A feel for hunting

The Sutter Buttes chapter of Safari Club International did not spend $6,000, curry the skills and time of local artisans or solicit hunting treasures to build a museum on wheels.

“It is not a dead animal exhibit,” Larry Johns, president of the local group, said about the Sensory Safari Trailer.

Johns said the purpose is to educate and promote wildlife conservation.

“The sensory safari concept was originally designed for visually impaired children,” Johns said. “And we basically expanded on that. We thought what a great way to expose (the exhibits and information) to everyone. It is a hands-on exhibit.”

The local club broke out the trailer for the first time at its junior pheasant hunt held over the weekend in west Sutter County.

“This will be the centerpiece of our local chapter,” Johns said.

Johns said it was a natural fit with another of the club’s primary missions - junior hunting.

“It freaked me out,” said Garrett White, 12, of Wheatland.

White was actually at the pheasant hunt with a couple of his buddies. He did not expect to be able to walk with them out in the field, and he certainly didn’t expect to see the kind of animal exhibits on display in the trailer.

White hopes to get his hunting license in the near future, and certainly his experience at the junior hunt did nothing to lessen his desire.

Cheyenne Barrett, 9, of Wilton, one of the 58 hunters over the weekend, admits she was a little scared when she first went into the field.

But that feeling quickly went away.

“I thought it was really fund because you got to shoot at the birds whenever you wanted to,” Barrett said.

Those opportunities came under the guidance and instruction of adult hunters. The junior hunters also got to work with dogs, many for the first time.

As for the trailer, Barrett said it was pretty cool.

Among the more exotic exhibits were a dik-dik - a very small antelope found in southern and eastern Africa - a a springbok - another African antelope - as well as skins, skulls and other exhibits from animals Johns said children would not otherwise be able to see, touch and learn about in their lifetimes.

Chuck Wyllie, a longtime hunting education instructor and former member of the Sutter County Fish & Game Commission, also took the time to explain the differences between a bobcat and a lynx.

One of the biggest, of course, is there are bobcats in the Mid-Valley area. The lynx roaming ground is in the northern states as well as in Canada.

“I want a zebra. That’s what I want,” said Tierney Foster, 16, of Sutter County. A zebra skin was on display. She has been hunting since she was 8-years-old and the safari trailer only served to expand her passion.

“If I could get an opportunity, I’d take it,” Foster said.

Johns also developed as short video that explains what Safari Club International is all about, and what the goals of the local chapter are as well.

Safari Club International is essentially a hunters’ rights group at the national and international level. It was founded in 1973 and has more than 150 chapters.

The Sutter Buttes chapter is active in a number of the national group’s projects, such as Safari Wish, Safari Care, Sportsmen against Hunger, and activities for disabled and youth hunters.

The local chapter was formed in January 2005.

“There were a group hunters in the area and our primary concern was the lack of hunter education and conservation education in the area,” Johns said.

Johns said that is not a knock on such groups as Ducks Unlimited or the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, but those are species specific, and the hunters he was talking to were looking for a broader base.

There used to be a Safari chapter in the area, but it had died off 10 years ago.

The new group formed with a 12-member board of directors and 25 members. Now there are more than 90 members and the group has been recognized for its newsletter and will be honored as the top rookie club at this year’s national convention, Johns said.

The Sensory Safari Trailer, Johns said, became a natural extension of the chapter’s primary goals: education and conservation.

Johns said he hopes to continue to collect exhibits and rotate them through the trailer to keep it fresh and new.

“And it will be available to any school or organization or for any event,” Johns said.