Black Wildebeest hunting
250 hunting trips from 89 outfitters starting from $1,200
Where to hunt Black Wildebeest
As the Dutch colonists began to explore the African continent, among the animals they discovered was a dark-colored, stubborn-looking, hump-backed antelope they called Wildebeest, because its looks reminded them of their domestic cattle. An alternative name, Gnu, was borrowed from one of the local languages; the sound is supposed to resemble the alarm call of the animals. Black, or white-tailed Wildebeest (as it is called today to distinguish it from the the Blue Wildebeest found further on to the North of the continent), has since become the iconic hunting quarry for South Africa, and has also been introduced to game farms in Namibia and Botswana.
Price distribution
You can find a cull Wildebeest hunt for under $1,000, but usually the trophy fee alone costs $850-$1,100. With daily rates, and a few other species (few hunters travel as far as Africa to hunt just one antelope), a complete plains game hunt will cost from $2,500-$3,000, or more, depending on the hunter’s budget and desires. The most expensive Black Wildebeest hunting offers are usually combination hunts that also include a dangerous game species or a rare and expensive color variant.
Learn more from our blog story
When you’re only beginning to consider your first African hunting adventure, it’s easy to get lost in all those “package deals”, “trophy fees” and “daily rates” in the hunt descriptions. How much to budget for travel, tips, taxidermy, and whatnot, is also an equation with many unknowns. While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, this blog post covers all items of a safari budget and gives average spending figures for each, to help you plan your trip.
17 Aug 2017 All said and done: What’s the bottom line for an average South African hunt?When to hunt Black Wildebeest?
Typically for Africa, Black Wildebeest hunting opportunities exist pretty much year round. December to February, however, are usually too hot for most African countries. Like with many other ungulates, the best time for hunting is the rut, when bulls display themselves on their small mating territories and fight with other bulls for them. The rut usually happens in May to July
Hunting methods All hunting methods (16)
Wildebeest typically stick to savannah type habitat, and by far the most popular way of hunting the Black Wildebeest it is the traditional spot-and-stalk. The hunter and the PH cover the ground (often in vehicles) trying to find the herd with a good bull in it. Usually the quest is to find a small bachelor group rather than that huge herd from TV screens, because in a big herd it could be easy to lose track of the bull of your dream as the animals move about. Wildebeest is a tough animal, nicknamed “a poor man’s buffalo”, and most PHs advise a rifle of the 7 mm - .300 Magnum class to hunt it. Hump on the shoulder makes hunters unaccustomed to this animal aim too high.
Why hunt Black Wildebeest?
With its dark brown (rather than actually black) skin, and characteristic horns that curl forward, the Black Wildebeest is an iconic South African species. Wildebeest biltong is highly prized, although when fresh the Wildebeest venison is said to be tough and dry. Long journeys in teams of friends to hunt Wildebeest for biltong is an old tradition of South Africans. The indigenous hunters-gatherers track and stalk it or sit over waterholes with their primitive bows and arrows. The skin is the source for high-quality leather, and the tail of the black wildebeest, long and flowing, is used for traditional fly-whisks. And for the international hunter, the hornswill be a long-lasting memento of the outlandish experience of hunting in Africa.
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