Game species
Greater Kudu
Tragelaphus strepsiceros
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 140-155cm
Mass: 250kg (bull), 180kg (cow)
Horns: average length: 120cm (along the curve). Only the males have the long, spiral horns. Description: This large and handsome antelope is grey-brown to rufous in colour with the bulls being greyer than the cows and calves. The sides are clearly marked with six to ten vertical white stripes. There is a distinct white band across the face with white spots on the cheeks. The bull has a prominent mane from the neck to beyond the shoulders and a fringe of longer hair on the throat and lower neck. The blackish or brown bushy tail is white underneath with a black tip. The ears are very large, showing pink on the inside.
ELAND
Taurotragus oryx
Occurrence: Kalahari, Khomas Highland
Best Time to Hunt: February – November
Rutting Season: February - May
Shoulder height: 170cm (male); 150cm (female)
Mass: 700kg but up to 900kg (male); 450kg (female)
Horns: average length: 60cm. Both sexes have horns but those of the bull are thicker and the shallow spiral is marked by a prominent ridge.
Description: The largest living antelope, the Eland has a cow-like appearance. Its general colour is usually fawn or tawny, turning blue-grey with age, particularly on the neck and shoulders. Adult bulls develop a patch of fairly long, dark, coarse hair on the forehead. A short dark mane runs down the back of the neck. The tail is fairly long with a tuft of black hair at the tip. Older bulls typically develop a large dewlap on the throat.
NYALA
(Tragelaphus angasii)
Occurrence: Khomas Highland
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height:135-195cm
Mass: 55-140kg
Horns: Only males have horns, 60–83 cm (24–33 in) long and yellow-tipped.
Description: The lowland nyala or simply nyala , is a spiral-horned antelope native to southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus Nyala, also considered to be in the genus Tragelaphus. The coat is rusty or rufous brown in females and juveniles, but grows a dark brown or slate grey, often tinged with blue, in adult males. Females and young males have ten or more white stripes on their sides. It exhibits the highest sexual dimorphism among the spiral-horned antelopes.
GEMSBOK (ORYX)
Oryx gazelle
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 120cm
Mass: 240kg (bull), 210kg (cow)
Horns: average length: 85cm. Both sexes carry long, almost straight, transversely ridged, rapier-like horns; those of the bull are shorter and more robust. Description: Heavily built with a short, thick neck and distinct black and white markings on the head, body and legs; has a long, horse-like tail. The body colour is grayish-fawn, separated from white under parts by a black streak along the flanks. Black patches on upper part of legs and along top of rump. A black strip runs down front of neck. The calves are fawn and lack black body markings.
SABLE ANTELOPE
Hippotragus niger
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 135cm
Mass: 180-270kg (average 230kg)
Horns: average length: 102cm. Both sexes carry horns, but those of the bull are longer and more robust. The transversely ridged horns rise up from the skull and then sweep backwards in a pronounced curve.
Description: The adult bull is shiny black with sharply contrasting white under parts and inner thighs. Cows and younger bulls are usually reddish brown above. The black and white facial markings are conspicuous. The face is mainly white, with a broad black blaze from the forehead to the nose and a black stripe from below the eye almost to the muzzle. There is an erect, fairly long mane running from the top of the neck to just beyond the shoulders. The ears are long and narrow.
ROAN ANTELOPE
Hippotragus equinus
Occurrence: Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 110-150cm (average 140cm)
Mass: 220-300kg (average 270kg)
Horns: average length: 75cm. Both sexes carry the back-curved horns but those of the cow are lighter and shorter than the bull’s.
Description: After the Eland, the Roan Antelope is the second-largest antelope species occurring in Africa. It has a somewhat horse-like appearance with a general colouring of grayish-brown, often with a reddish tinge. The under parts are lighter. The face is distinctly marked with black and white, giving it is a lightly clown like appearance and the long, narrow ears have prominent tassels of hair at the tip. The tail is long and tufted. A distinct, light-coloured but darker tipped mane runs from between the ears to just beyond the shoulders.
