Most Dangerous Game (unwounded)?

[Jfet]

What about the game you are not hunting but is in the area anyway?
I've read stories about following an animal (let's say lion) but things were complicated by having to pass through herds of something else (elephant) to stay after it.

You are absolutely correct. While loading my lechwe onto the boat there was a very sizable croc footprint next to my foot. What an ADVENTURE!

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

I think even if the Croc victim is not found Hippos still kill more people. My reasoning for this is because when on a fishing holiday in Zambia I asked the guide, Do you know anyone that has been killed by a Hippo? He replied "Yah... about 7 a year." I would also think that it's just as hard to find a Hippo victim.

I've repeatedly read that hippos kill more people in Africa than any other mammal. They be very territorial in the water and out of the water very aggressive. You definitely don't want to find yourself between a hippo and its water hole.

 

[MMAL]

That could be the greatest hippo picture I have ever seen. It is TreX-hippo!

 

[Bushpig4Ever]

A good friend of mine , Dr. Khayrul Amin proposed a theory to me once why man eating panthers are so common in India , as opposed to Africa , where the man eating panther ( referred to , as a " leopard " in Africa )
is comparatively rare . The theory is as follows :
In India , roughly 60 to 70 % of the population are unfortunately vegetarian . As such , the heat signatures of these people are different from those who eat meat . It may entirely be possible that leopards can sense the heat signatures of other animals . When they sense the heat signatures of these people , they associate them with the herbivorous animals which they normally eat ( such as cheetal deer or 4 horned buck ) .
In order to reinforce this theory , the good Doctor gave me a book named " The man eaters of Tsavo " written by 1 Colonel Patterson . The book revolves around 2 man eating lions in Africa which were terrorizing rail road workers in the early 1900s. The Doctor showed me that the rail road workers were all brought over from India ( and were all predominantly vegetarian as they were Jain Hindu ) and that the lions did not actually start molesting humans until the Indian workers started working on the rail road tracks . I do not know how sound the Doctor's theory is , as l am not a Doctor myself . However , his theory certainly does seem rather well thought out and reasonable to me .

Leopards are very fond of curry, that’s why you have many more man-eating leopards in India than in Africa.

 

[Bushpig4Ever]

I've repeatedly read that hippos kill more people in Africa than any other mammal. They be very territorial in the water and out of the water very aggressive. You definitely don't want to find yourself between a hippo and its water hole.

Hippos don’t kill a lot of people purposely, however they are responsible for the death of many black people. Hippos are very territorial, they don’t like boats entering their space. So they sink the boats. And because most Blacks are unable to swim, they drown...

 

[Rule 303]

Hippos don’t kill a lot of people purposely, however they are responsible for the death of many black people. Hippos are very territorial, they don’t like boats entering their space. So they sink the boats. And because most Blacks are unable to swim, they drown...

This, where as a croc will take one person a Hippo may kill, directly or indirectly several at a time. I would think the two would have similar body counts.

I would go with Ele as the most dangerous when unwounded going off the two PH's I have hunted with. Yes getting into he middle of a herd of ele is exhilarating even if they are not concerned about you. Approaching a herd that is nervous/anxious is very concerning.

 

[friendswoodmatt]

I heard it was a guaranteed charge when hunting a male leopard with dogs, If they see you its an almost 100% guarantee is what was told to me. That would seem to be pretty dangerous to me if this is true. Other animals may or may not charge, or try to harm/eat you but a guarantee -- if true-- that would have to rank pretty high.

 

[Major Khan]

I heard it was a guaranteed charge when hunting a male leopard with dogs if they see you.that would seem to be pretty dangerous to me if this is true. Other animals may or may not charge, or try to harm/eat you but a guarantee -- if true-- that would have to rank pretty high.

It is not guaranteed , but ALMOST always happens . They try to break through the line of dogs to reach you .

 

[jwr]

I would say the most dangerous game unwounded would be Hunting hippo on land, they very often charge unprovoked. Also hunting tuskless elephant in Zimbabwe would be right up there too, they also just charge for free!

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I am talking about Big Game (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, croc and hippo) - Dangerous 7. Which one do you think is the most dangerous to hunt if the animal has not been wounded and why? I'm be particularly interested in the opinions of the PHs on here and the true safari veteran hunters.

