Richard Hyatt: Animals' eyes bring up a question

Everywhere you look there are eyes. Staring as we eat. Following us as we roam George Hubbard's rustic house. Never blinking. Always staring.

Around his house in Harris County hang 125 animals, not counting a bear the size of a power forward that stands on two legs and welcomes you at the door.

It's the eyes that haunt. They are windows into the souls of magnificent creatures turned into trophies.

The only thing they have in common is that the last sound they heard was Hubbard's gun.

Avoiding eye contact is difficult.

Only later did it hit me that Dr. George B. Hubbard is a board-certified ophthalmologist who spent his brilliant career examining eyes. Now I'm looking into the eyes of animals on his wall.

Over lunch with friends, Hubbard shares the stories behind his hunts.

He's detailed and passionate, able to bring the animals back to life for only a moment.

His favorites involve big game in Africa. He invokes the names of Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark, whose poetic articles described the thrill of the hunt. He quotes Ruark as if his words are Scripture.

I have one question: Why?

Hubbard refers me to a wall-hanging on which he shares his philosophy: "The why for hunting feathered game is simpler than the why for hunting big game. I started bird hunting very young and it has always been a part of my life.

"The participation of dogs is very meaningful to me. Watching a dog that I raised from birth sail across fields is similar to watching your child perform and excel in a sporting event Being lucky enough to knock down a bird or two is just a bonus. If the excitement and that special gut feeling ever disappears, it is time to quit."

Preparation is vital and seldom shown on TV. Documentaries dwell on the final shot. "Then there is the bloviating and bragging about the wonderful shot, the size of the game animal and other trivialities that constitute only a very minor part of a real hunt. Some of my most memorable hunts have ended without even a shot being fired."

Danger is involved in big game hunts.

Describing that feeling Hubbard repeats the words of Ruark: "Lions and leopards and rhinos excite me but don't frighten me. But that buffalo is so big and mean and ugly and hard to stop, and vindictive and cruel and surly and ornery. He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money. He looks like he is hunting you He makes me sick in the stomach, and he makes my hands sweat, and he dries out my throat and my lips."

Looking into the eyes of that mean and ugly buffalo, I still ask why.

Richard Hyatt is an independent correspondent. Reach him at hyatt31906@knology.net.

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Richard Hyatt: Animals' eyes bring up a question."