As an outdoor writer, my paths cross with interesting people. Some are adept at fishing; some at hunting; some that are just flat-out interesting.
A couple of years ago, I met such a person in Anna Ribbeck. She lives in Baton Rouge, works at the LSU Ag Center and just received her graduate degree in plant science, including her thesis on invasive aquatic plants.
There are lots of folks who have done what she’s done scholastically, but it’s here where Anna Ribbeck sets herself apart from others, especially young attractive women. Meet Anna the Archer, someone who got hooked on archery and is carrying her knowledge and expertise to a high level.
Introduced to archery at the beginning of her years as a student at LSU, she is accumulating a reputation, not only as being deadly on the archery target range but in carrying it another step. She is a serious bow hunter, having already taken several deer with her bow.
From hunting deer, she became interested in using her bow to try to put a dent in the burgeoning population of nutria, the orange-toothed rodents that are decimating the coastline habitat by uprooting and foraging on the valuable plants that hold the marshland together.
Upon learning that she would introduce women to archery at the Claiborne Parish Library a couple of years ago to present a seminar, I contacted her for material for my columns and for my radio program.
“I want to educate the public, especially women, on archery,” she told me then. “I do a lot of You Tube videos on social media under the name, Anna the Archer and I visit bow shops to teach women about archery. I also participate in competitive archery and that has not only been lots of fun, but getting to hang out with others in the sport has been a big help in developing my skills and my love for the sport.”
Her love for the sport has led to something else that may seem like something females would have little interest in, alligator hunting. She is now a vital part of the popular television series, Swamp People, aired every Thursday night at 7 o’clock on the History Channel.
“To get to do this with these well-known alligator hunters, like the star of the show, Troy Landry, and to do it with my bow is like nothing else,” Ribbeck said.
She is a member of an all-girl team featured in the show. Her partner, Ashley Jones, joins her to form the Double A team.
“I’ve lost count of how many alligators Ashley and I have taken. It’s in the hundreds, I’m sure,” she added.
Ribbeck is also involved in another venture that is featured on the show. Landry assisted her in starting the Swamp Mysteries portion of the show where she chases down and dispatches feral pigs with her bow.
“We have so many hogs on the landscape that are harming the environment down here, much like you have in north Louisiana. We go after them with bows, with guns and even hunting them from helicopters,” she said.
I have had the privilege of interviewing a wide variety of individuals over the years but have found few as interesting as Anna the Archer.
Visit her site on Facebook, Anna the Archer, for a veritable plethora of stories, photos and video clips of her chasing nutria, alligators and feral hogs. Mark your calendar to watch her in action Thursday nights at 7 on the History Channel. You won’t be disappointed.
Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com