SPRINGBOK
Antidorcas marsupialis
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 75cm
Mass: 41kg (ram); 37kg (ewe)
Horns: average length: 35cm. Both sexes have heavily ridged lyre-shaped horns, but those of the ram are thicker.
Description: Hindquarters of this distinctive antelope appear to be slightly higher than the shoulders. A dark red-brown band along the flanks separates fawn-brown upper parts from the white under parts. The head is white with a brown stripe running through the eye to the corner of the upper lip. A large white patch on the rump is bordered by a brown stripe. There is a long-haired, white dorsal crest extending from the midpoint of the back to the rump; this is normally seen only when the crest is extended for example during “pronking”. The pronk is a jump performed with stiff legs accompanied by arching of the back. The tail is white with a tuft of black hairs at the tip.
BLESBOK
Damaliscus dorcas phillipsi
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 95cm
Mass: 70kg (ram)
Horns: average length: 38cm. They are straw coloured on the upper ringed surface. Description: The body is reddish-brown with no gloss. It is higher at the shoulder than at the rump. The white blaze is usually broken by a brown band between the eyes. The buttocks are usually pale but rarely white and the legs are rarely as white as in the Bontebok which is a subspecies.
COMMON IMPALA
Aepyceros melampus
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 90cm
Mass: 50kg (ram); 40kg (ewe)
Horns: average length: 50cm (rams only) have long graceful lyrate horns
Description: Medium sized, lightly built antelope. Upper body parts reddish-fawn becoming paler on the sides; chest belly, throat and chin are white. Tail is white with central black line on upper surface and each buttock has vertical black blaze. Tuft of black hair above the hoof on the rear surface of the hind leg, a characteristic unique to the Impala; Ears are black tipped.
RED HARTEBEEST
Alcelaphus buselaphus
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 125cm
Mass: 150kg (bull); 120kg (cow)
Horns: average length: 52cm. Both sexes have horns with those of the bull being heavier, but both are set close together at the base curving forwards and out and then twisting in and back. Description: High-shouldered, rather awkward looking antelope with long pointed head. Body colour fawn to golden-brown, but darker from shoulders down the centre of the back to the rump, particularly in bulls. The rump and upper thighs are paler than the rest of the body. There is a black blaze down the front of the face and black markings on all four legs. The tail is pale at the base with black hair over remainder.
BLUE WILDEBEEST
Connochaetes taurinus
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 1,5m (male); 1,3m (female)
Mass: 250kg (male); 180kg (female)
Horns: average length: 60cm - measured from tip to tip along both horns. Both sexes have horns, although those of the cow are less robust. The horn bases form a boss over the top of the head and the horns themselves grow outwards, turn sharply up and then inwards. Description: The Blue Wildebeest has lightly built hindquarters and is more robust at the shoulders. The head is large with a broad snout. Adult animals are dark grey tinged with brown, and in certain light conditions a silvery sheen is discernable. A number of vertical, darker stripes are present from the neck to just behind the rib-cage. It is frequently referred to as the Brindled (brown-streaked) Gnu for this reason. There is a mane of long black hair down the back of the neck and a beard of black hair on the throat. The front of the face is almost black, although an area of brown hair may be present at the horn base, particularly in younger animals. The tail is black and horse-like.
BLACK WILDEBEEST
Connochaetes gnou
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 1,2m
Mass: 100- 180kg
Horns: average length: 52cm. The cow’s horns are thinner and less robust than those of the bull. They bend steeply downward, forward and upward; in mature bulls the horn base forms a boss over the top of the head.
Description: More dark brown than black, but from a distance the Black Wildebeest does look black. A long, white, horse-like tail contrasts with the body colour. Somewhat bizarre in appearance: shoulders are higher than the rump and it has a large, broad-snouted head. The face is covered in brush-like tuft of hairs which points outwards and there is long hair on the throat and chest between the forelegs. An erect mane runs from the top of the neck to the shoulders.
