Cape Buffalo Hunting - Outdoors - Hunting

It comes as no surprise to the seasoned hunter that Cape buffalo hunting has, over the years, attracted more visitors to southern Africa than all of the so-called Big Five: lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard

The term "Big Five" was coined in the early days of African hunting by its early pioneers, who described the five biggest game animals that were the most dangerous and posed the most potentially lethal draw to those hunting them. In many cases hunters were severely maimed and killed during the hunt.

Owing to its unpredictability the Cape Buffalo, sometimes known as the "black death" makes it highly dangerous and killed many of the early-day hunters. Besides human prey, the African buffalo have few predators and have on occasions when defending themselves, killed lions.

It is no surprise then that most professional hunters regard the Cape Buffalo with respect as it is one of the most dangerous and ill-tempered animals to hunt; there have been numerous stories about this animal actually ambushing its pursuers.

For the hunter, this means is that a hunting safari in South Africa or Botswana is a thrilling experience not to be missed, hunting safaris being offered in the Northern KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Free State, Kalahari and the eastern Cape. Most packages can be tailor-made to suit the visitors' requirements, but all the legally licensed and accredited safaris are conducted by highly qualified hunting guides, and accredited by THETA.

Buffalo hunting is in the natural eco-environment surroundings of Southern Africa and most reputable companies operate policies that support conservation through sustainable means. Accommodation is usually in a camp or bush lodge with en-suite rooms, ranging from the comfortable to the luxurious. When on safari, photographic tours are also available.

African hunting is a highly emotive subject to some people, especially in the West. But, on the contrary to common predispositions about it, the impact on the environment for hunting safaris is far less than it counterpart photo safaris, and they also form part of southern African governments' game management programmes.

In addition, all hunts must first been issued with necessary licences and permits by the Parks Board and CITES (Confederation of International Trade in Endangered Species) and customers must be accompanied by fully-qualified and licensed guides.

To paraphrase Steve Robinson, each Parks Board meets regularly to discuss with the locals and the licensed hunting operator to decide on how many of a particular species can be supported by the eco-system, and how many of these can be hunted to maintain a healthy balance.

He notes: "By involving the local populations, the Parks Boards ensure that the local populations will find it more profitable to conserve the wildlife rather than find them in the position where they have to turn to poaching the game to feed their families. In African countries where hunting does not happen due to political upheaval or is banned, the game has no value to the local populations. Consequently the locals only see the game as something that competes with their own survival by eating their crops and further polluting their own water supplies. When this happens, history shows that the game is quickly wiped out by illegal poaching."

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