As I pass along the ways of my life to my son, there are rules that we must live by that gives respect to animals as we harvest those animals for food. Simply, many will go to the store and buy the meat they eat, and as easy as that is, I decide to hunt more of my meat than some folks. The skill of tracking and harvesting a animal is something that takes a different kind of skill, a skill that needs to be taught and shared... Man has put into place some laws, laws that bind people to a general rule system, a system that I may or may not agree with, but I must abide by those laws as well. Often the reasons behind those laws are serous, such as wearing hunting colors and bag limits. Some folks, uneducated about some ways of hunting, think that it is by poor luck or accident a animal comes across a human with a powerful bow or gun. That animal is then harvested, and thinking about the advantage, we are humans with knowledge. Some folks, just like me, and although I am in the public eye, hunt for their food as well. But hunting is also a skill, a skill where stalking a animal can be just like a lion does in the wild. Reading the signs shown to us, we can draw a picture of the animal habits and meet that animal on its terms, harvest that animal. It is a skill I take seriously and find that we (the animal and us) are more equally matched when it comes to harvesting the animal. Many Native Americans are still highly skilled at tracking and hunting. Although time has lost this tradition in some ways, like me, many like the old ways and keep the skill going. Reading books to teach me to understand more about tracking and what the signs mean is hardly a way to learn. Taking those tools and knowledge and going to the field and test those skills is a lot of fun and frustrating as well. However, I take tracking/hunting more serous than many hunters. As I learn, and the curve is great at times, along the way my knowledge and skill is rewarded with the meat and harvest of the animal. Recently I have acquired and gained the skills needed to hunt Rabbits without dogs and luck. Rather using their presents against them, tracking the yummy, soft fur critters has been a skill that took me more understanding than stomping in the brush and running a dog.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 23:00:33 +0000