ELEPHANT HUNTING

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 242, 11 September 1929, Page 2

ELEPHANT HUNTING

EXPERIENCE IN BURMA. TRIP THROUGH JUNGLE. Some interesting glimpses of an elephant hunt in the Burmese jungle were given to members of the Citizens Lunch Club yesterday by Captain .1. G. Crean, of London. Air G.- H. Espiner presided.'' Captain Crean stated that he was in charge of a section of infantry at Alandalay, when he obtained 10 days leave of absence. Burma was a sportsman’s paradise, much more so than India, and sport cost very little. Close to the barracks there were teal, quail, pheasants and jungle fowl, and the shooting was good. The prospects oi an elephant hunt had appealed to him, and it was much more exciting than lion or tiger shooting, which meant that one usually had to stay on a platform in a tree for half a night and get a shot at close quarters. On an elephant- hunt perhaps days would be spent in the jungle and, unless there were experienced jungle hunters in the party, many difficulties were encountered. In each party there were gun carriers —trackers who knew the jungle and its inhabitants. .When the trip had been decided.upon, it had taken a two days’ journey from Alandalay to reach, a place where the elephants had been destroying native crops. The first thing the party noticed on entering the jungle was a boa in the act of swallowing another snake, the head of which was piotruding from the boa’s month. However, it was left alone. STILLNESS IN JUNGLES. Leaving the strong Indian sunlight to. enter the jungle was quite a sensation. There was quite an extraordinary and uncanny stillness and the least noise seemed greatly magnified. No wild animals were met with on the first day in the jungle, and all jungle animals, with the exception perhaps of man eaters and “rogue elephants, would flee from man. In hunting the elephant, it was essential that no should not scent the stalker, otherwise there would be little or no chance of a shot. On the third day in tho jungle the party had observed a group of about 25 elephants whose movements made clumps of bamboos crack like pistol shots. It was quite a picture to see the mixed herd movin„ about, and one did not feel disposed to shoot until a tusker, or male elephant, was seen. ELEPHANTS LOCATED.

Proceeding, Captain Crean said that the onlv really vital spot for a bullet was in the brain behind the ear which was a difficult target. One of the party bad fired at the tusker elephant, but had only wounded it. With wild screimitigs and trumpetmgs, the beast had raced round and round m a circle, and tho rest of the herd had followed its example. The noise they had made h.ad been like a number or runaway locomotives. It suddenly became apparent that the wounded animal was going to charge the party, and this he did. However, he had finally charged out of sight. The next day lie had been followed up by a tracker and killed. On the following day, the party had seen about 5U elephants on trek, .with the females and young animals in front and tho males bringing up in the rear. Later, another smaller herd was seen feeding on the side of the track, and the speaker had had the fortune to successfullv stalk and kill a young tusker. There was a native viUago handy and next day the villagers had gone out and cut the animal up. jiy mid-day, there had been, little of the kill left. As payment for lodging in the village huts, it was usual to give the natives two or three cartridges and these, to the jungle dwellers, were of more value than money. CHEAP TRIP. The trip had cost very little as tho party had mostly lived on what they shot, while rice ~ could always be obtained from the natives. The license to shoot an elephant cost only one rupee —a small sum. On his return to Alandalav, the speaker had had the tusks mounted on a Burmese carving, while the elephant’s feet had been made into useful ornaments. One evening the speaker had been out shooting jungle fowl and had seen what had appeared to be a dog. However, when about 10 yards from it, he had seen that it was a panther. Luckily, for he had only a shot gun, the beast had suddenly turned off into the undergrowth. A jungle “beat”, sometimes provided plenty of excitement and, on such an occasion, all the natives about would be sent into the cover about a milo ahead of the guns. They would then start to walk back towards the guns in a wide line, making as much noise as possible. Any game in cover would then be driven towards the guns. Burma was a very beautiful country, and Kipling had very Well described it in his “On the Road to Mandalay.” On the motion of Air J. L. C. Alerton, Captain Crean was accorded a hearty vote of thanks by acclamation.