HUNTING IN AFRICA

Everyone knows about the African game Big Five- elephant, rhinoceros, Cape buffalo, lion and leopard- but how many people have ever heard of such exotic denizens as the wilde-beeste, the bongo, and even, believe it or not, the Mrs. Gray lechwe? She defies even Merriam-Webster. But Frank Hibben knows them, and has shot every one of them, although he did have to settle for an inferior female Mrs. Gray. But then they live in the swamps at the source of the Nile and know how to make themselves scarce. The author, who is neither a professional hunter, professional naturalist nor professional writer, as hunted over much of the continent; he knows the history of African hunting from the times of the foot safari to its present day motorized methods; and he writes about his experiences with enthusiasm if not always with grace. Readers who can take their wildebeeste chases or let them alone may find his book somewhat repetitious, but vicarious hunters should have a field day staged indoors.