. Thank you for the successful hunt. Thank you for making my dreams of a bull kudu come true.  

In retrospect, a number of amazing facts were revealed about this hunt. 

1.      I was only pulling 33 ½ pounds, not my assumed 35 pounds.  This was discovered later when I verified the information for this article.  Prior to the hunt I had turned my bow down to 30 pounds.  I had displaced vertebrae in my neck and planned to compete in two Field Archery tournaments. After the tournaments, I turned the bow back up as far as I could handle and “guessed” it was 35 pounds.

2.      I had 18 inches of penetration, which pierced the kidneys and nicked the point of the heart.  One lung was probably penetrated and a liver artery cut, but we were unable to ascertain the total damage to the internal organs due to the speed of the butchering process.  These assumptions are relative to the excessive amount of blood found in the chest cavity – estimated a full gallon of blood.

3.      Penetration of the stomach and the regurgitation of stomach contents into the throat caused the gurgling sound heard by Tink. This was confirmed in the butchering process.  The fact that the sound was clearly audible at over 70 yards by Tink inside the blind is evidence of the physical strength of Kudu.

4.      My arrow grazed the inner side of the last rib giving me the perfect penetration angle for maximum effectiveness. A hair’s width either way would have been a disaster – a slightly wounded animal.

5.      The actions of my Kudu were out of the norm – movement in the heat of the day and disregard for basic “Kudu security”

6.      My Bible study for the week was to start documenting mentions of bow and arrow in the Bible.  I was working my way through Genesis and had just finished Isaac’s request for his son to “take your bow and quiver and go out into the open country and hunt some wild game for me” when Tink alerted me that a kudu had come in.

7.      The bull traveled only 71 yards from the blind.  He was down in seconds.  Who could ask for a quicker kill?

8.      This was a single arrow kill. No follow-up arrows – no finishing off arrows. One shot, one arrow, one kill.

9.      My kudu weighed in at approximately 625 pounds – quite respectable. This is an elk size animal.

10.  Although I have observed and been around kudu since I moved to South Africa in 1991, I have never had the opportunity to hunt them until this day.  I killed my Bull Kudu on the FIRST day I ever hunted kudu.  

PS – Two days later I saw my Kudu group again. The 1 ½ turn spiraled bull had taken over the herd bull position.  I feel sure that he will be a magnificent trophy for some lucky person in a few years, having passed on his genes to his progeny. 

            I have joined a very exclusive hunting club – the Sisterhood of Bowhunted Kudu.  I bagged the double helix corkscrew Grey Ghost of Africa – THE GREATER SOUTHERN KUDU BULL.