Eric Rundgren "Mchangi" Professional Hunter

monish

AH elite
Joined
Sep 3, 2009
Messages
1,385
Reaction score
856
Media
1,093
Articles
86
Member of
AfricaHunting.com
Hunted
Tanzania, Nepal, Canada,
Eric Rundgren "Mchangi", Professional Hunter

watermark.php

Eric Rundgren (right) the morning after with the Leopard that mauled him.

Eric Rundgren was born in England in 1918 , his father Ture Vladimir Rundgren was a Swedish & his mother Elizabeth was a Irish . He was seven months old when his parents shifted to Kenya, his father a native of Odensvi in Sweden was first among the early White Hunters in Kenya. Eric was one of the most experienced hunters of all time . He had shot more dangerous game than anybody else on earth . He never boasted about it but is a fact.

The Africans called him Mchangi meaning tiny colored beads , if the bead is dropped on the floor it may run around every where so was Rundgren Here, There & Everywhere. He had a very explosive nature & had a typical bad guy mystique.He was a tall well built man with piercing blue eyes, reddish hair & fair skinned. He stood under six feet in his shoes , and enjoyed smoking.

watermark.php

Eric Rundgren "Mchangi", Professional Hunter

Ture Rundgren (Sweden), Eric's father went out shooting game on TANA RIVER. Eric started hunting at the age of 12. He worked as a junior forester with Kenya Forestry at Aberdares. Then to moved to MWINGA(Now Mt Kenya Safari Club) near Nanyuki. Between 1939-1944, he attended his share of War, then back at Nanyuki as a Control Officer for Game Department. He gets tossed by a buffalo into a stream. In 1945, he married PAT and had a son DONALD.

His career as a Professional Hunter was at his peak during the mid 50s & 60s.He was working for famous Ker & Downey Safaris. As a hunter Eric packed the testosterone in his cartridge belt , nothing could sway him when he was on the heels chasing a dangerous game . Eric had the extraordinary hunting instincts which were in him naturally . He was trained by another hunting greats and the bad boy of the hunting world Bror Blixen, who took him under his wings and was his godfather in professional hunting. His father & Blixen steered him into big game hunting.

watermark.php

Eric Rundgren "Mchangi", Professional Hunter

He used dogs to hunt buffalo and lions.A CHARGING LION GOES FOR MAN'S LEGS. At night the leopard (Spots) is bold, outrageous and deadly. Rhino has bad eye sight, not very good hearing, but good sense of smell. Rundgren gets an elephant with tusks of 178 and 174 pounds. At the age of 34, in 1952, he left the Game Department and takes up Safari Hunting, but gets mauled by a leopard and lands up in Nairobi Hospital, with left arm permanently weak.

He bought a farm at NARO MORU, east side of Mt Kenya. After selling the farm, he moves to KIKAMBALA for commercial fishing. Leaving fishing, he became White Hunter again and parted from PAT, his wife, moving back to Nairobi. Some women suffer from SAFARI HEAT and act strangely on safari. Eric marries HARRIET, who was once his client. In 1964, he left Kenya to start a safari business in Botswana. Then ERIC RUNDGREN NATURE CONSERVATION UNIT is formed in Northern Transvaal, South Africa, where he wanted to start photographic safaris.

In 1964 he left Kenya for Botswana & started his own safari company but did visit to East Africa with his clients for hunting safaris. He was a great hunter with instincts of a wild animal, a brilliant bush man and a man with wit to out wit the most dangerous of game. He was a legend of his own time.


Monish
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Monish,
Great articel. I guess the hunters then had a different setting and were able to explore a vast expanse of wilderness. Different from now. But none the less gives us an insight as where it all began and how it was.
Thanks.
Popo
 
great article sir!!:)
 
Popo

Thanks ! Very true , they had acccess to the untamed land of wild Africa, and Eric as a PH produced some remarkable trophies. He was christened also as "THE MAHARAJA OF MAYHEM".

Monish
 
Ibie,

Glad you savored it . Thanks !

Monish
 
Eric with massive ivory 143 & 138 pounder.

Monish

eric.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Eric too had a close brush with death as he was mauled severly by a wounded leopard which had left his left arm weak for life.

watermark.php


"Eric had 6 impotant VIP Mexican guests as hunting clients, 2 wished to bag a leopard & put forth request to Eric to allow them shooting at the cat together ( which he always regretted he should have had not permitted in for their silly request). The two shots rang out , but to everybodys amazement , the tom just coughed & jumped off the tree. Eric moved his clients to the safety of the vehicle parked at a few paces & went after the leopard in the brushy patch carrying his .475 Jeffry's , where the wounded leopard had taken refuge. Eric could find none of the blood spoor & he made his not so expirenced gunbearer Nymai ( was a wood collector & camp cleaner)up the tree for a better view of the leopard hiding in the bush, it was getting darker & there was no whereabouts of the wounded tom.

Nymai &Eric stepped ito the gully to check where he thought the leopard had entered the brushy Donga.The leopard suddenly broke cover with a full throated grunt and went after halless Nymai, he ran for his dear life like a jack rabbit with the tom after him, but Erics fired 2 hasty shots with the heavy double., one shot hit the cat low behind the shoulder & stopped its chase momentarily, but it recoverd instantly and came for Eric, who could not reload his empty double rifle , he hit the leopard with the empty rifle but the cat was on him with full ferocity and began all its mauling & clawing work on Eric, the beast & Eric were on for severe roll on combat. Eric tried to strangulate the cat , the leopard nearly ripped off his ear with his hooked claw, the cat bit him on the face , head ,,shoulders hands .& legs. Eric kept his grip strong on to its throat the bullet hit & Erics grip started to weaken the cat , just then a rifle blasted next to his head & the dead leopard rolled off.His Mexican client had come running from the vehicle & shot the leopard.


Eric was rushed to Nairobi and Dr. Gerald Neville worked a lot on him. He was guiding clients again after 3 weeks again on the hunting trips.This Leopard attack became widely Kenya after the Maxican Safari. The clients were Pasquel family & the famous physicain Dr.Agundis . According to Palbo Bush Romero , a frequent hunting client had saved Erics life twice, first by killing the leopard & second , by providing very skill ful medical attention with out which Eric wouldn't have survive.

Monish
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What a life he must have lead.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
53,621
Messages
1,131,310
Members
92,675
Latest member
jhonmark007
 

 

 

Latest profile posts

Impact shots from the last hunt

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

20231012_145809~2.jpg
 
Top