Authors (John N. Felsher) Note: The only woman to arrow the “Big Five” in Africa in a single safari, Joella Bates of Waverly, Tenn., downed an elephant, lion, rhinoceros, cape buffalo and leopard in South Africa and Zimbabwe between Sept. 7 and Oct. 3, 2009. For the rhino, she practiced “green hunting,” tranquilizing the animals and releasing it unharmed. Bates also won five 3-D Archery World Championship titles as well as many other shooting titles. When not hunting, Joella teaches archery clinics 
at schools and conducts hunting and archery seminars all over the country.
I’d always dreamed of hunting in Africa, the only place in the world where a hunter can pursue the Big Five consisting of the most dangerous animals in the world. In 2001, I went to South Africa with Itaga Motsumi Safaris. On May 10, I downed my first Cape buffalo, reputed to be the most dangerous game animal in the world. In 2003, I returned
to South Africa and arrowed 11 plains game species and made my first white rhino “green” hunt. For “green” hunting, I shot the rhinoceros with an arrow tipped with a syringe containing a tranquilizing drug instead of a broadhead. The drug put the animal to sleep so researchers could take blood samples and evaluate the animal’s health. Then, a veterinarian administered an antidote to revive the beast. The bull rhino got up and left in a cloud of dust, but came back for a last stand before disappearing into the thick thorny bushes. I was blessed to enjoy the excitement of the hunt and then release the magnificent animal back into the wild.
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