Tuskless Elephants should be the target?

[rinehart0050]

This might be an excellent way of adding the thrill of an elephant hunt, to a more general hunting trip for plainsgame for example.

I've only hunted one elephant, so take that for what it's worth...

I think it's important to distinguish between tusked and tuskless hunts beyond just the cost factor. Tuskless can be much more dangerous, as you generally find them in a herd. The pucker factor when you are surrounded by elephant vice approaching a single lone bull is definitely more.

All that said, I plan to hunt tuskless in the future, both for the thrill and the need to reduce the prevelance of bad genetics in a herd.

 

[Nhoro]

@Zambezi and @Nhoro

So if I understand correctly, the problem does not lie with outfitters not wanting to offer cheap tuskless, but rather with government who only makes available x number of permits for elephant hunting (tusked +tuskless), and due to this constriction of supply, everyone prefers to use their quota for tusked elephant as it is more remunerative?

In Zimbabwe a separate quota and lower trophy fee will be given. Ie each concession will be given a quota for bulls/cows/tuskless. The trophy fees from the government will be different for each. Then the outfitter can work his fees around that. In theory the ecologists at national parks do a census and also use other data like hunting records over the years to determine if the average tusk size is going down etc. With leopard they age the trophy and then give the outfitter a score. If you score well then your quote is increased-if you score badly, your quota is reduced.

But obviously you cannot shoot 20 tuskless cows in one area without shaking up the whole population. The elephant will al move away and settle in the park and hunting areas will have no elephant. So you have to do things over many years.

 

[Zambezi]

I'm sure you can hunt as many as you like (that are on quota). The outfitter buys tags/quota from government and uses them any way he sees fit. It varies by country but that's the general way of it.

 

[VertigoBE]

I've only hunted one elephant, so take that for what it's worth...

I think it's important to distinguish between tusked and tuskless hunts beyond just the cost factor. Tuskless can be much more dangerous, as you generally find them in a herd. The pucker factor when you are surrounded by elephant vice approaching a single lone bull is definitely more.

All that said, I plan to hunt tuskless in the future, both for the thrill and the need to reduce the prevelance of bad genetics in a herd.

But would that not mean that the more expensive and worse-for-genetics option is also the one more appropriate for a first time elephant hunter?

In other words, for a first time elephant hunter, a PH should rather advise a tusked hunt, as less danger, and the client’s skills are still unknown? For a second hunt, if the client has shown to be on par, then a tuskless could be considered.

Any PH’s feel free to weigh in on this! After all, it is also you responsible on these dangerous hunts, with often ill prepared hunters.