Mark Warren - Stalking, Tracking, and Playing Games in the Wild

Simply put, stalking is all about being sneaky. It is an art of deception that requires both physical and mental discipline. To successfully stalk an animal of the wild, a human must hide, mask, alter, or eliminate the following telltale clues to his or her presence: 1. eye-catching movement, 2. displaying the classic human silhouette, 3. vocal sounds and sounds from articles worn (rustling, swishing, creaking) or carried (sloshing, clinking, jingling, rattling), 4. sounds underfoot from body weight, 5. body scent, and 6. alarming other animals incidental to the area.

There is a part of us that will always love the concept of hiding. Think how many times in your life you have enjoyed sneaking up on someonea friend, a relative. or even a pet. The thrill of becoming invisible is probably atavistic, trickling down to us through our genes from our paleo-ancestor-hunters. Even outside the hunting arena, there is a singular excitement in being present to observe while, in turn, not being observed.

Centuries ago Cherokee hunters stalked through these eastern woodlands where I live. They moved slower than you might guess, gliding on legs made strong by the demands of hunting and by the mountain terrain itself. It takes great patience to stalk successfully, but in the old days such a hunter might never have mentioned this quality. Slowing down was simply a necessity that brooked no lapses or shortcuts. It was part of the daily work of surviving. Without a dedication to that work, he went hungry.

In the dense forests of the eastern United States, a bow-hunter faced two consistent problems almost everywhere he turned. First, he needed an open window through which his arrow could fly undisturbed toward his target. Obstacles to deflect a projectile were everywhere: tree trunks, branches, shrubs, vines, and boughs of leaves. Even a single leaf can spoil the trajectory of an otherwise perfectly launched arrow.

The second problem lay beneath the hunters moccasins. Whenever he moved, the stalker had to step upon the forests ground cover of dead leaves and twigs. without alerting wildlife. How did the Cherokees solve these problems?

If the cluttered maze of the woods denied a long shot at an animal, then these native bow-hunters were forced to reduce the distance between hunter and prey. (This is one of many stories about the land shaping the lives of the people who inhabit it.) There were four ways to achieve a closer shot: 1. setting up a blind (or simply hiding) and waiting for an animal to approach, 2. luring an animal with an intriguing sound, scent, or curious motion, 3. setting a trap that could maim, kill, or contain the animal, or 4. approaching the animal with stealth. The ancient hunters used all these techniques, but none so shaped their physical lives as the last option: stalking.

Ironically, by choosing to close the distance of hunter and prey to solve the first problem, the Cherokees exacerbated the second problem. Moving across that noisy forest floor only became more challenging as he got closer to his prey. How did he eliminate the sounds produced by his body weight on all the crumbly items underfoot? He didnt. He simply spread them out by applying his weight to the earth so slowly that the little ticks and pops and cracks of crushed leaves were heard individually rather than en masse. It is true that a twig can break no matter how slowly a foot comes down on it, and such a snap is undoubtedly an alarm to an animal. But the supple sole of his moccasin allowed the stalker to detect twigs by touch and thereby avoid them. What was leftthe crackling of leaveswas so spread out that it could easily have been interpreted as the ramblings of a beetle. In fact, many insects are noisier in dry leaves than a skilled stalker.

Stalking was also necessary in warfare, where the stakes were higher. Stealth could save the life of a man or woman moving through enemy territory.

Hollywood has given us the wrong impression about the actual mechanics of stalking. In terms of movie-making, it would be impractical to show an authentic stalker moving even one step. The scene would last three minutes. Instead, filmmakers have chosen to depict Indians with preternatural abilities of soundless movement by simply turning off the sound on a sneaking-up-on-the-white-man scene. As a result, movies have duped audiences into believing that Native Americans possessed some kind of innate magic. It wasnt magic. They exercised supreme body control, strength, and balanceall dictated by need. Stalking had to be learned, practiced, and mastered.

It does take work and practice to stalk well, butbarring a severe handicapmost people have the necessary ingredients to become successful stalkers. What is lacking is need. Few Americans need to hunt to live. Strolling the aisles of a grocery store is easier. Even among those who do hunt, only a small percentage choose to stalk.