I'm not really an expert and definitely not a PH, but I have been around Africa some and it seems to me that if the animal has not been wounded, the elephant would qualify. Most game animals will try to get away if they aren't injured. Elephants may realize you're there before you are aware of them and decide that destroying the threat is easier than running. One friend of mine died that way and another was severely injured. He was lucky that he survived, most people that get hurt by an elephant don't live to tell the tale. Now if you shoot an animal and don't kill him, I'd give my vote to the buffalo (the only one of the 7 that I have personal experience with). They have a nasty habit of circling back on their own trail and ambush you when you follow. I saw that trick myself. Another friend of mine had to place a .375 bullet up the nose of one at 15 feet. Unwounded African leopards seldom make unprovoked attacks. Hippos and crocs don't seem to be that much of a threat if you stay out of the water. Lions and rhinos, I couldn't say.

 

[shark_za]

Looking at what I am "scared" off in the bush.
I dont swim in rivers because a Croc is by far the most dangerous animal I regularly encounter. While fishing we stay far from the banks.
Friends have a house in St Lucia that I spend a lot of time at and there are even Hippos in the garden at night.
We also go canoeing to see the Hippos every now and then, sometimes I get out and walk around a big pod but they leave you alone. Most of the time.
Leopards don't feature as much as they are normally always there and keep their distance. But I have seen how powerful and fast they are, so up there.
Rhinos, we used to sneak up to them and hit them with a stick and run. They are almost blind but if you leave them alone you will be fine. Black less so than White but similar.
I hunt in a place that has a lot of Buffalo and these are not usually an issue. They tend to move off. When they introduce new animals to an area it creates a bit of an problem as you get these young aggressive bulls that can be totally unpredictable, in fact the one ranger was gored by one when they were loading or offloading new blood.
I do look for suitable trees when I am hunting in the area, so there is always that threat management in the back of my head but if you see them and give them some space its always been ok.
Elephants are just massive and imposing, but I have always given a wide berth and had no problems. Some quick retreats have never escalated more than that.
I avoid Lion area like I avoid Crocs in rivers.

So for me...
Crocodile
Lion
Leopard
Elephant
Buffalo
Hippo
Rhino

 

[Frederik]

Might not be as big as the others but might be the most deadliest unwounded when encountered in the bush.
Mr Black Mamba when they can lift themselves up to almost look you in the eye its scary seen it twice. Other times just seeing them and backing off and killed some when they were too close to camp.

 

[shark_za]

Yes, I would rate Black Mambas as number 1. They have a temper it seems, aggressive approach unlike other snakes.

 

[spike.t]

What about when you are on top with your secretary in your bed when you hear the words "i`m home where are you" as she comes through the bedroom door...THATS dangerous!

Sounds like you are talking from experience.....

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Without a doubt for me it is the croc. I fish on Lake Kariba a lot, and when you see a croc, he has already seen you and all he sees is food, period. I have been stalked by crocs maybe half a dozen times, that I was aware of. My friend Mac Bailey was taken and killed off one of my fishing spots. So their intent is clear and ranks them highly on the list. The next feature they have is cunning, they will see you, assess you and your situation and launch an attack plan that is designed to stack it all in their favour. So that is a big addition to the score card. Finally their equipment is absolutely deadly, with a body of pure muscle and the strongest jaws out there, if they ge a hold of you its virtually over.
I agree with the earlier statement that the number of croc deaths is hugely under stated. My friend is a PA controller here in Harare area and he is called out several times a year to eliminate man eater crocks from the local dams and rivers. Not once has such an incident appeared i the press. Let a lion kill someone and we all hear about it.

 

[Uwe Jaspersen]

I think a few are missing the original question.......

Which one do you think is the most dangerous to hunt if the animal has not been wounded and why?

Most Africans get killed by hippo but this is not related to hunting same for crocs....Man eating lions and leopards also do not fall into this category.....

On foot hunting DG game the most dangerous to hunt that has not been wounded would be elephant cows and in particular tusk less elephant cows.....Why, because there will invariable be cows with young calves present, which makes them super alert and protective and you need to get into the herd, find a tusk less, determine that she does not have a dependent calf at foot and then get into position to take this specific cow among the others, then take the shot.....this is often where the danger can start, if the rest of the herd take exception to your presence and actions....