MOUNTAIN ZEBRA (HARTMANN)
Equus zebra hartmannae
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 1,5m
Mass: 250-350kg
Description: White with black stripes, the legs being striped to the hooves with the under parts being white. There are “NO” shadow stripes and over the top of the rump above the tail is a series of transverse black stripes forming a “grid-iron” pattern characteristic of the species. The tip of the muzzle is black with orange-brown hair extending a short way towards the eyes. An erect mane runs from the top of the head to the shoulders. A dewlap is present on the throat; this feature is also diagnostic of the species and does not occur in other zebras.
BURCHELL'S ZEBRA
Equus burchellii
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 130cm
Mass: 290-340kg
Description: Stocky and horse-like, Burchell zebras show considerable variation in colouration and pattering but is normally striped in black and white with a fainter “shadow” strip superimposed on the white stripe, particularly on the hindquarters. No “grid-iron” pattern on the rump and the striping extends on to the under parts. A long, erect mane extends from the top of the head to the shoulders. Striping may or may not extend to the hooves.
Chapman’s Zebra
(Equus quagga chapmani)
Occurrence: Zambezi
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder Height: stand at 120–130 cm
Mass: 230–320 kg
Description: Chapman's zebra is distinguished by stripes similar to the Burchell's zebra and on the lower halves of the legs, which break up into many irregular brown spots. The pastern is not completely black on the lower half.[3] When foals are born, they have brown stripes, and in some cases, adults do not develop the black colouration on their hides and keep their brown stripes.
Red LECHWE
Kobus leche
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 90-100cm
Mass: 100-125kg (bulls)
Horns: average length: 72cm. Horns are present only in males. They are slender, lyre-shaped and heavily ridged, sweeping backwards and outwards, the tips curving forwards. Description: Lechwe are golden brown with white bellies. Males are darker in colour, but general hue varies depending on subspecies. The long, spiral-structured horns are vaguely lyre-shaped, they are found only in males. The hind legs are somewhat longer in proportion than in other antelopes, to ease long-distance running in marshy soil.
WATERBUCK
Kobus ellipsiprymnus
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 1,3m
Mass: 250-270kg (bulls)
Horns: average length: 75cm. Only the bull has the long, heavily ringed horns which curve backwards and then forwards towards the tips.
Description: Waterbuck are large, robust antelope with coarse, long coats. The body colour is grey-brown with either grey or brown being dominant scattered through with grey or white hairs. A broad white ring encircles the rump and a white band is present from the throat to the base of the ears. The flanks are lighter in colour than the back and the hair around the mouth, nose and above the eyes is white. The ears are short, rounded, and white on the inside with a black tip. The tail is quite long with a black tuft of hair at the tip.
DAMARA DIK-DIK
Madoqua kirkii
Occurrence: Erongo
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
Shoulder height: 38cm
Mass: 5kg
Horns: average length: 8cm. Rams have short, spike–like horns that slope back at angle of facial profile.
Description: Very small in size. Have an elongated & very mobile nose. The upper body parts are yellowish-grey with a grizzled appearance; the neck is paler than the shoulders and flanks. The under parts are white to off-white. A tuft of long hair on the forehead becomes erect when the Dik-dik is alarmed or displaying.
STEENBOK
Raphicerus campestris
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
Shoulder height: 50cm
Mass: 11kg
Horns: average length: 9cm (males only). The horns are vertical, short, sharp-pointed and smooth surfaced.
Description: Small, elegant, large-eyed antelope, normally rufous-fawn above but can vary from pale fawn to reddish-brown. Under parts including the insides of the legs are pure white and there is a white patch on the throat and above the eyes. Rufous tail is very short.
COMMON DUIKER
Sylvicapra grimmia
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
Shoulder height: 50cm
Mass: 18kg (ram); 21kg (ewe)
Horns: average length: 11cm (males only) they are well-ringed, sharp pointed horns. Description: Uniform grey-brown to reddish-yellow upper parts and paler (sometimes white) under parts. There is a black blaze of variable length on the face. The tail is short and is black above and white below. Front surfaces of slender forelegs are dark brown or black. The ears are long and somewhat narrow. On top of the head there is usually a crest of long hair.
KLIPSPRINGER
Oreotragus oreotragus
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo, Namib and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
Shoulder height: 60cm
Mass: 10kg (ram) and 13kg (ewe)
Horns: average length: 8cm (males only) these are short widely separated at the base, vertically placed and ringed only near the base.
Description: A small stocky animal with coarse, spiny hair. Short muzzle; General colour is yellow-brown to grey-yellow, with an overall grizzled appearance. Under parts, chin and lips are white. Ears are rounded, broad and bordered with black. The heavily built appearance is caused by hair standing on end instead of lying flat as with other antelope. Only antelope walking on hoof tips; always associated with rocky areas where it displays great agility.
GIRAFFE
Giraffa Camelopardalis
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: Male: 2,6 - 3, 5m and height to top of head: 3,9 - 5,2m; Female: 2,0 - 3,0m and height to top of head: 3,7 - 4,7m;
Mass: 970 - 1400kg (male); 700 - 950kg (female)
Horns: Knob like horns consisting of bone and covered in hide with tufts of black hair are present on the top of the head in both males and females.
Description: The Giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. A beautiful lattice pattern consisting of large, irregularly shaded patches separated by networks of light coloured bands covers the body. The colouring of the patches is very variable, ranging from light fawn to almost black. Old bulls are often very dark.
WARTHOG
Phacochoerus aethiopicus
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Shoulder height: 70cm (male); 60cm (female)
Mass: 60-105kg (male); 45-70kg (female)
Tusks: The adults’ canine teeth develop into long upward pointing tusks; although both sexes have tusks, those of the boar may reach considerable lengths and make effective defense mechanisms.
Description: Grey with sparse, dark, bristle like hairs scattered over body and mane of long erectile hair along back which lies flat except when the warthog is under stress. The mane may be yellowish-brown to black in colour. Tufts of pale coloured whiskers lie along the side of the face. The snout s typically pig-like and prominent wart-like protuberances are present on the face – two pairs in the male with one less conspicuous pair in the female. The thin tail with its tuft of black hair on the end is held erect when the Warthog runs.
OSTRICH
Struthio camelus australis
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Kalahari, Namib
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Height: 210-280cm
Mass: 100-145kg (males)
Description: The common ostrich is the largest living species of bird and lays the largest eggs of any living bird. The feathers of adult males are mostly black, with white primaries and a white tail. Females and young males are greyish-brown and white. The head and neck of both male and female ostriches is nearly bare, with a thin layer of down. The skin of the female's neck and thighs is pinkish gray, while the male's is gray or pink dependent on subspecies.
Trophy Predators
Spotted hyena
Occurrence: Namib
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
(Crocuta crocuta)
Height: 70cm- 90cm
Mass: 60kg – 90kg
Description:The spotted hyena is a highly successful animal, being the most common large carnivore in Africa. Its success is due in part to its adaptability and opportunism; it is primarily a hunter but may also scavenge, with the capacity to eat and digest skin, bone and other animal waste. In functional terms, the spotted hyena makes the most efficient use of animal matter of all African carnivores.[16] The spotted hyena displays greater plasticity in its hunting and foraging behaviour than other African carnivores;[17]it hunts alone, in small parties of 2–5 individuals or in large groups. During a hunt, spotted hyenas often run through ungulate herds in order to select an individual to attack. Once selected, their prey is chased over a long distance, often several kilometres, at speeds of up to 60 km/h.
Brown Hyena
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo, Namib and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
Height: 70–80 cm
Mass: 40.2–43.7 kg
Description: Brown hyenas are distinguished from other species by their long shaggy dark brown coat, pointed ears, and short tail.[9] Their legs are striped brown and white, and adults have a distinct cream-colored fur ruff around their necks.
Black-backed Jackal
(Canis mesomelas)
Height: 38–48 cm
Mass: 6–13 kg
Description: The black-backed jackal is a fox-like canid with a slender body, long legs, and large ears. It is similar to the closely related side-striped jackal and more distantly related to the golden jackal, though its skull and dentition are more robust and the incisors much sharper.
