Hunting elephant
Hunting in Africa – where elephant hunting is our passion!
Hunting African elephant (Loxodonta africana)
Back to: Hunting dangerous game
Description:
The African elephant is the largest land mammal on earth. The most prominent features of the elephant would most likely be its long trunk, large ears and tusks. Some elephants may not develop tusks and others sometimes break the tusks off in a variety of manners.
The trunk is very maneuverable and can perform almost any task at hand. Thick veins in the back of the ears allow for cooling of blood to help regulate body temperature. The tusks are a prominent feature on elephants, even though tusk less elephants are not uncommon. Tusks grow throughout the life span of an elephant but are worn down and broken frequently. Hunting elephant is a physically demanding hunt. Lots of time is spent walking on the tracks of these pachyderms only to find that tusk quality is sub-standard or that the animal carries a broken tusk. Be prepared for an exhilarating hunt.
Habitat:
Elephants can adapt to a very wide variety of habitats. The main requirements are food, water and shade in abundance.
Reproduction:
A single calf is born any time of the year. Mostly calving will reach a climax during the rainy season of the area in which the elephants occur. There are only two documented cases of twins being born and both times have been recorded in the Kruger National Park.
General:
Gestation period 22 months (according to different sources, it can be up to 23 months)
Average shoulder height 8 – 10 ft
Average weight: mature bull 10 000 lbs – 12 000 lbs
Average weight: mature cows 6 000 lbs – 8 000 lbs
Tusks Both bulls and cows can have tusks
Hunting notes:
The African elephant has a rather large distribution in Africa and occurs in many areas.
The hunter has to show extreme caution when hunting an elephant as it can, and will kill the hunter. Cows with calves are particularly ill-tempered. In dense bush it is a good idea to slowly move toward the intended trophy to the stage when it presents a clear shot. Unless the hunter is an experienced elephant hunter, he / she should NOT attempt a brain shot. Wait for a broad side shot and go for the vitals.
The brain is rather small and the angle of hitting it will differ according to the distance the hunter is from the animal.
The best suggested caliber for hunting elephant is from the 400 cal and up, but the larger the better.
The average shooting distance when hunting elephant is between 15 and 40 yards, depending on the terrain.