EP 406 Dr. Mike Arnold's African Hunting Adventure

Host Larry Weishuhn welcomes Dr. Mike Arnold, a geneticist and well seasoned outdoorsman, to discuss his recent hunting adventures in Africa. Mike shares that he maximizes his transatlantic flights by booking mini-safaris to hunt multiple species across diverse terrains. Mike began his trip in Johannesburg before heading to the Great Karoo, a high-desert region sitting at 6,000 to 6,500 feet in elevation. He hunted on a newly organized 50,000-acre property divided into a 28,000-acre low-fenced area and a 20,000-acre high-fenced area used to protect white rhinos from poachers. His targets were the Bontebok and its closely related subspecies, the Blessbok, both of which were historically driven to near extinction by farmers but saved through agricultural game-farming systems. Mike noted that both species were highly flighty and challenging to stalk, comparing their behavior to North American Pronghorn antelope. He successfully harvested a beautiful Bontebok ram at 250 yards, and after missing two initial shots, harvested a Blessbok at the same distance. The high-elevation terrain was unseasonably cold, and the hunters were snowed on while pursuing game in the higher mountain property. Mike traveled higher into the Stormberg area for a bird hunt commissioned by Diana Rupp for Sports Afield magazine. Using a Fausti shotgun, he targeted Greywing partridge, Guineafowl, and Snipe. The Greywing population was surprisingly sparse, which locals attributed to a recent fungal infection. The wild Guineafowl proved to be incredibly fast runners, requiring a spot-and-stalk hunting approach to flush them out. Snipe hunting in the marshes was extremely difficult because the birds fly only a few feet off the ground, though Mike eventually harvested a female after two missed shots. Despite his wife Frances initially forbidding more taxidermy in the house, they agreed to commission a full-body mount of the snipe. The couple then flew to Coutada 11 in Mozambique, an area characterized by massive conservation successes, including hyena reintroductions and a lion population that grew from 24 to 100 individuals. At Frances's request, Mike embarked on a "community buffalo" hunt to provide meat for a local village. This was a "reverse trophy hunt" where hunters pay to harvest an old, non-exportable Cape buffalo bull solely to feed the community. After a grueling 10-hour track through woods and crocodile-infested marshes, Mike successfully shot the buffalo at 178 yards using a .416 Rigby CZ bolt-action rifle. Mike also hunted a Crawshay's zebra, a unique plains zebra noted for having stripes that go all the way down to its hooves and an asymmetrical backline. He harvested the zebra at 65 yards using his guide's custom .338-06 rifle loaded with Hornady ELD-X bullets. Frances requested the zebra be made into a flat skin rather than a traditional rug with a felt backing to avoid tripping on it in their bedroom. Mike is gathering material for his upcoming book focusing on hunters who have helped bring species back from the brink of extinction. He has two remaining hunts for the book: an Arctic snowmobile hunt for muskox and a hunt for chamois in Spain. Listeners can find Mike's current books and his podcast, Bringing Back the Wild, at mikearnoldoutdoors.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices