Hunting Lord Derby Eland

Hunting Lord Derby Eland


52.5 inch Lord Derby Eland


Lord Derby Eland in Central African Republic


Lord Derby Eland Bull in Central Africa


52.5 inch Lord Derby Eland

We don’t know much about the Lord Derby Eland, also known as Giant Eland, as it is difficult to find surveys. The subject here is to share what I've noticed during the long walks chasing them since I have been hunting them for a long time now. Lord Derby Eland is one of the biggest antelope in Africa and on the contrary it is not easy to observe. Carrying a great trophy, it is an exceptional species for all the hunters who have enjoyed and who will never forget his tracking and stalking.

It is not easy to truly imagine what it's like when you have never seen one in the wild. Just picture a big and elegant ghostly shape of 600 kg (1,300 pound), 1.8 meter (5.9 feet) in height with a smooth coat reddish brown to chestnut in color with several well defined white stripes on both sides of the body, a huge black haired neck extending to a large pendulous dewlap and a beautiful curly, massive set of horns drifting in and out the bush.

As a savanna antelope they are primarily diurnal. Gregarious specie (up to 100 in herds), only the older bulls disband the herd in the wet season. Highly nomadic with a large home range they spend long hours walking looking for fresh leaves, salt licks and waterholes where they sometimes drink and where the bulls roll in the mud to protect their skin.

Hunting Eland is for me one of the most beautiful experience for one simple reason: he is shy, crafty, clever and you track him. Everyone can hunt a Giant Eland when they are in a good number in an area, it depends on his ability of walking and concentration.

The Eland hunting day always begin by driving around a chosen area, checking the tracks on the roads and salt licks. We don’t look for tracks by the water as they don’t come often. As you find the tracks, the first thing is to check the freshness of the spoor, dung, leaves and branches by the team and then look for a big bull track, large, square in the front side of the mark, deep on the ground promising a heavy bull.

Before following the trail you have to pack 8 liters of water, camera, rounds, load your rifle and get your mind ready for a long walk. On my side I always boost the morale of the trackers especially the main one because even for them it is a hard hunt. Without a good team of trackers you can forget your Eland unless by a lucky encounter. Their skill, for the best trackers, of following Eland tracks on hard gravel or on burnt terrain is something remarkable. Even for me after many years where I don’t have trouble to follow Buffalo, on Eland I lose the trail of 40 animals very easily. While we follow the tracks we always check the different signs; if the dung is green and wet you know they are close, if the leaves and broken trees has moisture on it you know they are close. At that time you have to look for a flicking tail but the trackers will see it long before you. Open your ears to try to catch the noise when they brake the trees or better try to catch the sound of a bull smelling their odor of a strong anise.

Then you hear the tracker going: pssssst... You stop dead still in your tracks and scan and scan again the thick bush you have been walking through for many long hours. Instantaneously you are covered by sweet bees, in your eyes, nose, mouth, ears. You chase them but all of us look at you and you hear, "don’t MOVE they are 100 meter in front of us…" You wear your head net and are relieved… You make one and two steps through the thicket and you point at them with your arm and again I say "don’t MOVE..."

We check the swirling midday wind and try to get closer. You think that they are feeding quietly but be sure that with their big ears and eyes, one or two of them have already caught you moving!! They start trotting away in a big cloud of dust... We take the advantage and run towards the cloud to get into a shooting position because they should stop and look back in a moment. You are ready for the first time and at last you see them, you even see the big bull walking broadside 60 meters away between the trees, ruff and dewlap swaying from side to side... Your finger reaches for the trigger of your favorite 375 HH and here you are at the last moment and you instantly forget the last 5, 6, 8 or 9 days of the hard walking pursuit. What great hunting... you have chased the ghost!


Big Lord Derby Eland Bulls


Trophy Lord Derby Eland Bulls


Trophy Lord Derby Eland Bulls


Trophy Lord Derby Eland Bulls


Check out the size of the necks in the early season...


Check out the size of the necks...


Trophy Lord Derby Eland Bulls


Lord Derby Eland Bull and Cow


Trophy Lord Derby Eland Bull on the left


Lord Derby Eland Bulls running


48 inch class Lord Derby Eland


48 inch class Lord Derby Eland


48 inch class Lord Derby Eland


Lord Derby Eland curls


Lord Derby Eland herd


Medium Lord Derby Eland


Young Lord Derby Eland Bull


Time to try...


Salt lick


Adding salt


Lord Derby Eland country


Lord Derby Eland spoors and dung


Skinning Eland


Lord Derby Eland heart


The Festivities of a Derby Eland Hunt


A trophy of a lifetime...