Wildebeest hunting
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Where to hunt Wildebeest
Wildebeest, a.k.a. Gnu, is one of the most well-known African antelopes. The uncountable herds of this antelope during their annual migration make a striking sight that is a favorite with TV channels and illustrated magazines, and attract thousands of wildlife viewers who want to see it with their own eyes. Two species of Wildebeest exist: the Blue Wildebeest, also known as the Common Wildebeest, is the animal whose migration scenes are mentioned above. The Black Wildebeest is the native of South Africa and is characterized by peculiar, forward-facing horns. The species are closely related and easily interbreed. The Common Wildebeest is further divided into five subspecies: the Blue, Eastern White-Bearded, Western White-Bearded, Cookson’s Wildebeest, and Nyasa Wildebeest, while rare color phase variants, such as Golden Wildebeest, are found on some South African and Namibian game ranches. Wildebeest hunting opportunities exist in Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
Price distribution
You can find a cull Wildebeest hunt for under $1,000. However, in most cases the trophy fees (with permits) for a Blue Wildebeest run at about $1,000-$1,200, for the Black Wildebeest - $1,000-2,000, and for the rarer kinds may be even higher. Few hunters travel as far as Africa to hunt just one antelope; most prefer to pursue five to seven “plains game” species in the course of a 5 to 10 day hunt. Such “plains game packages” usually start at $3,000. The most expensive Wildebeest hunts are the most exotic color phase variants in South Africa, and the old-school safaris in Tanzania.
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 Wildebeest?
Typically for Africa, 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 (17)
Wildebeest is a creature of the savannah, a habitat perfectly suited for spot-and-stalk hunting, as it is often just open enough to allow easy identification of animals, and provides just enough cover for quiet approach. But fooling a thousand eyes and ears in a big herd can be quite a challenge, and so, when the hunter and the PH cover the ground (often in vehicles) trying to find the herd with a good bull in it, they’re mostly looking for a small herd or bachelor group. Wildebeest’s reputation for toughness earned it a nickname “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 Wildebeest?
Wildebeest is the classic quarry of “plains game” hunting. The indigenous hunters-gatherers track and stalk it or sit over waterholes with their primitive bows and arrows, and long journeys in teams of friends to hunt them for biltong is an old tradition of South Africans. The meat of wildebeest is said to be tough and dry when fresh but a delicacy when converted to biltong. 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 the horns, for the international hunter, will be a long-lasting memento of the outlandish experience of hunting in Africa.
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