Though not from this trip it shows just how spectacular the night sky can be without light pollution. My wife, Janice took this in the Caprivi in 2014.
Sunday, September 23
Up at 4:20 for a 5:00 breakfast call. If it wasn’t so dang early, this would be a marvelous time of day. The moon has set and the stars are cast among the heavens like a handful of diamonds across a black canvas. The air is cool, almost cold, compared to the heat of the day. I pull my jacket a little tighter around me and take a sip of coffee. The contrast between the heat of the liquid running down my throat and the cold on the outside of it sent a shiver down my spine. The shiver brought a smile as it occurred to me that in a few short hours I would be wishing the cold would have lasted a little longer. This morning would be a first for me. I was going to accompany Johann and Peter in the hippo recovery effort. I was unsure what, if any, good I would be, but butchering a hippo with the possibility of simultaneously dodging crocs would definitely be a new experience and one I would not want to miss out on. Byron was going to spend his morning looking for elephant tracks. If he located some, he would drop off the tracker and game scout to keep an eye on things and then come to collect me.
The hippo was an “own use” animal and we were responsible for delivering the meat to a local village for distribution. I was curious as to the procedure for field dressing and cutting up a 5000-pound animal. Our local help had pulled the hippo to the bank during the night, making it easier for them to keep an eye out for crocs. We had yet to take pictures for Peter and needed to do so before the butchering process could begin. We only had to move the hippo up a three-foot bank for it to be out of the water and on a nice flat, dry area. This was much easier said than done. We broke the heavy-duty tow strap twice and ended up having to take the pictures with the hippo at the water’s edge. Now I had a job. Rifle in hand, I kept an eye out for crocs and other hippos. After the picture taking was completed, the real work began. It reminded me of the riddle “how do you eat an elephant”? Answer, “One bite at a time”. Thus the butchering of the hippo began one cut at a time. It took roughly three hours for the butchering to be completed and the first load piled onto Johann’s Landcruiser. The load taxed even the mighty Landcruiser’s capabilities, so I stayed back to lighten the load. No big deal. Someone had to watch the rest of the meat, and Jonas (Johann’s tracker and #1 hand) and Mikey (the Lusese camp manager) would be there to keep me company. It should not take too long for them to deliver the meat, right? Wrong. Trekking through the bush with a ton and a half of meat on your truck was slow and painstaking. One extra hard jolt and it could spell disaster for a shock or leaf spring and possibly the rest of your hunt. Repairing either in the middle of nowhere would be next to impossible. It was almost two hours before they returned. The four of us loaded the last ton of meat into the truck, and it was back to offload at the village center. Distribution was well underway by the time we got back. I watched for a while as the large pieces were made into smaller ones and given to the villagers. A rather large crowd had gathered and were waiting for their share. Delivery complete, we headed back for some lunch and rest. Byron was there waiting for us. Still no elephant tracks.
Some of the first cuts are made. Note how thick the skin is.
Sharing the bounty. The hippo is being divided up and distributed at the local village center. Everyone gets a share.
