The hunter has always attempted to use deception and ruse to enable him to get within a reasonable distance of his game. Hunting, by imitating the animal that is being persu’ed is very common.
Back in the day, in Africa. There was a tribe of small people, some called them dwarfs,. This tribe was called the Akkas and stood anywhere from 4 to 5 feet in height. That is probably not the politically correct name today, but that’s what we are going to call them.
One of the animals that this tribe hunted was the Ostrich and they attempted and was successful in using deception while hunting them. What they would do, is they would take the skin from an Ostrich that they had killed and stretch it over one of the hunters. They would use a stick or one of their arms to support the neck and make it look alive and with their bow and arrow held at ready, they would stalk Ostrich’s and attempt to get close enough for the kill shot. The hunter wearing the Ostrich skin would attempt to replicate the movements of other Ostrich, pretending to feed and imitate their motions.
Even though the Ostrich is not a dumb animal and not always deceived and in some instances either in a jealous rage or attempting to mate would attack the hunter/ostrich skin. The aggressive Ostrich would run to the hunter and with a kick, knock the hunter down and stomp on him, tearing up the Ostrich skin.
Some other curious tactics that used to be used in some countries, was Crocodile Hunting. One of the methods used by the natives was to tie a live baby to a stake near the shore and when a Crocodile approached, being lured by the babies crying, it was shot.
Some hunter’s tied branches to their heads and attempted to crawl on the stomach’s to a distance that favored a good shot. This was usually when they were bird hunting.
Not too many animals are caught off guard by the hunter. Usually our scent gives us away. They smell us before they see us. They also have watchful eye’s or guards. Take for instance monkeys. When a group of monkeys are feeding, they place sentinels to give a warning at the slightest movement or noise. When warned of advancement on their location, the entire group will flee in the direction of the heaviest and tallest cover.
Quail, are no different. They have sentinels also. If you are ever quail hunting, take notice that there will be a few birds who pipe up and alert the covey of approaching danger.
Whether it’s birds or any other animal, they have a language understood amongst themselves. The system of placing sentinels is one of the best evidences of it and gives you a glimpse into the fact that some animals are smarter than humans.
I’ll catch you down the trail.
Ricky Cooper