AS A BOY, my desire to hunt a big kudu bull was stirred by Percy Fitzpatrick’s immortal classic Jock of the Bushveld. I spent many hours rereading the chapter on the kudu bull and gazing at Edwin Caldwell’s illustration of Jock baying the wounded bull.
What is it about the kudu that makes him the ‘royalty’ of African antelope? Is it his regal bearing, his amazing physique, unique horns, or his ability to disappear in an instant? It is all of these, but also his compelling mystique as the ‘grey ghost’ of Africa.
After shooting my first antelope, a common duiker, on our family farm in the winter of 1963, I was hooked on hunting and spent most July school holidays in the fields searching for birds and animals. My heart was
