Today we were able to do something very special. We were able to catch 4 male Kudu's, and relocate them to Ant's nest, It was very exiting! We had to wake up at the crack of dawn, but it was worth it! At 6:00 a.m. we took the cars over to this women’s ranch where we met a helicopter and some people from Ant’s Hill, the sister company. From the helicopter they would find and shoot the Kudu with a tranquilizer, and we would carry the Kudu into a trailer. As soon as the heli found and shot the Kudu we rushed over to go put him in the trailer, but first we put a hood on him to make sure he couldn't see. He was also very big!
(Note from mom here: the reason for the catch and transfer was to add new kudu bulls to the herd of kudu at Ant's Nest. They say it is good to bring in some fresh genes to keep from too much inbreeding. The kudu are not hurt in the process and are woken up immediately after being placed in the trailers. You can't have them down for too long or it can be fatal. We had about 20 minutes once they had been hit with a tranquilizer dart to get to them and treat them for ticks and give them a shot of vitamins and get them into the trailer. Once they were in the trailer they were given an antidote which would wake them up almost immediately. We tore limbs off the trees and placed them in the trailer for their ride over to Ant's Nest where they are promptly let back out into this large game reserve, which will be their new home.)
Right after the first catch we went to a little farm house and waited for the next one to be hit then as soon as he was hit we drove over, but he was still awake. When we were watching him we saw him sway from the tranquilizer. He wasn't knocked out yet so some guys came, pulled his tail, then dropped him to the ground. I was able to hold this Kudu’s horns, one of the Kudu we caught had horns 57 inches in length. After we were done catching them, the helicopter pilot asked if anyone would want to ride in his helicopter, so I went with one other person, Julia. Where I was sitting there was no door because that's where the sniper would sit. We had so much fun, he even did some tricks. He did some bank turns then he went up high and tuned us, with me facing the ground. It was so much fun.
(Note from mom here: the reason for the catch and transfer was to add new kudu bulls to the herd of kudu at Ant's Nest. They say it is good to bring in some fresh genes to keep from too much inbreeding. The kudu are not hurt in the process and are woken up immediately after being placed in the trailers. You can't have them down for too long or it can be fatal. We had about 20 minutes once they had been hit with a tranquilizer dart to get to them and treat them for ticks and give them a shot of vitamins and get them into the trailer. Once they were in the trailer they were given an antidote which would wake them up almost immediately. We tore limbs off the trees and placed them in the trailer for their ride over to Ant's Nest where they are promptly let back out into this large game reserve, which will be their new home.)
Right after the first catch we went to a little farm house and waited for the next one to be hit then as soon as he was hit we drove over, but he was still awake. When we were watching him we saw him sway from the tranquilizer. He wasn't knocked out yet so some guys came, pulled his tail, then dropped him to the ground. I was able to hold this Kudu’s horns, one of the Kudu we caught had horns 57 inches in length. After we were done catching them, the helicopter pilot asked if anyone would want to ride in his helicopter, so I went with one other person, Julia. Where I was sitting there was no door because that's where the sniper would sit. We had so much fun, he even did some tricks. He did some bank turns then he went up high and tuned us, with me facing the ground. It was so much fun.
After we headed back we went to lunch out in the bush It was “nice”. A little after we went for another horse back ride, It was “marvelous”. This time around we did more cantering it was nice to have a change rather than just walking. That day Mom and I both lost our phones in the sand but found them, Mom lost her’s riding and I lost mine in the Land Cruiser.
Dinner was great, our main course was pork bellies with asparagus, mashed cauliflower, and some other thing that I didn't try. All in all it was a very exciting and good day.
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