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About Frederick Courteney Selous
Selous Game Reserve - Contents Table
Frederick Courteney Selous was has born in 1851 in London, in an affluent and well structured family: his father was the chairperson of the prestigious London Stock Exchange and his mother was a poet. At the age of 42, Frederick Selous married Gladys Maddy who gave birth to two sons.
Reading about Selous' life from a 21st Century perspective would make him look like a individual with a mixed personality. Although he was a respected naturalist who cared to learn about wildlife, plants and the ecology of an area but found it perfectly fine to take down or hunt elephants for ivory, and lions and antelopes as trophies. This is understandable if we were to look at the background of most personalities, in the 19th century, interested in visiting Africa after hearing about European explorers who carried out expeditions and made a name for themselves by going to places most people only dreamed of. Frederick took his mentoring from Dr. David Livingstone, the famous explorer. So in 1871, Frederick Selous achieved his dream and set out to the Southern part of Africa. He reached Algoa Bay, a Southern Africa port, on 4th September 1871 with £400 in his pocket and "weight of only nineteen years upon my shoulder". This and many of his explorations are documented in his nine year narrative book called "A Hunter's wanderings in Africa."
For our perspective of Selous' biography and related readings, one can sense yet having nothing to grab on to except some excerpts and choice of word about a greater and in-depth philosophy about Selous' understanding and perspective on hunting versus conservation, particularly:
• When he, with modesty, dismissed the notion that he was one of the world's biggest hunters. He further qualified his praises by stating that he had hunted a lot but would not call himself a good hunter.
• In the evening hours during a war period in 1916, when soldiers would retire for the evening, Frederick Selous would take out his butterfly net and add new species to his collection; many of these butterfly specimens are extant at British Museums.
Selous' physique, strength and experience from the sports he indulged in: tennis, cricket, croquet and cycling, and his on-foot experience in hunting aided him when he joined the 25th British Fusiliers during World War I, where he also made captain. He had authority over the troops that controlled most of Kenya and Tanganyika coastline. With the unpredictable nature and length of the war, Frederick Selous' troops fought in Kenya and pursued the German forces led by General von Lettow-Vorbeck into Southern Tanzania on the outskirts of current day Selous Game Reserve to a village called Kisaki. By December 1916, Selous' men had faced great difficulty because of the region's terrain, climate and diseases; only 60 of the original 1166 soldiers were fit for duty. On the morning of January 4th 1917, Selous and his comrades set out to attack the German troops who had setup camp near the Beho Beho Mountain. But when planning an attack, Selous miscalculated their strategic attack position and soon found themselves cornered and out numbered. A big battle took place in the Beho Beho region and Selous' last day came to an end when "he was struck dead by a shot to the head." Selous was buried close to the Beho Beho Mountain where a brass plate is laid on his stone grave behind some bushes, which reads:
Captain F.C Selous D.S.O
25th Royal Fusiliers
Killed in Action 4.1.1917
All in all, Frederick Courteney Selous led a full and vibrant life. During his life not only did he pursue his interests in nature and hunting but also rubbed shoulders with famous people in history like the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt who was the first and only president to visit Africa but for personal reasons. President William Jefferson Clinton was the second US President to visit Africa after over 75 years and presided officially.
Next Section - History Behind The Establishment of Selous Game Reserve
Previous Section - Understanding the Selous Wildlife, Birdlife, Vegetation, Locations and Attractions
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