3 reasons to hunt in Tanzania

Ever since Theodore Roosevelt hunted there on his famous 1909 safari, Tanzania has presented some exceptional opportunities to hunters from all over the world that are not found anywhere else on the continent. Tanzania has a great reputation for producing outstanding game trophies. In Tanzania, one can hunt buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion, crocodile and hippo. While the hunting prospects for dangerous game are superb across the board, the country is held in especially high regard for the excellent hunting for buffalo. So here are our three reasons to travel to this magnificent African land.

Why Tanzania

1. Retained hunting traditions

A safari in Tanzania retains the ambience and traditions of an old-style East African safari, with tented camps and hunting areas that span vast wilderness regions

2. Dangerous game

Tanzania is among the top places in Africa to hunt dangerous game such as elephant, buffalo, lion, and leopard

3. Extensive game list

Tanzania has one of the most extensive game lists in Africa, including many of the continent’s most prized plains-game animals

A bit more about hunting in Tanzania

Tanzania is considered by many experienced Africa hands to be the crown jewel of Africa’s hunting countries. Not only does it boast a vast game list, but also Tanzania prides itself on its safari traditions, which include well-appointed tented camps and large staffs catering to the visiting hunter.

A large country in East Africa covering 365,000 square miles, Tanzania still contains large regions of near-wilderness, such as the Selous Game Reserve and the Rungwa Game Reserve. It has a wide variety of ecosystems, from the Masai Steppe in the northeast, home to gazelles and oryx, to miombo forest in the south and west, home to sable and roan. Lion, leopard, elephant, and buffalo are well distributed throughout the country. The plains-game species are almost too numerous to list, and include some species that are hunted nowhere else in Africa. Among the most sought-after are eland, gazelle, Coke and Lichtenstein hartebeest, greater and lesser kudu, oribi, oryx, puku, several types of reedbucks, sable, roan, sitatunga, topi, suni, waterbuck, zebra, and white-bearded and Nyasa wildebeest.

Tanzania has three classes of hunting licenses. A hunter must choose a ten-day, sixteen-day, or twenty-one-day license, and a larger variety of species are available on the longer licenses. For example, a hunter may hunt up to two buffalo and a variety of plains game on a ten-day license, but must buy a sixteen-day license to hunt crocodiles and waterbuck and a twenty-one-day license to hunt elephant, sable, roan, lion, leopard, oryx, greater kudu, and eland. In addition to the license fee, trophy fees are charged for each species taken, as well as other government fees, which can add significantly to the safari cost. A full-bag safari in Tanzania is not inexpensive by any means, but it is one of the hunting world’s most desired experiences.

What you need to know

Visas

A tourist visa for traveling to Tanzania is required and must be obtained in advance of your trip. You’ll need to apply to the Tanzanian consulate in your home country, and will need to supply your passport, flight itinerary, two recent passport-size photos, an application form (filled out and signed), and the required fee, which is $100 for U.S. citizens. Allow several weeks for the process to be completed.

Health

Tanzania is a malaria zone country, and antimalarial drugs are strongly recommended.

Firearms

You will need to send your firearm details to your outfitter well in advance so the proper paperwork and permits will be ready for you up on arrival. Tanzania recently introduced a new requirement to import firearms for safaris: Hunters must now provide photographs of the firearm and of the serial number for any guns brought into the country. Only three rifles per hunter and 100 rounds per rifle may be imported. Automatic weapons and handguns are strictly forbidden. When hunting dangerous game (lion, elephant, and buffalo), the minimum caliber is .375.

And here comes the fun part

The hunting season in Tanzania begins on July 1 and ends on December 31. Tanzania has strict fair-chase hunting regulations that include the following: No animal may be shot from a vehicle or chased or driven by a vehicle. All hunting must be conducted within the hours of daylight. Female, young or immature animals are not to be hunted.

Most hunts in Tanzania are spot-and-stalk or safari style, with the hunters covering ground either on foot or by vehicle and, once an animal is spotted, completing a stalk on foot. Terrain varies dramatically from relatively flat savanna to rugged mountains, depending on the region of the country you’re hunting. Hunts for certain species require extensive walking; others require very little, so it’s a good idea to ask the professional hunter what to expect.

Tanzania is similar to South Africa in that both countries provide some of the very best hunting available in Africa. Nowhere else will you encounter the sheer numbers of game that are present in Tanzania. So don’t miss your chance, go to BookYourHunt, choose your outfitter, enjoy the pristine beauty of nature, silence, fresh air, mirror lakes and rushing waterfalls. And if there are any questions you still have – we are always there to answer them!