BLACK-BACKED JACKAL
Canis mesomelas
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo, Namib and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All year
Shoulder height: 38cm
Mass: 6-10kg
Total body length: 96-110cm
Tail: 28- 37cm
Description: Medium-sized, dog-like carnivore with characteristic black ”saddle” which is broad at the neck and shoulders narrowing to the base of the tail. The saddle is literally sprinkled with white hair. The face, flanks and legs are reddish-brown with the under parts usually paler. The lips, throat and chest are white. Fairly large pointed ears are reddish on the back surface and lined with white hair on the inside. The tail is black and bushy.
Caracal
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
(Caracal caracal)
Height: 40-50cm
Mass: 10– 18kg
Description: The caracal is a slender, moderately sized cat characterised by a robust build, a short face, long canine teeth, tufted ears, and long legs
CHACMA BABOON
Papio ursinus
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All year
Total length: 120-160 cm (male); 100-120cm (female)
Mass: 25-45kg, average is 32kg (male); 12 -20kg, average is 16kg (female)
Tail length: 60-85cm (male); 50-60cm (female)
Description: The largest primate (other than man) in Southern Africa. It is relatively slender and lightly built, although adult males have powerfully built shoulders ad heads. When the baboon is on all fours the shoulders stand higher than the rump. The long, somewhat dog-like muzzle is particularly pronounced in the males. The body has a covering of coarse hair which may be light grey through to dark grey-brown, but coat colour is variable even within a troop. Only the male has a mane of long blackish hair on the neck and shoulders. The hair on the upper surface of the hands and feet is dark brown to black in colour. Characteristic of the baboon is the posture of the long tail; the first third is held upwards and the remainder droops downwards, giving it a “broken” appearance. Males have a single, hard pad of naked grey skin which extends across both buttocks, but the female has one smaller pad on each buttock.
CHEETAH
Acinonyx jubatus
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo, Namib and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
Shoulder height: 80cm
Body length: 180-220cm
Tail length: 60-80cm
Mass: 40-60kg
Description: A tall and slender cat with long legs and a short muzzle with a rounded head. The body colour is off-white to pale fawn and is liberally dotted with black, rounded spots more or less uniform in size. A clear black line (the “tear mark”) runs from the inner corner of each eye to the corner of the mouth. Numerous small black spots are present on the forehead and top of the head. The tips of the ears are white. The tail is black-ringed with a white tip. A short erectile crest is situated on the back and sides. The Cheetah is the only cat that does not have fully retractile claws and the impressions of the claws can be seen their tracks.
LEOPARD
Panthera pardus
Occurrence: Khomas Highlands, Erongo, Namib and Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
Shoulder height: 70-80cm
Body length: 160-210cm
Tail length: 68- 110cm
Mass: 20-90kg (male); 17 -60kg (female)
Description: A shy, solitary, elegant, powerfully built cat, with a beautifully spotted coat. The basic body colour varies from almost white to orange-russet, with black spots on the legs, flanks, hindquarters and head. The spots on the rest of the body consist of rosettes or broken circles of irregular black spots. The tail is about half of the total length, with rosette spots above and a white tip. The ears are rounded and white-tipped. The under parts are usually white to off-white. They are found in a wide range of habitats, from dense forest to mountains, bushveld and desert.
Hunting Leopard is an age old tradition. Various methods of hunting leopard have been used over the decades; baiting, hunting with hounds, blinds, calling devices and then of course pure chance.
Namibia is fortunate enough to have a significant CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species) quota of 250 leopard per year for trophy hunting purposes. It needs to be noted that only males may be hunted for trophy hunting purposes. A few years ago the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism made amendments to its policies, one of those being that Leopard were no longer allowed to be hunted with hounds and then a later development was the allocation of a tag system, only allowing an operator to apply for a maximum of two tags per year. The operator has to meet certain requirements. This does not however guarantee that he will receive the tags.
Due to the ever increasing time pressure on hunting clients it became necessary for NSC to become more efficient in the hunting of Leopards. This led to conducting research on Leopard and to fine-tune our baiting, which is now conducted through-out the year i.e. pre-baiting and is now a fundamental aspect of our ethics and applied conservation.
