Hunting Hyena - How many have hunted one?

[spike.t]

Spike T.,

Wow, amazing. Would have made some great night vision video eh?! . . Of course there wasn't a lot of good night vision capability back in '89. :think:

yeah having a flir back then would have been interesting, but as you say not much back then and i doubt i even knew it existed apart from what you might have seen in movies......

 

[observe]

I've never hunted one [yet!],but I found this....

Saw a documentary of a guy feeding hyenas in a small village in Ethiopia, this could be him??

 

[observe]

As always in the wild,it's the one's that you don't observe at first........

 

[BRICKBURN]

As always in the wild,it's the one's that you don't observe at first........

OOPS...

 

[Upepo]

love that photo of the hyena behind the photographer.
that's hysterical.
it definitely looks like that guy could lose a chunk of his rump roast. that's a pretty good sized animal.

i've got no idea why anyone would want to hunt a hyena. if they're a problem, I chase them away with a stick.

the most interesting hyenas I've ever seen - but SO FAR have not met in person - are the animals that are kept as "guard dogs" by the pimps in Nigeria. those things are unbelievable. somebody must be feeding them scienfitically-formulated dog food. they are huge. I've never seen hyenas anywhere near that size in the wild.

i used to always write off hyenas as junk animals and "not a threat". this is mostly true. but then a Kenyan Ranger told me a story one time about hyenas at one of the mountain parks - I think it was Aberdares but dont quote me. the hyenas up there figured out a way to kill a buffalo. several animals of the pack distracted the buff from the front. then one dashed in from the rear and bit off his testicles. afer that they just waited for the buffalo to bleed out and get weak.

then they tore him up.

Upepo

 

[Buff-Buster]

You might want to remember that Park Ranger story the next time your chasing them off with a stick!!!!............LOL :laughing:

 

[firehuntfish]

i've got no idea why anyone would want to hunt a hyena. if they're a problem, I chase them away with a stick.




Upepo

One would hunt a hyena for the same reason they would want to hunt any other wary, intelligent, dangerous game animal....Not sure where you were going with this on an African hunting forum....?

One of my goals is to kill a hyena with my bow. I want to do it deliberately and not just by chance encounter while hunting other species. My outfitter, Hannes Els with Limcroma Safaris was more than willing to accommodate my request, although he said it would be extremely difficult to accomplish....Apparently, browns are not pack predators as a rule like their spotted cousins. They often hunt alone and are extremely keen to sound and scent. Getting one into bow range without being busted was going to be challenging to say the least...He said that he has never heard of it being done this way...

On my most recent trip this past August, we set a bait sight up and a ground blind. We baited for 3 nights, and got trail cam pics of a huge brown hyena coming in 2 out of the 3 nights. I sat all night the following 2 evenings with no encounter. My third and last set was disrupted by a tracking job on one of my wife's animals that took us late into the evening. That was all the time I had for this trip, but I will keep trying until we figure out how to do it, and I get a shot opportunity. If I ever do get my hyena, I will have him full body mounted. They are a striking looking predator.....I think they look like a werewolf.

 

[sestoppelman]

love that photo of the hyena behind the photographer.
that's hysterical.
it definitely looks like that guy could lose a chunk of his rump roast. that's a pretty good sized animal.

i've got no idea why anyone would want to hunt a hyena. if they're a problem, I chase them away with a stick.

the most interesting hyenas I've ever seen - but SO FAR have not met in person - are the animals that are kept as "guard dogs" by the pimps in Nigeria. those things are unbelievable. somebody must be feeding them scienfitically-formulated dog food. they are huge. I've never seen hyenas anywhere near that size in the wild.

i used to always write off hyenas as junk animals and "not a threat". this is mostly true. but then a Kenyan Ranger told me a story one time about hyenas at one of the mountain parks - I think it was Aberdares but dont quote me. the hyenas up there figured out a way to kill a buffalo. several animals of the pack distracted the buff from the front. then one dashed in from the rear and bit off his testicles. afer that they just waited for the buffalo to bleed out and get weak.

then they tore him up.

Upepo

I've no idea why anyone would want to hunt anything........

 

[BigSteve57]

I'd love to take a hyena but all this talk of hunting at night has me puzzled.
My Zeiss Victory HT scope can probably be used in moonlight but I've never tried it.
Is that how you do it? At night by moonlight?

With that said, I plan to hunt hogs in Southern USA using night vision.

 

[sestoppelman]

At night by spotlight often. Chance daylight encounters are not common, though preferred.

 

[Upepo]

I don't think there's any great loss if someone wants to hunt a hyena with a bow.
personally - I just never considered them a "worthy quest".
but i guess that is very much in the eyes of the beholder ... or hunter.
they are easy to lure in close ... if you toss them some scraps of meat.

if you are on foot in Africa - show them no fear. that is the important thing.
and yeah, hang onto your testicles. HAHAHA!!!!!!

