Designed by Hunters, for Hunters
One of the first things American hunters notice on an African hunting safari is the skill of the trackers.
On a true African hunting safari, the success of the hunt often depends just as much on the tracker's skill as it does on the hunter's shot.
Most hunters arrive expecting the professional hunter to guide the hunt. And of course he does. But after a few days in the bush it becomes obvious that another pair of eyes is just as important.
The tracker.
Many visiting hunters quickly realize that these men see things in the bush that the rest of us would walk past without ever noticing.
At times it almost feels like they have a sixth sense.
For many hunters, watching a tracker work becomes one of the most fascinating parts of the entire safari.
The remarkable ability many trackers display in the bush is not something that appears overnight.
For many of these men, tracking is a skill that has been passed down through generations. Long before modern rifles and safari vehicles existed, their fathers and grandfathers relied on the same knowledge to survive in the African bush.
From a young age, many trackers learn to recognize the tracks of different animals, to read subtle changes in the ground, and to understand how wildlife moves through the landscape. What may appear to visiting hunters as a mysterious "sixth sense" is often the result of years of experience combined with knowledge that has been shared within families for generations.
By the time a skilled tracker is guiding hunters through the bush, he may have spent most of his life learning how to read the land.
For visiting hunters, it quickly becomes clear that they are walking beside someone who understands the bush in a way few outsiders ever will.
To most visiting hunters, the bush floor looks the same everywhere.
Dry leaves. Dust. Grass. Small stones. It all blends together into something that seems impossible to read.
But a good tracker sees a completely different picture.
A faint hoofprint in the sand, a blade of grass bent the wrong way, or a small patch of disturbed soil can immediately tell him that animals passed through the area.
And not just that animals were there.
Trackers can often tell:
It's a skill that isn't learned from books. It comes from spending a lifetime in the bush.
One of the questions many visiting hunters ask early in a safari is how a tracker can tell whether tracks are fresh or several hours old.
To most hunters, a track in the sand simply looks like a track. But an experienced tracker notices small details that reveal how recently the animal passed through the area.
The edges of a fresh track are usually sharp and well defined. As time passes, wind, insects, and small animals begin to soften those edges.
Trackers also pay attention to the moisture in the soil and how the sunlight has dried the disturbed ground. Even the way dust settles inside a track can tell them how long ago it was made.
Sometimes they will study the track quietly for a moment before standing up and saying something that surprises visiting hunters.
"Two hours."
To the hunter it may look like a guess, but more often than not the animals really are somewhere ahead.
Trackers do more than simply follow the tracks of a species. Experienced trackers can often recognize the tracks of individual animals.
The size and shape of a track, the spacing between steps, and even the way an animal places its feet can reveal subtle differences.
A large buffalo bull may leave a heavier, wider spoor than the rest of the herd. An old elephant bull might drag a foot slightly as he walks. A particular leopard may leave a track with a distinctive pad shape that experienced trackers learn to recognize.
After following animals for years in the same areas, many trackers begin to remember individual animals and the patterns they follow.
To visiting hunters this ability can seem almost unbelievable.
But for the tracker, the ground often tells a very detailed story about exactly which animal passed through the area.
One lesson many visiting hunters learn quickly is that it is best to let the tracker do his job without too much help.
For hunters who are used to following their own tracks at home, the instinct is often to step forward and try to assist. A hunter may spot what looks like a fresh print in the sand or point out where he thinks the animal turned.
But in the African bush that enthusiasm can sometimes create problems.
Tracks can easily be disturbed if too many people walk over them. A single misplaced boot can blur the shape of a track or cover the subtle marks that tell a tracker which direction the animal moved.
When that happens, the clear story the ground was telling suddenly becomes much harder to read.
Experienced professional hunters usually keep the group slightly behind the tracker for exactly that reason. It allows the tracker to study the spoor without it being disturbed.
If the tracks are accidentally stepped on or damaged, the tracker may have to circle around the area to find the spoor again and pick up the trail.
That can take time, and in thick bush it can mean starting the track almost from the beginning.
