Veteran British Columbia outfitter Bob Fontana was hunting
in Africa
By Lynn Burkhead
ESPNOutdoors.com associate editor - July 21, 2004
Acclaimed British Columbia hunting outfitter Bob Fontana
lost his life on Monday after a rogue Cape buffalo bull attacked him while
hunting in Tanzania, Africa, according to a Canadian guiding colleague.
Fontana, a resident of Cranbrook, British Columbia, and
owner of Elk Valley Bighorn Outfitters, was on his third hunting trip to the
Dark Continent, this time pursuing eland or kudu, according to his longtime
guiding friend, Clay Lancaster of Nahanni Butte Outfitters, also in
Cranbrook.
While reportedly checking a salt lick for game activity,
the rogue Cape buffalo apparently charged out of the brush, striking and
killing Fontana almost instantly before the professional hunter accompanying
him could fire a shot at the animal.
"Yeah, it was an awful shock," Lancaster said. "Somebody
of Bob's stature and ability in the bush, you just don't expect something
like that to happen and for him to go out the way that he did.
"We were all getting ready to see his pictures and to see
how his hunt in Africa went."
Lancaster described his friend as a hard-working outfitter
who wasn't afraid to speak his mind.
"He was the kind of man that once you got to know him, you
would have done anything for him," Lancaster said.
With sheep-hunting seasons scheduled to begin over the
next several weeks across British Columbia, Lancaster indicated that a local
guide will be working to help ensure that Fontana's 2004 clients are able to
make the September hunts they scheduled with the late outfitter.
Fontana, who was 45, is survived by his wife, Anna, and
two daughters, Kaitlin and Kallie, from a previous
marriage.
