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The first animal to fall to TR’s H&H double: the Kilimakiu rhino.

Planning such a safari necessarily started well in advance, as it was a complex logistical and scientific undertaking as well as a grand adventure. He was accompanied by scientists and specialists from the museums involved, as well his 19-year-old son Kermit, then a freshman at Harvard University. Many of the arrangements were made through two of the world’s most famous big game hunters, Edward North Buxton and Frederick Courteney Selous. Other famous hunters who joined him on arrival included R.J. Cuninghame and Leslie Tarleton, hard-bitten Englishmen who were Old Africa Hands. The expedition’s ponderous equipment included motion picture cameras and technicians, too, as this was the first safari to be filmed. The equipment and supplies for such a trip required no fewer than 150 porters and assorted gun-bearers, askaris, and of course their camp followers, all of whom had to be fed on the march. TR, in charge, had his work cut out for him and had no lack of hunting opportunities.