Lion
Occurrence: Central Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: All-year
Mass: 180kg-220kg
Height: 50- 80cm Body Length : 180 -210cm
Description: The lion is a muscular, deep-chested cat with a short, rounded head, a reduced neck and round ears. Its fur varies in colour from light buff to silvery grey, yellowish red and dark brown. The colours of the underparts are generally lighter. A new-born lion has dark spots, which fade as the cub reaches adulthood, although faint spots often may still be seen on the legs and underparts. The lion is the only member of the cat family that displays obvious sexual dimorphism. Males have broader heads and a prominent mane that grows downwards and backwards covering most of the head, neck, shoulders, and chest. The mane is typically brownish and tinged with yellow, rust and black hairs.
Thick skinned Big Game
Elephant
Occurrence: Zambezi, Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Description: African elephants have a grey folded and up to 30 mm (1.2 in) thick skin that is covered with sparse bristled dark-brown to black hair. Short tactile hair grows on the trunk, which has two finger-like processes on the tip. Their large ears help to reduce body heat; flapping them creates air currents and exposes the ears' inner sides where large blood vessels increase heat loss during hot weather. The trunk is a prehensile elongation of its upper lip and nose. This highly sensitive organ is innervated primarily by the trigeminal nerve, and thought to be manipulated by about 40–60,000 muscles. Because of this muscular structure, the trunk is so strong that elephants can use it for lifting about 3% of their own body weight. They use it for smelling, touching, feeding, drinking, dusting, producing sounds, loading, defending and attacking. Elephants sometimes swim underwater and use their trunks as snorkels.
Tusks and molars
Both male and female African elephants have tusks that grow from deciduous teeth called tushes, which are replaced by tusks when calves are about one year old. Tusks are composed of dentin, which forms small diamond-shaped structures in the tusk's center that become larger at its periphery. Tusks are used for digging for roots and stripping the bark from trees for food, for fighting each other during mating season, and for defending themselves against predators. The tusks weigh from 23 to 45 kg (51–99 lb) and can be from 1.5 to 2.4 m (5–8 ft) long. They are curved forward and continue to grow throughout the elephant's lifetime.
The dental formula of elephants is 1.0.3.30.0.3.3 × 2 = 26. Elephants have four molars; each weighs about 5 kg (11 lb) and measures about 30 cm (12 in) long. As the front pair wears down and drops out in pieces, the back pair moves forward, and two new molars emerge in the back of the mouth. Elephants replace their teeth four to six times in their lifetimes. Around 40 to 60 years of age, the elephant loses the last of its molars and will likely die of starvation, a common cause of death. African elephants have 24 teeth in total, six on each quadrant of the jaw. The enamel plates of the molars are fewer in number than in Asian elephants.
Size
The African bush elephant is the largest terrestrial animal. Cows are 2.2–2.6 m (7.2–8.5 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 2,160–3,232 kg (4,762–7,125 lb), while bulls are 3.2–4 m (10–13 ft) tall and weigh 4,700–6,048 kg (10,362–13,334 lb). Its back is concave-shaped, while the back of the African forest elephant is nearly straight. The largest recorded individual stood 3.96 metres (13.0 ft) at the shoulder, and is estimated to have weighed 10,400 kg (22,900 lb). The tallest recorded individual stood 4.21 m (13.8 ft) at the shoulder and weighed 8,000 kg (18,000 lb). The African forest elephant is smaller with male shoulder heights of up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft). It is the third largest terrestrial animal. Their thickset bodies rest on stocky legs.
Cape buffalo
Occurrence: Zambezi
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
The African buffalo is a very robust species. Its shoulder height can range from 1.0 to 1.7 m (3.3 to 5.6 ft) and its head-and-body length can range from 1.7 to 3.4 m (5.6 to 11.2 ft). Compared with other large bovids, it has a long but stocky body (the body length can exceed the wild water buffalo, which is heavier and taller) and short but thickset legs, resulting in a relatively short standing height. The tail can range from 70 to 110 cm (28 to 43 in) long. Savannah-type buffaloes weigh 500 to 1,000 kg (1,100 to 2,200 lb), with males normally larger than females, reaching the upper weight range.[3] In comparison, forest-type buffaloes, at 250 to 450 kg (600 to 1,000 lb), are only half that size.[4][5] Its head is carried low; its top is located below the backline. The front hooves of the buffalo are wider than the rear, which is associated with the need to support the weight of the front part of the body, which is heavier and more powerful than the back.
