31 Mar 2002 - You have to be foxier than a jackal, says Johann van Niekerk
I HAVE always wondered whether there is something special about mopane woodlands from a wingshooting point of view. The stretches of mopane as you travel from Letaba to Pafuri in the Kruger National Park seem rather dull, unlike the familiar rough splendour produced by the great mixture of Lowveld tree species in the rest of the park .
On visits to mopane veld in the Klaserie area during the past 25 years I have found that the bird species are not different from those in other bushveld venues, but the behaviour of gamebirds is extraordinary.
In a mopane woodland is not so much the bird in the bag as stalking a pristine bird in a wilderness. Knowledge of the shooting terrain is as important as the quarry itself.
Generally these woodlands are situated in the Lowveld, in and around the Kruger National Park, and in the Limpopo Valley.
There is only one species of true mopane tree in South Africa: Colophospermum mopane. It is a medium high tree of about 10 metres and often higher. The juicy branches and leaves are preferred pickings of elephant and food for several other browsers .
The mopane worm, a caterpillar that feeds on the leaves, is an important source of protein for local Shangaan, Tsonga and Venda.
Mopane woodland is home to at least four regularly hunted gamebird species and a number of dove species. They include the Helmeted guineafowl and three bush-living francolin species: the Natal, Crested and Swainson's.
In years of above average rain, the African quail is a common breeding visitor, rejoicing in the abundance of grass seeds produced on the mopane floor, but are not on the hunting list in mopane woodland. Nor are the Blackrumped Button quail, which after good rain in summer abound in huge numbers, or the Kurrichane Button quail, which is relatively plentiful in Winter.
Helmeted guineafowl live in social bands of 20 to 30 and are often found foraging on the mopane floor, scratching in the dry leaves. In winter they capitalise on the tiny waxy (resin) scales that stick to the face of the mopane leaves. These protective scales pin down a tiny psyllid larva, the size of a pinhead, to the leaf. Birds like the Southern Black Tit remove the insects from under the scales, loosening the scales which fall to the ground and become food for terrestrial gamebirds.
Guineafowl use a repertoire of highly sophisticated sounds and behavioural postures to send messages to one another under stress conditions. This allows them to outwit the Blackbacked Jackal in mopane woodland. Understandably, dogs cannot keep guineafowl to point.
Francolins live in family coveys of two to five birds, and unlike European partridges, they have strong bills for scratching and feeding in arid soil. They fly well but will not waste energy unless they are pressed by the shooter. This is perhaps the reason why our ancestors of three generations ago developed the practise of tracking them during shoots (called stalk shooting).
The Natal francolin will take the kidney-shaped mopane pod, or seed, in its beak and scratch and mix the ants that fall from it with the sand to prevent them from escaping. It then drops the pod and pecks up the ants. The leathery pod is also grasped in its beak and then knocked against the ground to break it into smaller chunks which are edible. Its high resin content of the seed is a source of energy in winter.
The mopane veld provides its resident gamebirds with protection against over utilisation by hunters, as a stretch of mopane is like a labyrinth. There are open patches, and the challenge is to match bird with openness.
Home turf advantage provides the gamebirds with a platform to test the hunter, because you can get utterly lost in the mopane.
The hunter simply becomes another predator. He needs a keen eye and a fast swing to pick up the individual bird crossing openings of blue sky. An open cylinder with a wide-spreading 12 gauge shotgun, with Nos 6 and 7 cartridges, helps a lot.
The best bird dog for these circumstances is not a flusher or pointer but simply a retriever that heels diligently. It is extremely important to have a dog that will not set off on the spoor of a hyena, leopard or lion. Rather hunt without a dog than with an inexperienced dog.
In mopane veld, where pristine birds prevail, the hunting ethic takes precedence over shooting. The challenge is to match your wits with gamebirds. The emphasis is on finding the bird rather than triggerpulling.
The kilojoules used up during the hunt is balanced by the protein that derives from cooking the birds on the evening campfire made of dry mopane wood. You can cook the seasoned breast fillets in a potjie for a few hours and then add mixed vegetables for another 45 minutes.
Or you can make kebabs from the cooked breasts. The tender golden brown meat and the sweet smell of burning mopane composes a unique supper atmosphere. The smell invariably attracts an inquisitive hyena, so this a time for gun dogs to be locked away.
The mopane woodlands of the Lowveld are largely in private game reserves such as Klaserie.
The game rangers can make quotas of birds available for shoots or an owner of part of the reserve can organise one, but these shoots are limited.
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Published in AGRED newsletter, Autumn 2002
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