Upepo

 

[sestoppelman]

Any animal legally hunted, that is difficult to acquire is a worthy quest. Upepo would have us believe that getting a hyena is easy. Its not. I have been on several hunts for them and have yet to have an opportunity to take one. I have seen a couple in Botswana and Tanzania but was not hunting for them at that time. It is far from a sure thing.

 

[enysse]

Hyena is high on the hunt list, but the chances of seeing one during the day is not good in a lot of the cheaper areas to hunt in Africa. Yes, there are areas that have them regularly but you can count on paying $2000+ a day for daily fees and whatnot. Worth animal, you bet, maybe has the stronger jaw of all the animals out there. Once a hyena get a grip on something with its teeth, you are screwed.

 

[Upepo]

"Upepo would have us believe that getting a hyena is easy. Its not."

I've never hunted them, and have not stalked them during the day. So I've got no exprience about how close you could get doing that. I have seen them while on foot at night in Kenya, but I have been fortunate not to have any hostile encounters yet.

Upepo

 

[firehuntfish]

Upepo,

In all fairness, it's quite possible that in your experiences with hyenas, they are plentiful and bold in the locations that you have encountered them...

I can only speak for the Limpopo region where I have tried to hunt them. In that region, Brown Hyenas are the more common species. From what I am told by the PH's, they are a completely different animal than a spotted hyena. They are often loners and very human-shy. They are extremely wary and there sense of smell is very difficult to fool....It will be very challenging to try and kill one with a bow. We set up for them as if you would hunt leopard... Like I said earlier, my outfitter has never heard of anyone taking a brown hyena with a bow. I would love to be the first at their camp....

 

[Upepo]

i think their behavior probably varies from one location to another. on the private game ranches in South Africa, they might definitely be more shy.

I see them occasionally when I am living in rural Maasai villages in E. Africa. But generally not in the day time. they do avoid people then. sometimes at night, after sunset (and usually when its dark) they will be there. but they are visible only as a fast-moving gray blur. I know its them because of the general shape and movement of the animal. they have never approached closely, but I don't radiate "fear" to them. it could be a bad thing if you were down on the ground and badly injured for some reason - not a pleasant thought

good luck with your hunting. it had not occurred to me that some people might see them as a desirable quest. i suppose I think of hyenas from the same point of view as the Maasai herdsmen - they are just a nuisance scavenger, but they will kill your animals if things are not guarded (put in pens) at night.

good luck,
Upepo

 

[Blue Skies Hunting Adventures]

I can't say with certainty but I believe that most Brown Hyena are taken on encounter. However they are also hunted over bait, and I do know that they come to Leopard bait in Namibia. The problem as you already know is that they mostly come at night.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Brown Hyena, here is a trophy picture of a Brown Hyena from the photo gallery of Karl Stumpfe from Ndumo Hunting Safaris in Namibia. You can check out his photo gallery here, he has some great pictures.

Myself, I have only seen them a few times in the bush and I can tell you that they look like something straight out of hell. Very strange looking, resembling a Vampire Bat in the face. Definitely a cool trophy to add to the collection.

They are a scary, ugly, nasty animal, but I would love to get one some day.

 

[Upepo]

Brian

that's a BIG one. Hahahaha!
I still haven't figured out why they are smaller in some parts of Africa and bigger in others. maybe it's the size difference between different species of hyenas. maybe there is some other regional difference.

Upepo

 

[Nyati]

I did see a brown hyena in full daylight in the Limpopo this past August. It was interested in a warthog I had shot. However, it was so wary that it showed itself just for a couple of seconds, not enough to raise my rifle, and retreated into the bush.

 

[akeate]

I am actually leaving on Friday for a spotted hyena hunt specfically. I went to SA in April to get one but baiting and calling over several nights had no luck. This time the outfitter, huntsafari.com with Jakes vd Merwe, has worked on setting up a bait station just like leopard and they have had some luck. Evidently they are coming around 4am and as a pack. How you shoot an animal in a pack of 20 everywhere could be a big challenge. I am pumped up to go. Love predator hunting. Mountain lion, coyote, wolf (did that in Jan but had no luck), lion, lioness, caracal, lynx, bobcat and hyena. I love all of it.

After that, he asked what I wanted to hunt. My answer, I don't care, let's have some fun. So I have NO IDEA what I going for after that. I left it all up to him. I gave him a budget and he knows what I already have so his answer this morning via text was we are going after something BIG. Maybe I crazy but I have hunted 4 times with this guy and he's a great friend. But it's all in his hands......... I'm just excited to get away from work for a while. When I get back I go elk hunting and taking the rest of the week to hunt mule deer. Did I mention I love October? Hahaha......

Hopefully we get the hyena done this time and I can get some pics and what not posted. Africa is by FAR my favorite to hunt.........