A Desi Hunter in the West

Re: Ferozk, Reply 18

I think you should write a story on hunting. I`m quite sure non-hunters like me would read it with a lot of interest.

Two thumbs up! Nice and enjoyable article. I look forward to reading more of author`s hunting adventures in future. I am glad that the author is not of I-know-it-all type. I wonder why the real life hunt is devoid of drama. This is quite contrary to what we read in fiction and see in movies. But then, king of the jungle was not being hunted by the author.

re: FerozK
Yes, I have hunted and am extremely passionate about wildlife. I have had good and bad experiences. My own attitudes have changed drastically over the years. Right since my childhood I have accompanied my father and uncles on titar, bater, jungli murgi, cheetal, sambar shikaar. We would eat all of those and it never seemed odd. However, my father/uncles are also guilty of all kinds of other shikaar. In fact, within my immediate relatives I can count no less than 25 tiger skins (shot within the last 40 years!!) all shot in one area of Kumaon Terai (of Corbett fame) not to mention all the other leopard, Himalayan bear skins. Its sick !!
This whole area was turned into a wildlife sanctuary as part of `Project Tiger` in the 60s/70s and now is home to only about 3000 - 4000 tigers. Numerous other sancutaries followed in other places in India and this has somewhat stopped the mass killings.
I believe hunting itself should be judjed with an evolutionists perspective. If it helps you survive ie removes threats to survival then in enlightened self interest go ahead and pursue it. So hunting and eating the animal could fall into this category. But I just can`t see how hunting for the sake of hunting (skins, etc.) can be seen as a sport, anymore. Especially with all the high tech fire power available now. Killing animals just because you think they serve no real purpose can affect natures balances and food chains in very negative ways.
THere is this whole other argument about when man`s world and the animal world collide. In populous countries like India more and more humans are `encroaching` upon animal territory. People obviously protect themselves by shooting at these animals rather indiscriminately when they come into their farms/land ,etc. Guns used are often inappropriate and just end up maiming the animal turning them into man eaters since human kids are muuuuch easier prey. In cases like this licenses are issued for `taking out` these man eaters. I have been on a hunt like this again in the Terai region. A 40 day track, identify and kill/capture affair. The group ended up capturing the leopard and putting it in a zoo, thus arguably putting it through more misery.
Anyway, the way I see it. Sanctuaries are a much better experience. you get to track all kinds of game (tigers, leopards, bears). Get to stalk them on elephant back. Get to ride elephants into wild elephant herds !! Basically all the `wild` thrills of a hunt without the killing. You can do all kinds of shooting with a camera. And you get to come back for more and don`t have a useless dead trophy staring at you all the f$

Re: Godot

Point well taken !

The reason that I asked that question was that it is really hard to judge what motivates a person to hunt unless one has experienced it also. I am, for the record, not an avid hunter, but in the past I have, with friends who hunt, been on a few excursions. The only thing that I have ``shot`` on these trips are few pictures.

Once, while I was camping with my friend, who hunts, we heard an elk in the distence. It was about 11 pm and there was a full moon. Since the visibility was good, we decided to track the elk. Following the sound, which we could hear over a long distence, we slowly moved in its direction. My friend was armed with a Hechler and Koch rifle and .45 hand gun and he gave me another rifle, also a H&K. The only difference was that his fired a 7.62mm NATO full metal jacket and mine was 5.56mm NATO. Please bear in mind that these weapons were for our own protection.

The piece of land on which we love to camp incidently also borders on the property owned by the White Aryan Nation ! There was never a doubt in my mind, that if we got into a fire fight, I was going down hard for a dirt nap, because those boys would have loved to kill my brown ethnic ass and nail it to their barn walls. The only comfort was that my friend had been a Marine Corps sniper and could get hard returns at 75-80 meters (we both had night vision goggles). Luckly nothing happened.

Anyways, we finally saw the elk a few hours later and by the time we returned to his cabin, it was dawn. We had been tracking that elk for nearly six hours and we were straving as hell. To me, who had never hunted, it was the trill to see the elk after all that misery and if I had to do it again, I still would suffer the discomforts to catch another glimpse. The reason that I enjoyed the article was that I could identify with the author`s sense of frustration and what he must have felt at seeing the bear.

Over the last couple of years, I have been tracking a black bear near my friend`s cabin and a few times I have even spotted him. It is not the same as watching it in a zoo. One trully appreciates the power and the majesty of the bear who can kill you, if he so wishes, without an after thought. I have not seen him lately, but I bet old boy is still in the neighborhood. One of these days, if I get the chance, I will go up there and see him again. In the words of my friend, I do not mean him any harm,```cause he dun me no harm.`` Besides, the old boy is tolerant of us and merely encourages us to pick up our trash after us.

I used to be highly critical of the hunters, but now I understand what the whole thing is about; blood lust. Being from the southwest, and having moved from the east coast, I can understand the east coast PC attitudes. I know that I can not please all the people all the time, so I just go out have a damn old good time and if it offends some one, they`ll get over it !

