If you open the map view of the BookYourHunt.com hunt search page, you will see that most hunting operations in Africa are concentrated on the southern tip of the continent. South Africa reigns supreme, followed by Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania also offer hunting opportunities. In other parts of the continent, however, the options seem to be few and far between.
A matter of politics
There are different reasons why some countries are de-jure or de-facto closed for international hunting tourism. One is that not all nations approach environmental issues in the same way. While some view hunting tourism as an important source of income, and hunting concessions as a conservation tool, others prefer to ban hunting.
The famous case in point is Kenya versus Tanzania. Kenya famously banned all big-game hunting in 1974, which, however, failed to produce the desired effect. Animal numbers remain low, while poached “bushmeat” is available on every market and ivory poaching operations continue on a large scale. Tanzania, a country with similar natural conditions and historical background, maintained hunting tourism and enjoys a much higher biodiversity.
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In other countries a government, as in a stable power that maintains law and order, de-facto doesn’t exist, or controls only a limited part of the territory. Unfortunately, not all African nations could manage the challenges brought about by the collapse of colonialism, intensified by the tug-of-war between the Communist powers and the Western nations, who sought to control emerging nations without much regard for Africans themselves.
Bloody and ruthless civil wars raged over Africa, and such things usually lead to great decimation in wildlife, as militants use ivory to finance their operations, and the struggling populations use bushmeat as the only available food resource. And after the tourists stop coming because the situation is too risky, the tourism industry may not be so easy to rebuild even after hostilities stop. Mozambique has only begun to recover from the effect of the civil war, Angola may be lost to international hunters forever. Sadly, wars and terrorism continue to be a dealbreaker for many otherwise exciting destinations.
Natural causes
But even outside of politics, not every part of Africa has got what it takes to be a great safari destination. Take the famous Sahara desert. No matter who controls it, and how much law and order there is, a great mass of sand without plants or water isn’t going to have very many animals, if at all.
Rainforests
Equatorial forests may also be problematic from a hunter’s perspective. They may have a lot of wonderful birds, plants, mammals and insects in them, but hunting in such dense undergrowth is quite a challenge – not to mention exhausting wet heat that takes a heavy toll on tourists from colder and drier destinations.
Most hunters who were fortunate enough to harvest a bongo – a beautiful spiral-horned antelope with bright, almost orange fur – have described it as one of the most exciting, but also one of the hardest hunts of their lives. One of the best methods of bongo hunting is with dogs, provided by the Baka people (formerly known as pygmy), who will also serve as trackers. Following them through the jungle is excruciating, but so much greater is the reward.
For those, who hear such stories and go “I want to do it, too” rather than “You can’t pay me enough to do it”, Cameroon is perhaps the best destination. Apart from the bongo, you can hunt the dwarf forest buffalo, giant forest hog, western sitatunga, and several species of duiker.
Savannah belt
Perhaps the best habitat for modern spot-and-stalk hunting with a rifle is savannah, which is open enough to see the animals, but at the same time gives enough cover to hide the hunter as he or she stalks the prey.
A savannah belt is running across the continent north of the equatorial forests as well as to the south. It has a potential to be a great safari destination, and the “vile evil instincts” of Western hunters could be exploited to raise money that could pay for managing vast tracts of land in their primal state – as it is done in many countries. There was a study in Burkina Faso, for example, that showed that the density of the lions on the hunting concessions was just as high as in strictly guarded national parks – while outside of either there was hardly a lion’s track to see at all.
Unfortunately, much of this belt belongs to countries such as the Central African Republic, which is better known for violent, and almost incomprehensible to outsiders, struggle over power and natural resources.
Perhaps the best destination to experience hunting in the Northern Savannah Belt is Cameroon. There you will find such endemic animals as the Central African giant eland, western roan, western hartebeest, sing-sing waterbuck, Nigerian bohor reedbuck, harnessed bushbuck, western kob and more. Hunting camps are somewhat rough, but well-equipped and organized, and hunting in Cameroon gives a natural, “the way it used to be” vibe to it.
The highlands of Eastern Africa
At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century adventurous British “Sportsmen” (and -women) would take a steamer that passed through Suez Canal, land in Aden, and cross over to Djibouti. There they would hire a camel caravan and head inland, into lands that now belong to Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and even parts of northern Kenya.
These days, many of those lands are associated with violence, bloody civil conflicts, and terrorism. However, Uganda and Ethiopia do offer many interesting hunting opportunities. Although the climate on the lowlands in these latitudes would be exhilarating, at the altitude of a few thousand feet it becomes bearable – actually, a warm jacket is a must have part of your pack if you want to go there.
Throw in such unique species as mountain nyala, menelik bushbuck and sitatunga, and you have a unique experience hardly found anywhere else. The only drawback to hunting in the pristine mountains of Ethiopia is the price. The country’s government has a policy of extracting as many dollars from as few international hunters as possible, pushing the costs of hunting licenses to exorbitant heights. Only 40 to 50 hunters have a chance to hunt in Ethiopia in a year, but if you can afford it, take our word that the experience is worth it.
Image (c) Libah Conservational Hunting and Photo Safari, Ethiopia.
Northern Africa: A world in itself
The part of Africa that lies between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert is another area that not many people think about when they think about hunting destinations. Things were different during the Roman Empire, when this area was an important source of ivory and animals to be killed by gladiators in the Coliseum and other arenas. And during the French colonial rule many adventurous hunters crossed the sea to hunt Atlas lions and other denizens of the region.
Those who’ve been brought up on classics will immediately remember “Tartarin de Tarascon”, which is actually a parody on a popular big game hunting book by Gerard, the self-proclaimed “Lion Killer of Algeria”, that in its time ignited many a youngster’s heart with the desire to hunt in distant lands. And for those whose hearts still burn with this desire, although the lions in Northern Africa have been extinct, the area still has something to offer.
In Egypt a wingshooter can find exciting opportunities for waterfowl and dove hunting. But perhaps the best destination in this part of the world is Morocco. A country with a deep mix of ancient Berber, Carthagenian, Roman and Moor traditions, Morocco has both small game hunting, including quail and partridge over bird dogs and dove shooting, and big-game hunting. Wild boar, which Islamic faith forbids the local residents to touch, reach epic proportions, and the mountains offer a rare chance to hunt aoudad, a.k.a. the Barbary sheep, in its natural environment.
In conclusion
Africa is an incredibly diverse and exciting place. We do hope that in ten or twenty years we’ll be rereading this blog with a feeling “fortunately, things have changed for the best”, that peace and prosperity would reign supreme, and whether a nation uses income from hunting tourism for environmental protection, or it closes its territory for international hunters, it would be a democratic, weighted decision and not a whim of an autocrat or junta. But nobody can see through the future, so why not use the opportunities that are available today?
