Patience is a valuable quality for every hunter. It can mean the difference between a ‘failed’ hunt and success – not disputing that all time spent in the wild is time well spent. In every game species, for individuals to become spectacular they need to be isolated, lucky or smart.
In the modern world, isolation is difficult to find for any animal. Luck depends on random chance. Being smart provides opportunities to learn from the mistakes of over-eager hunters. This buys time for smart pigs to grow big.
La Niña rains ensured that channels running parallel to the river would prevent vehicle access to more than 20km of flood plain. As the years pass, hills seem to become steeper and distances longer, so a mountain bike was added to the gear list. It was light enough to carry over the channels for silent scouting above walking speed. Things were kept simple with a rifle slung over a shoulder and liquid sealant put into the tyres as a defence against burrs. The sight of a mountain bike cruising the flood plains must have been unusual. An emu caught by surprise ran circles around the bike, trying to make sense of the apparition before deciding
