So why hunt elephant?

A bull elephant along the Chobe River, Botswana.

My quest to hunt the world's largest land animal has been met with a very mixed response.  The protectionists in my life hate it. My colleagues at work - well the girls aren't so impressed, but most of the lads are okay with it. 


Some of the hunters I know who long to hunt dangerous game are excited, but most hunters I know are giving me the "...I only hunt to save the koalas..." speech; are they serious?  


My wife's not totally convinced, but she's coming 'cause she wants to hunt giraffe! My four-year-old daughter wants to come along but understands it's just mummy and daddy this time - "...but I can come with you to hunt elephant next time daddy..." she tells me.  She sure can. And my two-year-old doesn't get it, she reckons it's "...a little bit scary!"


So why hunt elephant? Why not?


 So for a moment, let's put aside why it's morally, legally and scientifically okay to hunt elephant. Ultimately this will dictate whether we can hunt elephant, but not why we might want to hunt Loxodonta africana.
Up until we first visited Africa some years ago now, I had no real interest in hunting elephant even though I'd dreamed of hunting Africa's big game for many years. Once on the ground, on foot in the African bush, my rating of the elephant as a dangerous game animal quickly changed.


Along the Chobe River in Botswana we had many encounters with the tens of thousands of elephant that roam the region. A few bulls came very close to our Land Rover and at the last minute took a lunging step towards the vehicle; had the truck not been in gear and good to go there was more than one occasion when we might have ended up on our side...

At Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, my wife and I were taking a walk at dawn, cutting across a bush trail from the camp ground where we had our tent pitched to get to the Falls before any bulk tourists arrived. A very big elephant bull was standing in some thick timber and we heard him breath heavily as we passed, unaware of the bull at the time. We stopped to check out the sound when old jumbo flapped his ears and rushed forward. We had a bit of a head start and raced towards the chasm, but it's only because that elephant was playing that we're still here. There's no way we could have out run an elephant.

Then came the cape buffalo hunt in the Matetsi and Gwayi Safari Areas east of Bulawayo. We'd be tracking buffalo and on hearing animals off the trail we'd cut into the bush, working with the wind. In nearly every instance we'd come upon small herds of elephants. On one occasion a tree came crashing down as we approached. Another time a cow came trotting over as we topped a ridge and we sprinted in the opposite direction, hissing and cursing at the tracker who was certain it was buffalo but got us within 20 yards of the elephants. A confrontation was not what we were looking for and a dead cow would mean a load of grief for everyone.

So I saw the power and potential danger of being up close to these animals first hand and I liked it. Actually, I loved it.

For those who enjoy hunting pigs, you know there is not a lot of real danger in this sport, but if you wound a pig and you have to crawl through lignum or undergrowth on the blood trail, there's always the chance that he might come. Nothing sends the adrenalin pumping through your veins like a close encounter where you might get hurt, and if you've got a rifle in your hands to deal with the situation... well I guess you can't explain all of those feelings - you either have them or you don't. You either enjoy the fear and the excitement, the danger and the adventure, or you don't...

A mature bull elephant in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Then there's the golden days of safari. There are plenty of stories of ivory hunters with their nitro express double rifles on their exploratory safaris across the continent. The writings of these adventurers are a great record of a special time in history and there are some pretty exciting stories in there. Modern big game hunters like Ivan Carter, Craig Boddington and an endless roll of professional hunters will tell you that the hunt for a bull elephant is the single greatest hunt on the African continent. 


The effort the team must make, the determination to press on, the danger associated with the verry close encounters that are necessary for assessing trophy animals and ultimately, essential to making an effective shot and the understanding of the animals anatomy all combine to make the experience. It's still a relatively small target you need to hit to drop an elephant. And there's the complications of the unusual angles required to make a kill shot, totally changing the point of aim as you move closer to the animal. Backing shots if the animal doesn't drop to the shot? Head shots when shooting an approaching animal? The merits of the heart/lung shot on a quartering away animal? The chance of a charge from a wounded animal? Put it all together and you have some serious hunting on your hands.

The romance of tracking dangerous game with a big bore rifle, a professional hunter leading your team of trackers and skinners on the hunt, a bush camp with cooks, laundry staff and general camp staff. Khakis, good boots, a belt full of cartridges - 1/2" round and over 3" long, the long days of tracking, sundowners on a fold up chair overlooking a pod of hippos as the sun sinks behind the acacia, fever and sausage trees. Such a very special experience.

With all of these thoughts and experiences bouncing around in my head, I was sitting in the office late one night when I thought to myself, "we should go elephant hunting". The missus had been unwell, work was tough, and grief with our new house left little to get excited about. Then I said it again: "...we should go elephant hunting." That's when my wife rang and we had our little chat (see previous post).

The next morning I conferred with a good mate who lives on Australia's southern coastline, asking him what is thoughts were on the merits of an elephant hunt. We kind of think alike, so I guess I kind of knew I was going to get some reassurance. His words sealed the deal:

"As for your conundrum. ELE . Without any hesitation or shadow of a doubt. You are at the perfect time in your career to brain a big bull from spitting distance. Your consideration of the subject is just you politely raising to consciousness what your subconscious is ready to experience. Once you flick that switch, the one labelled - Yes. I'm actually going to hunt Elephant, I think it will grow on you very fast indeed - sort of like a locomotive. You know you are ready, and you know that you will never be quite internally content until you do. The time may also rapidly approach when this is no longer an option. Is that unscratchable itch one you could live with if you chose Hyena and Bushbuck. Granted, the Hyena isn’t exactly thick on the ground either but I could live without owning one with a head full of grey school buses at 25 yards in the miombo. It's a decision that requires a lot of thought but ultimately I think the reasons for will very much outweigh the reasons against."

Where would we be without our good mates?