Savannah-type buffaloes have black or dark brown coats with age. Old bulls often have whitish circles around their eyes and on their face. Females tend to have more-reddish coats. Forest-type buffaloes are 30-40% smaller, reddish brown in colour, with much more hair growth around the ears and with horns that curve back and slightly up. Calves of both types have red coats.
A characteristic feature of the horns of adult male African buffalo (Southern and Eastern populations) is that the bases come very close together, forming a shield referred to as a "boss". From the base, the horns diverge downwards, then smoothly curve upwards and outwards and in some cases inwards and or backwards. In large bulls, the distance between the ends of the horns can reach upwards of one metre (the record being 64.5 inches 164 cm). The horns form fully when the animal reaches the age of five or six years but the bosses do not become "hard" till 8 to 9 years old. In cows, the horns are, on average, 10–20% smaller, and they do not have a boss. Forest buffalo horns are smaller than those of the savanna buffalo from Southern and Eastern Africa, usually measuring less than 40 centimetres (16 in), and are almost never fused.
Hippopotamus
Occurrence: Zambezi
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Hippopotamus amphibius)
Description: Hippos are among the largest living land mammals, being only smaller than elephants and some rhinoceroses. Amongst the extant African megafauna, behind the two African elephant species, they average smaller than the white rhinoceros but are larger by body mass than the black rhinoceros and the giraffe. Mean adult weight is around 1,500 kg (3,310 lb) and 1,300 kg (2,870 lb) for males and females respectively,[23][24] very large males can reach 2,000 kg (4,410 lb) and exceptional males weighing 2,660 kg (5,860 lb)[23] and 3,200 kg (7,050 lb)[25] have been reported. Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives while females reach maximum weight at around age 25.
Nile Crocodile
Occurrence: Zambezi Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November Rutting Season: Mai – August Description:A large and aggressive species with a broad snout, especially in older animals. It has a dark bronze coloration and darkens as the animal matures. Lives in a variety of freshwater habitats but is also found in brackish water. It is an apex predator that is capable of taking a wide array of African vertebrates, including large ungulates and other predators.[10] This species is listed as Least Concern.
White Rhinoceros
Occurrence: Kalahari
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Description: The southern white rhinoceros is one of largest and heaviest land animals in the world. It has an immense body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. Females weigh 1,700 kg (3,750 lb) and males 2,300 kg (5,070 lb). The head-and-body length is 3.4–4.5 m (11.2–14.8 ft) and a shoulder height of 160–186 cm (5.25–6.10 ft). On its snout it has two horns. The front horn is larger than the other horn and averages 60 cm (24 in) in length and can reach 150 cm (59 in). Females usually have longer but thinner horns than the males which is larger but shorter. The southern white rhinoceros also has a prominent muscular hump that supports its relatively large head. The colour of this animal can range from yellowish brown to slate grey. Most of its body hair is found on the ear fringes and tail bristles, with the rest distributed rather sparsely over the rest of the body. Southern white rhinos have the distinctive flat broad mouth that is used for grazing
Black rhinoceros
Rhinoceros bicornis
Occurrence: Erongo
Best Time to Hunt: Febuary – November
Rutting Season: Mai – August
Description: An adult black rhinoceros stands 140–180 cm (55–71 in) high at the shoulder and is 3–3.75 m (9.8–12.3 ft) in length.[19][20] An adult typically weighs from 800 to 1,400 kg (1,760 to 3,090 lb), however unusually large male specimens have been reported at up to 2,896 kg (6,385 lb).[3][19] The females are smaller than the males. Two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm (20 in) long, exceptionally up to 140 cm (55 in).