Chasing the North American 29

If you are still with me, you realize that I did finally complete the harvest of The North American 29. It took me thirty-five years to accomplish that goal. Most years, I was able to harvest one of the 29. That is typical of hunting North America, i.e. you are generally hunting one species on your hunt. This is different in Africa or New Zealand, where you most often come home with three to ten animals per hunt. In those countries you do not need tags. In North America you need a tag or a license or both for each species and often that involves a drawing. In North America each animal has an open season in which you may hunt them, and not many seasons overlap. The long and the short of it is that in North America it is more common to return home with one animal, if you are lucky. The only hunt that I was able to take two animals was the British Columbia hunt in 1973. There I took a Stone sheep and a Western Canada moose on the same hunt. Another reason it took me thirty-five years is that I was not successful on every hunt. The brown bear took me four hunts before I harvested one. The Shiras moose took me two hunts as did the Coues deer. The Rocky Mountain bighorn took two trips before success came. The Rocky Mountain elk took three trips before I got one. The third reason that The North American 29 was spread out over thirty-five years was because of money. Especially in the seventies and eighties. While I was an assistant and associate professor, one hunt per year was all I could afford. In 1987 I was promoted to full professor and I was able to afford two hunts per year. In 2010, after I had finished the North America 29, I took paper and pencil and figured out what each hunt would cost in 2010 prices. I was astonished. I was embarrassed to show anybody. It added up to one-third of my retirement fund that I had been building for the same thirty-five years. The last reason that it took me thirty-five years to complete The North American 29 is that I did not do a good job of staying on goal. During that time span I was talked into five trips to Africa and three trips to Europe. There were also two trips to New Zealand in those years (1996 and 2005). Most of those trips had some teaching as the primary motivator (with expenses paid), but I always added on a safari or hunt. Also, a few major waterfowl trips to Manitoba and Saskatchewan were made. I find all types of hunting to be enjoyable and challenging. I must thank Safari Club International for setting up this prestigious award goal. It has given me and many a hunter a goal to work toward - The North American 29. And of course, I want to thank my Lord for keeping me alive and protecting me for all those years. In closing, I can say I have accomplished my goal and I now truly understand the enormity of the achievement.