SOUTH AFRICA: Now For A Bushbuck To Round Out The "Spiral Horns"

johnnyblues said:

Responsible. Lol. I've heard how much taxidermy you have pending.

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ActionBob said:

Johnny you took that incorrectly.... I was talking about time and getting my work responsibilities taken care of first. Nothing to do with pending taxidermy But yea, a bit of that in process.

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Chris.Wood said:

9 wow looks like I have a few more to get then, I was referring to the 4 available in South Africa, so I have to add bongo, sitatunga, mountain nyala, lesser kudu and Livingstones Eland, is that correct?
Just goes to show one never stops learning.

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ActionBob said:

I'm no expert myself, but I think it is Lord Derby or Giant Eland, I believe Livingston is classified as a common eland along with the cape eland. However the Livingston has a different look and is definitely one worth pursuing in it's natural areas.

From guys I've been visiting with, sounds like other than the high cost and getting there, bongo is an exciting hunt but one with a high likelihood of success. Sitatunga being available in the same regions, can be more of about a 50%, give or take, success rate. I believe the most common area for lesser kudu is parts of Tanzania. And Ethiopia for mountain nyala... @Hank2211 might be able to better fill us in on these spiral horns.

But congratulations on the SA Spiral Slam! There are lots of talking points around various groups of critters that may or may not have a real common connection.... Adds a bit of fun, brings a bit of order and helps set some goals to what you may want to hunt, gives us some direction on grouping mounts together, adds marketing opportunities, and gives SCI another award to hand out

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Hank2211 said:

@ActionBob is right. There are (traditionally) nine spiral horned antelope in the world. They weren't always thought of as being in the same family (in particular, the Eland was historically in a different family), but now all are in the Strepciserotini tribe. They are, though, divided into two families, with 7 being in the tragelaphus family, with the other two (the eland) being in the taurotragus family.

With that important but ultimately useless information out of the way, here's what I can tell you:

Kudu: Found in most hunting areas of Africa, and more or less prevalent. Typically easy to take in Southern Africa, but in East Africa - remember The Green Hills of Africa. Papa had to try hard to get the Grey Ghost.

Lesser kudu: Found in East Africa. If you're in the right area, it is not a terribly difficult trophy, but the right areas are few and far between. A lovely animal, in my opinion.

Nyala: Again, found in many areas beyond its original range. Hunts in Southern Africa are typically successful, although Nyala tend to be more secretive than kudu, and a bit harder to find.

Mountain Nyala: Found only in Ethiopia, at altitudes above around 9,000 feet, and one of the most expensive hunts in Africa. Typically successful, although it may take time. Peter Flack writes a good story of his first, unsuccessful, hunt. This is not easy hunting. The mountain nyala is likely endangered, and only hunting keeps the habitat from being taken over for agriculture.

Bushbuck: The most common and widespread of the spiral horns, but not an especially easy one to take. You need to be in the right place at the right time. Early morning on hillsides is a good bet, as is late afternoon. Glassing can be effective, since they spend time in, you guessed it, bushes.

Bongo: huntable in Cameroon, CAR, and some parts of the Congo and perhaps some small West African countries. Given the situation in CAR, Cameroon is likely the best bet. This is an antelope of the rain forest, and is tyically hunted using Pygmies and their dogs (used for baying the bongo, not for tracking (they are not scent dogs)). Usually a tough hunt, in very difficult conditions, but generally, although not uniformly, successful. Much depends on the area and the rain. No rain, no bongo tracks.

Sitatunga: Found in many parts of Africa, but very shy and secretive. Success rates can be relatively high in some areas, and low in others. Hard to make a plan - they live in swamps, generally, and are a right place - right time type of hunt. Success rates will vary by area - from far below 50% to perhaps closer to 75%.

Common eland: Widely distributed, and typically not a difficult trophy to find on South African high fenced areas. More difficult in free range areas.

Giant Eland or Lord Derby Eland: Found in Cameroon and CAR, but in the savannah areas, not the jungle areas. A difficult hunt in extremely difficult conditions, but generally successful.

That's the nine. I have eight - need the Lord Derby.

Many of these animals have subspecies, in some cases many subspecies. Some subspecies are up for debate, others are not. So if, for example, you want to collect all of the subspecies of bushbuck, you will have to travel much of Africa, and you will need the Chobe, the cape, the Limpopo, Meneliks, harnessed, Abyssinian, and many more. Sitatunga comprise over 10 different types, again depending on the classification. You could spend a major part of a hunting life looking for all of them.

I will only say this in closing - be very careful what you ask for!

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sestoppelman said:

To my knowledge there are 4 sitatunga to hunt. Zambezi, Nile/East African, Island, and Forest/Western. Never heard of the other 6?

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sestoppelman said:

I see what you are saying, and I have heard of that hunter, well known. However whatever critters he may be thinking of are probably not a real subspecies and not likely in huntable numbers nor recognized as such. I will stick with the 4, mine is the Zambezi from Botswana.

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