For most hunters, it doesn't take long to realize that the best thing they can do is simply watch and learn.
Standing back and letting the tracker work is often the fastest way to keep the hunt moving forward.
Even the best trackers occasionally lose a track.
Wind can erase spoor in sandy soil. Hard ground may leave almost no visible impression. A herd of animals may cross the path and disturb the tracks completely.
When this happens, the tracker rarely panics.
Instead he begins to circle slowly around the last clear track, studying the ground carefully until he finds the spoor again.
This method, often called "casting," allows the tracker to relocate the trail without disturbing the area further.
To visiting hunters it can feel as if the track has vanished completely.
But with patience and experience, the tracker usually finds the next clue that continues the story.
Watching a tracker recover a lost track is often just as impressive as watching him follow one.
One of the moments that surprises visiting hunters most is when a tracker suddenly stops and points toward an animal that nobody else can see.
I remember an elephant hunt where this happened very clearly.
The tracker stopped and quietly pointed into a wall of thick bush ahead of us. He whispered that the elephant was standing right there.
I looked where he was pointing and saw nothing but branches and shadows.
I kept staring, trying to follow his finger, but there was simply nothing there.
The tracker pointed again.
"Right there."
For several seconds I still saw nothing.
Then suddenly it appeared.
The outline of the elephant slowly became visible between the branches. The curve of the back. The grey hide blending perfectly with the trees. The faint movement of an ear.
Once you finally see it, you can't believe you missed something that big standing there the whole time.
That is when most visiting hunters realize they are seeing the bush very differently from the tracker beside them.
But before that moment, the animal was completely invisible.
That ability to pick up shapes and movement in thick bush is something great trackers develop over many years.
Trackers are not only looking at the ground.
They are constantly studying everything around them.
A broken twig may show the direction an animal traveled. Crushed grass can reveal where a herd recently passed. Even a spider web stretched across a trail can tell a tracker that nothing large has moved through that path for some time.
Sometimes trackers even examine dung to judge how recently animals were in the area.
If the dung is still warm and flies are beginning to gather, the herd may have passed only minutes earlier.
To most hunters these small details might seem insignificant.
But to a tracker they are clues that tell the story of what happened in the bush.
Good trackers do more than simply follow tracks on the ground.
They also understand how animals move through the landscape.
Buffalo herds often travel toward water during the heat of the day. Elephants may move toward feeding areas or riverine bush. Plains game frequently follow familiar game trails between bedding areas and feeding grounds.
Because trackers understand these patterns, they sometimes know where animals are likely to appear long before the hunter sees them.
A tracker may follow spoor for some distance and then suddenly change direction, guiding the group toward thicker bush or a nearby water source.
To the hunter it may seem like a guess.
But very often, only a short while later, the animals appear exactly where the tracker expected them to be.
For many hunters visiting Africa, moments like that make the tracker's skill seem almost unbelievable.
There is a moment many hunters experience at some point during a safari when the pace of the hunt suddenly changes. The tracker slows down, studies the ground carefully, and then quietly turns to the professional hunter.
"They are close."
To the visiting hunter, the bush often looks exactly the same as it did a few minutes earlier. The trees stand still, the grass barely moves, and there is no obvious sign that animals are anywhere nearby. But the tracker has noticed something subtle that most people would never see --- fresh tracks pressed into soft soil, grass that has only just been bent down by passing animals, or dung that has not yet had time to dry in the sun.
To him, these small details tell a clear story.
The animals passed through recently, and they cannot be far ahead.
Within minutes the professional hunter may quietly motion for the hunter to step forward onto the shooting sticks, and suddenly the quiet walk through the bush becomes the moment everyone has been waiting for.
Tracking animals in Africa is rarely done by one person alone.
It is a team effort.
The tracker reads the ground and follows the spoor. The professional hunter studies the wind, the terrain, and the animal's behavior.
Together they decide how to approach the animal and how to position the hunter for the shot.
For visiting hunters, watching that teamwork unfold can be one of the most impressive parts of the entire safari.
