Hunting Royal Antelope

Steve Kobrine

New member
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Messages
7
Reaction score
7
Media
7
Articles
2
Member of
SCI & Sub Chair of Africa for Archery for the Record Committee
Hunted
South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Benin, Ghana & Morocco
Hunting Royal Antelope

watermark.php


Here is a photo of the new world record Royal Antelope taken by my client Wilson Stout. For those of you unfamiliar with the Royal Antelope I will elaborate briefly on this amazing little species. The Royal antelope is the smallest antelope on earth with males tipping the scales at 3.8-4 pounds. Its closest relatives are the Bates Pygmy antelope and the Suni, sharing the same Genus Neotragus. The Royal antelope lives only in the West African rain forest from Guinea to Ghana. Due to its tiny size, nocturnal habits, and dense forest habitat, very little is known about these tiniest of all ungulates. We do know they live in pairs in small territories and seem to prefer edge habitats such as weedy openings in the forest or old Cassava fields. There are two theories to the origin of the name. The first is that it was called the "king of hares" and hence the name Royal Antelope. After five years in Ghana I have a different opinion. The Royal was and is considered "Chief's meat" in Ghana. Traditionally any hunter who took a Royal (known in Ghana as Adowa) had to deliver it to the Cheif or King as the meat is so delicious that only the royal family had the privelidge of eating it. That seems to me a more plausible explanation for the name. I opened the country of Ghana to international hunters three years ago and my clients have been suprisingly successful considering that the Royal was once considered one of the few animals on earth which could not be deliberately hunted. It took me five exploratory trips and nine weeks of crawling around the jungle to find good populations of this tiny rarity. A nice mature male will have 1 inch horns and 1 1/2 inches will be right at the top of the records. Wilson shot this trophy on the first day on his hunt. It is a tough hunt walking miles in hot steamy rainforest but this tiny prize makes it worth it. I leave next week for my first hunts in Ghana and have clients until July. I will keep you informed on the progress.

ghana_hunt.gif


Ghana Major Cities
ghana_hunting.gif
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for the post Steve! Wonderful small antelope!
 
Thx Steve. I enjoy your articles/pictures!!
How is the population of other game in ghana? Do you hunt other species there?

Cheers
 
Yes. We hunt Maxwells Duiker, Black Duiker, Panther Genet, and Harnessed Bushbuck. The Royal is the main focus for most clients though. There are good game numbers in a few small pockets which are the ones we hunt. Thanks
 

Forum statistics

Threads
54,472
Messages
1,155,153
Members
94,203
Latest member
GordonBees
 

 

 

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Grat wrote on HUNTROMANIA's profile.
Hallo Marius- do you have possibilities for stags in September during the roar? Where are your hunting areas in Romania?
ghay wrote on No Promises's profile.
I'm about ready to pull the trigger on another rifle but would love to see your rifle first, any way you could forward a pic or two?
Thanks,
Gary [redacted]
Heym Express Safari cal .416 Rigby

Finally ready for another unforgettable adventure in Namibia with Arub Safaris.


H2863-L348464314_original.jpg
Unforgettable memories of my first hunting safari with Arub Safaris in Namibia (Khomas Hochland) !!!

Namibia.jpg
Oryx.jpg
Kudu.jpg
ghay wrote on Joel Rouvaldt's profile.
Love your rifle! I'm needing a heavier rifle for Africa. Sold my .375 Dakota Safari several trips ago. Would you have any interest in a trade of some sort involving the custom 338/06 I have listed here on the site ( I have some room on my asking price. I also have a large quantity of the reloading components and new Redding dies as well as a box of A-Square Dead Tough ammo.
 
Top