NAMIBIA: I Spotted Something...

[Jfet]

 

[mrpoindexter]

Pretty. Am I supposed to find a leopard or cheetah up there or something?

 

[jasyblood]

Took a while, but I finally found it. Good spot!!

 

[Mike B]

I see a tree... and Bigfoot.

 

[Pheroze]

Is that a cat waaay up there?

 

[jasyblood]

Looks like it to me!

 

[Pheroze]

Cats are crazy.

 

[mrpoindexter]

Wow, I am really blind. I cannot see the damn thing. Not good considering I want to hunt one of those things.

Anybody able to help me out with where it is?

 

[jasyblood]

This should help

 

[mrpoindexter]

Damn! I am nothing but a food source for those things. I should change my handle to "Leopard Bait".

I have got to be totally blind because I still can't make him out. At least tigers are orange.

 

[Jfet]

Questions…


There are a series of questions that high school seniors begin to dread as they move from Christmas of their senior year towards May. These questions usually go like this.


What are you going to do next fall?


What are you going to do after you graduate?


Most 17 and 18 year olds really have no answer to these questions and the potential answers scare the hell out of them. My oldest son did not have this problem because he was born knowing he would attend Texas A&M and be a member of Company E-2 in the Corps of Cadets. My youngest son on the other hand, got those questions and he had no answer for them. As his senior year progressed I could see how much being asked such questions bothered him. I advised him until he had an answer that he liked just to tell people he was going to work on a crab fishing boat in Alaska. We had a lot of fun watching peoples’ reactions to that answer.


Little did I realize that over the last six months I would go through a similar experience.


For those of you who may have noticed the last few days in the Continental U. S. have not been as charming, fun, or light hearted. This is because Princess Bride has been in Alaska. I am told that the Kenai Peninsula has been bright and sunny, though. PB is on the board of directors for Alaska Missions. This summer she is spending it in Alaska helping to host sports camps. If you come to the AH DSC get together ask her about it, she will have no problems telling you about it. Though you will need to ask her about the flashlight on the Kobuk River during the summer solstice.


I on the other hand am going to Namibia. This is where the tiresome questions arise. PB knows everybody and everybody knows that PB is going to be on an adventure during the summer. So, when you walk out of a restaurant it is inevitable that someone PB knows will come up and ask her about her plans. This spring she would tell people about plans to travel to Alaska. Then after 20 minutes of explanations these people would turn to me and ask what I would be doing. I would tell them I am going on Safari. Watching their facial reactions, I realized I needed to come up with a better answer.


“… So what are you going to be doing this summer?”


“I am going to Africa to put people to work and to help feed them.”


Yes, that answer did spark some very funny looks. It also led to some great conversations with people about hunting in Africa. I had many people comment at the end that they had not thought of hunting in that manner. I had one man who sat next to me on an airplane tell me that when I explained it that way hunting in Africa made sense to him.


Now as I contemplate my answer more closely, I find that I really like it. I am going to hunt at Kowas again. The owners are great people! They work very hard to provide an amazing experience. The PH’s are superb! The trackers, the skinners, the cooks, housekeeping, gardeners, etc. all work very hard at creating this experience. They work hard because they want too. They work hard because they have too. They all have parts of their jobs they don’t want to do but you can’t tell that by the smiles on their faces. They take a great deal of pride in their work. Through their work, they can provide for themselves and their families. I like to be around people that work hard. I like rewarding hard work.


The goal is to chase around Eland, Kudo, Blue and Black Wildebeest, warthog, and then we will see what else we can spot.


Hopefully I can shoot straight and at least we can eat.

 

[ArmyGrunt]

Damn! I am nothing but a food source for those things. I should change my handle to "Leopard Bait".

I have got to be totally blind because I still can't make him out. At least tigers are orange.

I can't see that thing either.

But I did just see something in your profile.... Happy Birthday, sir!

 

[ArmyGrunt]

"Going to Africa to put people to work and to help feed them" is probably the best explanation I've ever heard. I may well add this to my toolbox. Well stated @Jfet

 

[BRICKBURN]

...............
I have got to be totally blind because I still can't make him out. .....

She's just smiling at you!

 

[Jfet]

The picture at the beginning of this thread shows an Eastern Wampus Cat. I saw this cat in the forest of the Cherokee National Forest in Eastern Tennessee. This picture was taken a week ago. This is a very rare sighting. The home range for these cats are usually in Eastern Alabama along the Tallapoosa River. Sighting usually occur between Wadly, Alabama and Taylor's Bottoms on the Tallapoosa River. However, this rare sub-species was coaxed out into the open when a significant event occurred on The Ocoee River for the first time.

The following pictures show the first time that I have been able to take the two newest Mrs. Fetner's on an adventure.

When you combine PB and the two new ones even the shyest of Wampus Cats will chance to reveal themselves to see those beautiful smiles.

 

[Pheroze]

Ok, never heard of a Wampus cat so I googled it, and got this

I am thinking the thing in the tree is slightly different...

 

[LivingTheDream]

Definitely a wampus cat...Man I haven't heard that term in 15 years.

 

[Jfet]

Ok, never heard of a Wampus cat so I googled it, and got this

View attachment 189642

I am thinking the thing in the tree is slightly different...

Yes, the picture you googled is part of the misinformation program that Wampus Cats have developed on the internet since early 2000. It seams that a home belonging Robert Stell Heflin in Wesabugga, Alabama was broken into and the only thing that was missing was an early wireless router. The only signs left by the thieves was a slight heel print that resident Wampus Cat expert J. Ager Fenter described as belonging to a Wampus Cat. It is believed that Wampus Cats have developed this technology using special biochemicals extracted from a native fish of the area called a Gasper Goo. They are using this technology to mislead humans and cause humans to misunderestimate the native Wampus Cat population.

 

[thriller]

The wampus cat is alive and well in alabama some folks say it dreams like a woman and kills the occasional deer.

 

[Jfet]

The wampus cat is alive and well in alabama some folks say it dreams like a woman and kills the occasional deer.

In my youth I would spend weeks during the summer at the Heflin Fishing Camp on the Tallapoosa River. In the evenings the crickets would become so loud it was difficult to hold a conversation. Then on certain nights it would become absolutely quiet. The old men would put up their fishing rods and head home. They told us boys that when the crickets did that a Wampus Cat was near by.