In most parts of the country, and even world, bears have been driven out, by hunting or habitat devastation. Just because an animal is not on the near-extinct list doesn`t mean it is not worthy of protection. Bears are not in such abundance. And a synthetic rug looks and feels just as nice.

Hunting is much more boring than one might think. Just try and read ``Man Eaters of Kumaon`` by Jim Corbett. Its takes thirty pages of waiting before he gets his first sight of the tiger. Guaranteed sleep causer.

If you think that you can parade your disregard for animal life with pomp and show here, don`t think for a moment that those of us who feel strongly about it will mince words either.

great read, to those of you who complain so strongly, well do something about it if it bothers you so much. All most of do is talk, atleast the author did something. As far as morality goes, everyone has their own moral views embedded in them through whatever circumstances or friends they hang out with, or the media or education they have recieved. So try to be original somewhat. I think killing a bear and then writing about it is great.

This is beginning to sound a lot like PETA v/s NRA. I have never had the desire to kill animals, and will avoid such spectacle at all cost, yet as a longtime Nihari/ kabab fan, I can not in good conscience chastise the author for killing a non-endangered species.
Re: Saeed Jaffer
Technically speaking, you are right about the title. I guess the article disappointed me mainly because hunting can be an extremely powerful topic for reflection, whether one felt proud, powerful, one with nature or sad, ashamed and hollow. This is why the title is all that important, if this was a concrete sounding ``Guide to Bear Hunting``, one wouldn’t try read it unless they really want to know the technical details of such a trip. The abstract sounding title misled me to believe that their will be some reflections, comments etc.

Re: Aliya, Reply 14

Caveman started hunting to protect himself and also to feed himself. We have, consequently, become meat-eaters. This is okay for us so long as the animal killed takes place in private and we don`t get to see the gore and the blood. I eat meat. But to kill an innocent animal just for the fun of it who has done no harm to you? I don`t think I can bring myself to do that But to protect myself, or to feed myself because there is no other alternative? You bet!

Re: saeed jaffer, Reply 12

Your sarcasm notwithstanding, please, give me a break! There are a lot of desis in the West who have far more interesting stories to tell about their experiences than about taking a cab home.

If this non-story made your pubic hair tingle, do yourself a favor and stay away from Chowk, or you may die.

Even though I despise hunting, I could not help be captivated and read your piece through and through. I understand that others found the article mundane, but still, the hair on my testicles tingled. Something deep inside and foolish triggers in me and says: ``Me caveman, me kill!``

Some felt the story had no point and read on waiting for one. I wonder -- did people expect him to never get a bear and then decide that hunting was as boring as it really is? Or possibly that he would mistakenly kill a mother bear orphaning a small bear cub and then feel so much remorse that he would quit forever?

Aliya:
Yes, the title is somewhat deceiving. It seemed to indicate a possible description of a person who was in hot pursuit of american sexual exploitation. However, you have to admit that it wasn`t specifically misleading advertising. I mean, he is desi, he is hunting, and he is in the West. What a pleasant surprise: an article on the Chowk front page about a topic never before seen there.

My next question is: what kind of sickness actually would allow a person to pull the trigger and kill a bear (not out of self-defense)? I don`t understand hunting and unfortunately, your article didn`t shed any light on the pscyho-pathology I fear exists within all hunters. I mean, is all that effort really worth the mosquite bites and the tacky rug? Somehow, I just don`t believe the piece in the end.

yaar azam, aap bohat brave hain. hunting a vicious bear that was armed with a sub-machine gun shooting back at you. Not everyone could have done that. Oh, no sub-machine gun? Oh, it was sport! Sorry! Carry on then. Hmmm... interesting way of expressing your concern about natural resources, Kill them then put them on your floor. Future generations might not be able to see them in their natural habitat but at least they`ll be able to see what they looked like.

Git.

The blow by blow account of the trip can be helpful perhaps as guide (` How to hunt bear in Canada` would have been an appropriate title), but as someone who was just looking for an interesting read, I read in vain. The title was misleading.

Re: Ferozk, Reply 7

What difference does it make if I have hunted or not? The story has no point. It is akin to you writing a story of taking a cab home. You hailed a cab, got in it, gave directions to the cabbie, got to the destination, and paid the fare! Well, what`s the point? What is so interesting about it? What does it matter if I have taken a cab home or not?

Re: RanaRansher, Reply 3

Congratulations.

Re: Temporal, Godot, Rana Ransher and Slink

Have any of you folks ever hunted ?

Azam Khan:

Are you for real?

``Gravely concerned,`` really?

Let us have a CHOWK CONSERVATION CENTRE for MCPs.

And the `P` does not stand for the forbidden you-know-what.

I will vote you in, anybody seconding?

I kept waiting for something to happen in the story. What a disappointment! You are a hunter and hunted a bear in Canada. So What!