Following The Spoor: What To Look For

You hear the shot of the rifle and feel the recoil, but the animal runs. What should you do now? To learn about tracking, gerhard uys spoke to willem van der merwe, a professional hunter at chacma safaris, and a tracker from hpg security group, who wanted to remain anonymous.

- Gerhard Uys

Tracking is the art of following a spoor, which may include tracks, scents, blood spatter, scat and broken foliage. Patience, practice and a good understanding of your quarry’s behaviour are needed according to our experts, an experienced tracker with HPG security group, who often tracks rhino poachers, and professional hunter, Willem van der Merwe.

Do different species react differently when wounded?

Willem van der Merwe: Absolutely! When a buffalo realises it is being pursued and is wounded, it will start circling downwind while looking for a wooded area to lie down. In this way, it smells a hunter before the hunter finds it. It usually waits for the hunters to have nearly passed before charging them. I would recommend at least two people follow a buffalo spoor: one should search the ground for blood, and another should keep an eye on the vegetation in case of a charge.

One should also walk around dense grass to see if there’s a blood spoor before entering it.

Bushbuck will retreat into bushes to hide; this allows them to see danger approaching. They can cause a lot of damage if they attack. I have seen how water buck hide in water after being wounded, with only their noses sticking out.

Most animals will get away from where they were shot as fast as possible. The last thing a hunter needs is an animal full of adrenaline; it makes meat tough and is a recipe for a long tracking excursion. I usually wait a couple of minutes after an animal is shot without allowing the animal to see me.

I handle any wounded animal with respect. The first time I was attacked by a wounded animal was on a warthog hunt. After that, I always approach with caution, my rifle at the ready.