Is there an African animal you wouldn't shoot?

Charles de Ribeau

AH enthusiast
Joined
Aug 3, 2015
Messages
276
Reaction score
549
Media
1
Hunting reports
Africa
1
Member of
NRA Life
Hunted
Namibia, RSA, Canada (Sask, BC, NWT, Nunavut), US (NY, PA, TX, CO, NE, SD, ID, AK)
Let's start by rephrasing the question. If it was legal, ethical (no females with fawns or kids, animal within range for your abilities, etc.), of sufficient size, and no extra cost to you, is there a type (species or subspecies) that you wouldn't shoot? If an animal presented a shot and your PH put up the sticks and says "Take him!" is there any kind of animal that would make you look at your PH and say, "No thanks."

For example, some people just don't like the look of the horns on hartebeest. Perhaps you feel that you've already shot too many of a particular kind of animal. Or, in your opinion, they are not sufficiently challenging to hunt?

If there is such an animal for you, why wouldn't you shoot it?
 
giraffe
 
Having posed the question, I will offer one of my own. That would be a honey badger.

Why? I just think that they are an amazing animal. It's as simple as that. Not saying that anyone else shouldn't, I'm just speaking for myself.
 
Any cat, unless they want to eat me :D
Yep, anything that wants to hurt me is going to die, if I can make that happen.

BTW - all venomous snakes plus any snakes that might possibly be venomous or are friends with a venomous one go on another list - the Must-Kill list.
 
Elephant.......unless it was trying to stomp me into the ground. Just think that they are cool animals and I can't bring myself to harm one.

Now Zebras, on the other hand...........I got bit by a horse as a child, and somebody's got to pay!!!!:D;)
 
First of all, I don’t look down on anyone who legally takes any animal. This is just me but...
Giraffe: Just doesn’t interest me. I do love the hide but no desire to shoot one.
Lion and leopard: A lion maybe, but hunting leopards doesn’t trip my trigger.
Croc: This one is the least desirable for me.
Elephant: I’ve watched the videos of a frontal shot at 5 yds and that have to be an adrenaline rush. However, I just think elephants are such a great animal and don’t really have a desire to shoot one.
Rhino: Too rare.
 
Last edited:
Yep, anything that wants to hurt me is going to die, if I can make that happen.

BTW - all venomous snakes plus any snakes that might possibly be venomous or are friends with a venomous one go on another list - the Must-Kill list.

I have seen a few snakes in my trips to SA and never tried to kill one, I just love to watch them, from a safe distance, of course :LOL:
 
Plenty. Some I’ve hunted successfully with clients and will still do.

Steenbuck and Klipspringer come to mind, as well as Cape and Sharp’s Grysbuck.
All cats smaller than and including cheetah. Except caracal.
Honey Badger. Bat eared fox. Civets and Aardwolf as well.

I’ve shot thousands of vervet monkeys. Then one day picked up one that was a week old and hit by a car whilst carried by her mother. Hand raised her, and couldn’t bring myself to shoot a problem vervet again for a year.

Its good to have self imposed limits and think about these things. They may also change with time. I won’t ever criticize any legal hunting of the above animals though.
 
No wild cats, serval, civet, caracal, etc.
Jackal
Giraffe
 
Last edited:
Any cat, though part of me wants to hunt lion, or any monkey except for baboon. I really have no interest in giraffe, though not for any moral reason.
 
Giraffe - my Mothers favorite animal (she made me promise not to shoot one!)
Elephant - interacted with them too much and couldn't bring myself to actually shoot one.
Rhino - same as elephant
Most cats except caracal and leopard.
Bat-eared foxes- just too damn cute.
aardvark, aardwolf, porcupine, pangolin, and smaller critters like mongoose and civets hold no real desire for me to hunt.
 
I have no interest in elephant, rhino, hippo, giraffe, lion, monkeys, or hunting anywhere I have to pay someone to keep me alive.
 
The thought of shooting a giraffe had never crossed my mind until a chief in one of the conservancies in Namibia asked me kill one for his tribe. They wanted the meat and there and there was no trophy fee so I said sure, wouldn't have done it for myself. I will have to be damn hungry to eat giraffe tongue ever again.
You can't enjoy a dish of ostrich neckbone in camp without an ostrich. Not the smartest or prettiest animals by a long shot but, damn tasty. If nobody else in camp wants to kill one then I will.
A honey badger or a bat eared fox would be 2 animals that I would have to let walk unless they were causing some real mischief. Even at that I would have reservations as they are just cool critters.
 
Giraffe: I still love my wife, she tolerates my hunting BUT SIMPLY WOULD NOT SEE HER WAY AROUND ME SHOOTING A GIRAFFE!!!
Rhino: I have darted a rhino ( green hunt) but would not kill one.. to rare and being poached to extinction.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
53,632
Messages
1,131,594
Members
92,714
Latest member
cazhino90
 

 

 

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

20231012_145809~2.jpg
 
Top