That is undoubtedly the most dangerous of the seven to hunt without a doubt....if in doubt book such a hunt and come and hunt one and see for yourself.

I agree 100% with you!

 

[Gert Odendaal]

I am talking about Big Game (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, croc and hippo) - Dangerous 7. Which one do you think is the most dangerous to hunt if the animal has not been wounded and why? I'm be particularly interested in the opinions of the PHs on here and the true safari veteran hunters.

I would say you left one important one out, the Black Mamba , a ferocious snake always encountered while hunting, it is a killer in its own right, not much needed to provoke him to strike or not even giving him attention will provoke a deadly assault on you while walking through the veld to hunt .....what makes him dangerous is the fact that he can rise two thirds of his entire length giving him the advantage to be the height of the unsuspected hunter`s eyes and face ...the only snake that can move fast enough to strike /bite more than twelve people in a group within a few seconds, all strikes will be fatal...I consider the Mamba as one of the most dangerous game animals when not wounded...

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Without a doubt for me it is the croc. I fish on Lake Kariba a lot, and when you see a croc, he has already seen you and all he sees is food, period. I have been stalked by crocs maybe half a dozen times, that I was aware of. My friend Mac Bailey was taken and killed off one of my fishing spots. So their intent is clear and ranks them highly on the list. The next feature they have is cunning, they will see you, assess you and your situation and launch an attack plan that is designed to stack it all in their favour. So that is a big addition to the score card. Finally their equipment is absolutely deadly, with a body of pure muscle and the strongest jaws out there, if they ge a hold of you its virtually over.
I agree with the earlier statement that the number of croc deaths is hugely under stated. My friend is a PA controller here in Harare area and he is called out several times a year to eliminate man eater crocks from the local dams and rivers. Not once has such an incident appeared i the press. Let a lion kill someone and we all hear about it.

The reason being that the indigenous tribes, living along the rivers in Africa invested with crocodile do not perceive the crocodile as deadly and a man eater, their believes being it is a witch doctor who was paid by a person to put a curse onto the person that has been killed by a crocodile...the crocodile was send to conclude the curse.....notice that after a person was killed by a crocodile the community/children will return to that same spot and keep swimming or wash their clothes...

 

[Gert Odendaal]

A good friend of mine , Dr. Khayrul Amin proposed a theory to me once why man eating panthers are so common in India , as opposed to Africa , where the man eating panther ( referred to , as a " leopard " in Africa )
is comparatively rare . The theory is as follows :
In India , roughly 60 to 70 % of the population are unfortunately vegetarian . As such , the heat signatures of these people are different from those who eat meat . It may entirely be possible that leopards can sense the heat signatures of other animals . When they sense the heat signatures of these people , they associate them with the herbivorous animals which they normally eat ( such as cheetal deer or 4 horned buck ) .
In order to reinforce this theory , the good Doctor gave me a book named " The man eaters of Tsavo " written by 1 Colonel Patterson . The book revolves around 2 man eating lions in Africa which were terrorizing rail road workers in the early 1900s. The Doctor showed me that the rail road workers were all brought over from India ( and were all predominantly vegetarian as they were Jain Hindu ) and that the lions did not actually start molesting humans until the Indian workers started working on the rail road tracks . I do not know how sound the Doctor's theory is , as l am not a Doctor myself . However , his theory certainly does seem rather well thought out and reasonable to me .

The doctor fail to mention that hundreds of Indians died of malaria and their bodies was dump along the bushes at the railway that was build....lions ate these corpses, developed a taste for human flesh , that was the primary reason for the lions to turn into man eaters, as well as their tendency to loose their fear for the Indian workers .Many dangerous game hunters/game rangers who participate in culling problem animals in the Africa countries pointed out that during a raid by elephants on the crops of locals in the veld alongside their huts , elephants will not be scared away and usually attack these people...until a white hunter arrives , as soon as they smell the white hunter they will take off fast...

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Might not be as big as the others but might be the most deadliest unwounded when encountered in the bush.
Mr Black Mamba when they can lift themselves up to almost look you in the eye its scary seen it twice. Other times just seeing them and backing off and killed some when they were too close to camp.

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Sorry for double info, has not seen the post about the Mamba , but I totally agree with you..