When following dangerous game, the tracker's role becomes even more important.
Animals such as buffalo, lion, and leopard demand careful tracking. A wounded buffalo may double back through the bush, and a leopard can disappear silently into thick cover.
In those situations the smallest clue matters. This is why buffalo hunts are widely considered one of the most serious and respected dangerous game hunts in Africa.
A single track turned slightly to one side. Grass disturbed where an animal paused. Dust that has only recently settled.
Those details help the professional hunter decide how to continue the track safely.
Leopard hunts have their own moments of quiet tension that trackers know very well.
When a leopard is taken from a baited tree, everyone in the blind is usually listening carefully after the shot. If the shot is good, there is often a heavy sound a moment later as the leopard falls from the branch and hits the ground below.
Trackers know that sound well.
But sometimes the shot is fired and the bush goes quiet.
No thud.
At that moment the tracker and the professional hunter may glance at each other, because they both know what that usually means.
Somewhere out there in the thick bush is a wounded leopard that did not fall from the tree.
Around camp this situation is sometimes joked about later. A tracker might shake his head and say that when he doesn't hear that thud, he already knows the next morning is going to involve a very careful and very serious tracking exercise.
It is the kind of humor that only comes from experience.
Because everyone involved understands that tracking a wounded leopard in thick bush is one of the most intense situations a hunter can face.
One lesson professional hunters and trackers understand very well is that dangerous game does not always run away.
Cape buffalo in particular are well known for circling back after being wounded. Instead of continuing straight ahead, a bull may quietly loop around through thick bush and stop behind the hunters to watch the trail.
Experienced trackers are constantly alert for this possibility.
While following a buffalo track, a tracker may suddenly stop and study the ground more carefully. Sometimes he notices that the tracks have turned slightly, or that the bull has begun moving more slowly. In other cases, the bush itself begins to feel different --- birds become quiet, or the wind shifts in a way that makes the tracker uneasy.
At times like that, the tracker may quietly warn the professional hunter.
"He might have circled."
That small observation can change the entire approach. The professional hunter may slow the group down, check the wind again, and begin moving far more cautiously through the bush.
For visiting hunters, it can be surprising how quickly the mood changes.
Because when tracking dangerous game, the hunter is not always the only one following tracks.
Sometimes the animal is watching the hunters just as closely.
Around many safari camps there is also a bit of humor about trackers and their famous "sixth sense."
Professional hunters often joke that trackers sometimes know exactly how valuable their skills are.
Every now and then a tracker might quietly slip off to visit a nearby village in the evening after the day's hunt is done. When he eventually returns, the professional hunter may shake his head and pretend to be annoyed.
But everyone in camp understands the truth.
A truly good tracker is incredibly difficult to replace.
Their ability to read the bush, follow spoor through difficult terrain, and locate animals that others would never see makes them one of the most valuable members of the entire safari team.
So while there may be the occasional bit of teasing around the campfire, professional hunters know very well just how important these men are.
Because when the hunt begins the next morning, everyone depends on the tracker's skill to guide the way.
For many visiting hunters, watching a skilled tracker work becomes one of the most memorable parts of the entire safari. At first it can be difficult to understand how they see so much detail in what appears to be nothing more than ordinary ground. To the untrained eye, the bush floor looks the same everywhere.
But after a few days walking behind a tracker, those small signs begin to make sense. A faint track in the sand, a broken twig along a game trail, or a patch of grass pressed down where an animal passed through all start to tell a story about where the animal has gone and how recently it moved through the area.
Then comes the moment many hunters remember long after the safari is over. The tracker suddenly raises his head, studies the bush ahead, and quietly points toward an animal standing exactly where he predicted it would be.
It is in moments like that when hunters truly appreciate the remarkable skill these men possess. Because in the African bush, the hunt is not only about the animals. It is also about the people whose knowledge of the land makes the entire experience possible.
After a few days walking behind a skilled tracker, most hunters come to the same realization --- the bush has been telling a story the entire time. The tracker is simply the one who knows how to read it.