I would go for the uncanned lion, taking pictures because it is not likely the trophy could make it into the US. I don't like hippos or crocs. If the lion goes off the plate, I would be glad to chase another dugga boy. I would only kill an elephant if it was trying to kill me.
I thought the same thing about elephant. I arranged a buffalo in the Caprivi in September and it so happened that an "own use" elephant came up at a price I couldn't resist. So I said "why not" and over the last couple of weeks, I've been getting more and more interested in the elephant.