A Dream Come True- Wild Boar Hunt with Dog and Knife

I had one of the top 10 experiences of my life while traveling to Kauai for the last 11 days. When people think of Kauai, usually they think of beautiful beaches and holding a Mai-Tai, but my vacation went to another level when I was able to kill a wild boar with a knife!

The story begins with a friendly Hawaiian named Kawee who brought a crib to our hotel room. I was in a jovial mood, so I randomly asked him if he knew anyone who hunts wild boar on the island. Kawee said he had the right guy and gave me the phone number of my soon-to-be new buddy Timmy. Timmy wanted to meet in person before we went hunting together, so we met up at a town celebration. After gaining his trust, we scheduled the hunt for two days later. He told me to get some jeans and cleats (very important, I would later realize) for the jungle terrain.

Timmy picked me up from the resort a couple days later in his big 4x4 truck with his hunting dogs in the back. He told me we were going to meet another hunter by the name of Randal at the base of the hill. Randal, Timmy told me, was a proficient boar hunter and was a good shot with his rifle. After meeting up with Randal, we slowly 4x4’d up a steep muddy and rocky grade until the road became impossible to drive any further. Timmy said we would get out and walk from here.

Both of these guys brought their dogs, which I believe totaled 12 or 13. Some were pups in training, but all had GPS collars so they could be tracked in the dense and large jungle. As soon as we were ready to leave the trucks, Timmy and Randal unlocked the dog cages, the dogs jumped out and starting running with so much excitement. Those dogs knew exactly what we were about to do. We left the “road” and descended into the jungle down a steep mountainside. Within minutes I realized two important things: Firstly, if I wasn’t wearing cleats, I would have slid down this mountain like in the movie Romancing the Stone. The second thing was that I better stay close to Timmy and Randal as this jungle was dense and I didn’t want to lose my bearings.

Timmy told me we were heading towards the stream because we would have a better chance of finding a boar near the water. When we finally got to the stream, Randal began cursing in a different language, and Timmy leaned over to tell me Randal was upset because he was about to have wet shoes and socks. According to the GPS, the dogs had crossed the stream. Timmy had pointed out the best tracking dogs before we left and I remembered one of the dogs’ names to be Speedy. Speedy was apparently 200 plus yards ahead which was making them a little nervous as he was getting too far ahead. Timmy said it is important to keep the dogs within a close range or they could get injured or killed by the boar while left alone. We crossed through the stream and climbed up a hill only to track the dogs right back down to the stream. As we walked down stream we heard it: the dogs were baying- they had found a boar.

Timmy said to hurry down stream, so we starting running through the water almost spraining our ankles with every step. After about 50 yards, Timmy looked at his GPS and said, “Let’s cut through here.” We jumped back into the jungle and charged as fast as possible through the dense undergrowth following the sounds of the dogs’ baying and boar’s grunts. At one point Timmy told me to take the lead as he pulled out the video camera. Adrenaline took over as I pushed through the brush and climbed over fallen trees towards the fight. As I climbed over a semi-fallen tree it broke sending me to the ground slicing a piece of skin off of my palm. There was no time to whine and cry, though, as the dog and boar noises were much louder now. Finally we reached the fight and the dogs had already worn out the boar. It was an easy kill for me with most of boar’s energy already spent, though driving the knife into the boar’s heart still was exciting. After the boar was dead I looked at my bloody hand and the warm boar’s blood was mixed with the blood of my cut. I thought to myself, now I have the ultimate vaccination for swine flu!

Timmy and Randal showed me how to properly pose with our trophy, making sure I sported the “aloha” hand sign. Then they made quick work of field dressing the boar and loading up the meat into our backpacks. The dogs were treated to portions of the heart and liver, which they gladly accepted. After we loaded up the meat, we headed back up the stream for some more hunting.

As we walked I reflected on what had just happened: I was able to kill a wild boar with a knife in the middle of a jungle on a beautiful island! This was a dream come true because of the generosity and hospitality of some really cool Kauaians.

Well, the story doesn’t end there because the second hunt got even more exciting. We had to hike much farther into the jungle for the second boar, but I didn’t mind. The scenery was amazing. One of the most spectacular views was when we walked on top of a fern covered ridge (See picture). God is indeed an artist and His creation is evidence of His existence, power, and beauty.

After we came down from the ridge we walked through a marsh of ferns soaked in twelve inches of water. I thought to myself, since Timmy and Randal don’t look worried I assume there isn’t anything that will grab our legs and pull us under or something else that might bite our ankles or swallow our feet. After hiking for almost two hours we picked up a boar trail and the dogs sniffed the second one out. The dogs and Randal were only about 50 yards away when we heard the tell-tale baying. Immediately I heard two gunshots and I dropped to the ground wondering if Randal knew where we were standing. Timmy looked down at me with a dumbfounded reaction and to comfort me by saying “It’s alright bro, he knows where we are”. Just then I looked up and saw the bushes come alive as the boar ran back towards Timmy and I about 10 yards off with the dogs in tow. As the boar went running by it ran up an embankment and for some reason stopped to stare down the dogs. Within an instant the dogs attacked the boar bringing it down the embankment. Timmy said, “Grab its back leg!” With no hesitation I grasped the back leg of the boar wondering what the purpose of this was (later I found out this makes it more difficult for the boar to swing around and attack with its tusks). Timmy said, “kill it!” and I was surprised as I didn’t know they were going to let me kill both boars. I carefully drove the knife into the boar’s heart trying to make sure I didn’t stab one of the dogs, several of whom had their teeth within an inch of my hand. I thought to myself, I sure hope these dogs know the difference between my hand and the boar!

“Two in one day bro,” said Timmy, “That doesn’t happen very often.” We took a breather and recounted the hunt as a typical Hawaiian downpour came over us. The brief shower made everything even more surreal, causing me to once again reflect on where I was and what I was doing. After taking more pictures and field dressing the boar, we packed up and headed back on our long hike back to the trucks. As we walked I thought about this amazing experience and my new friends who trusted and allowed me to hunt with them. The hike back was tiring and by the time we got to the trucks I was slightly dehydrated and exhausted from the strenuous hike and humidity. Randal brought spam, rice, and seaweed rolls for everyone and they tasted so good and refueled my body. We talked about the hunt for a little while longer and then headed back into town. Timmy dropped me off at the resort while my fellow tourists stared at me and wondered why I was muddy and covered in blood. I wanted to say, “I look like this because I just had the time of my life killing a wild boar with a knife,” but instead aloha would have to do.