What draws y'all to exotic places to hunt exotic game

[GA Hunter]

Much of my insight is based on books and videos of hunters talking. From what I understand, it brings out a strange combination of elation and humility in people, especially when it's something like a lion or elephant. Tho yes, I am an outsider looking in

I don’t think you’ll ever understand unless you experience it all for yourself.

 

[K-man]

So here's the quick and dirty explanation of what I'm doing

So I'm doing a final project for my anthropology class called "Fieldwork Methods" where I'm writing a 12 page paper on the appeal of zoos. After ruminating on this for a few days and doing some interviews with people, I've nailed it down to 2 factors

1. A desire to see things that are "exotic" or "out of the ordinary" hence why things like reptiles and charismatic megafauna are so popular
2. A desire to experience a connective experience with nature.

It was then I realized that zoos were only the tip of the iceberg in our desire to get close to what we consider wild. That's where this forum comes in. Since members here frequently traverse exotic locations in pursuit of big game, I'd like to know if any of these factors come into play.

While I agree with your 2 factors you have stated you have missed the biggest factor of all hunting, and that is the conservation of the species and its habitat. Without hunting and its support most species would have already disappeared or would be on the brink or only exist in zoos. Make sure you include that aspect in your research, and good luck with your process.

 

[Inline6]

It's what man does...At this point in time. It's as close as some will come to fulfilling a need of being a warrior. Man VS beast whatever you want to call it. Man as a thirst for blood and to conquer. Africa happens to be the place that holds most of the dangerous game that men feel the need to test their grit against.

Or I could just be way off base and it's nothing more than hunting.

 

[tigris115]

While I agree with your 2 factors you have stated you have missed the biggest factor of all hunting, and that is the conservation of the species and its habitat. Without hunting and its support most species would have already disappeared or would be on the brink or only exist in zoos. Make sure you include that aspect in your research, and good luck with your process.

Don't worry, I'll mention that in the paper as well.

 

[Adam Stevens]

Adventure! Plain and simple.

 

[enysse]

It is about adventure, seeing things you can’t see in the city. There is nothing more satisfying than making a good stalk on an and animal to making a clean kill. I butcher all of my game in North America. And I enjoy the process.
I enjoy the sunrise, the sunsets, the wind, rain and the sunshine. The smell of the veld. I think of it often when I’m having a bad day at work. All the birds and other wildlife you see. The trees, the scrubs, the brush, insects and new habitats. The people you meet along the way.

 

[ack]

Experiencing different cultures and how they live...Also, animals and places I read about when younger ..New friends made in far away places. .Being able to survive alone with my wife in some of these ,such as the Arctic Circle...New sights and sounds of nature...These are just a few of the reasons..

 

[IdaRam]

... exotic places to hunt exotic game...
In some of us I think there is a base or primal need to be a participant with nature, not just a spectator. Think about it something like this. Sitting on the couch watching a baseball game versus going to practice 3 nights a week and playing in the game on Saturday. Some people are satisfied to watch, living vicariously through others, and some of us really couldn’t care less about a ballgame unless we are on the field.
Waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of a Leopard sawing outside your tent. Walking down the sand path to breakfast at 5:00 am and seeing the Leopard’s tracks preceeding yours. How long ago did she pass this way? You are now fully awake and never more alive!
Hunting along the almost dry riverbed in hopes of finding a truly outstanding Bushbuck or Warthog, when out of the long grass not 30 yards away up pops the head of a Lion. Not a zoo lion. A wild african lion who has never known the bars of a cage or the containment of an enclosure. A deep grunt from her and up pop 4 more heads of lions with sleep in their eyes. Wondering who dares to intrude on their slumber?
There is something in the DNA of the hunter that craves the authenticity of the experience and the rush of adrenaline. It may come from pitting yourself against the elements of the environment. Trekking deep into the wilderness in the dead of winter and having the knowledge, skill and tools to spend long nights sleeping in a snow cave and the short days traveling on skis or snowshoes looking for mountain lion and wolves. All the while enjoying the peace and solitude of the snowy mountains, the occasional squirrel or rabbit and the song of the coyote.
Or the craving may be temporarily satisfied by following the tracks of elephant from the first light of morning until finally catching up in the heat of the afternoon as they lounge in the shade, fanning their ears. Sneaking in close and working your way amongst the herd, always keeping the breeze in your favor. And slipping away unnoticed, the herd undisturbed. Not finding an acceptable animal, and though you are hunting which ultimately means a magnificent animal may die, today is not the day and you are happy about that. There is a timeless bond between man the hunter, and the animal he stalks.
I have known many of my fellow hunters throughout my life. I have also known a good many non-hunters and a few anti-hunters. What I have observed is there is no one who is more respectful of the sanctity of life than the hunter. There is a jubilation and a sadness that exist simultaneously in the hunter’s heart when his hunt ends in success. An acknowledgment of a burden of responsibility in having taken the life of one of God’s creatures. It makes you stare your own mortality in the face. And it grounds you in the certainty that life is precious. Human life the most precious of all. In today’s world we see many examples of blatant disregard for the sanctity and value of human life. I believe this will be more and more prevalent as society becomes more and more detached from the stark realities of nature and man’s role in it.
It is a deeply gratifying experience when a hunter sees the community celebrate the most simple of life’s necessities. Food. Protein provided by the hunter. A community that much of the time sees their children go to bed hungry. But not today! And not for the next month or so because of the several tons of meat provided by the elephant harvested by the hunter through sustainable use conservation hunting.
The wild (exotic) places and animals are nourishment for the soul of the hunter, the true conservationists of this world.
There are those who sit on the sidelines and think this qualifies them to be the coach. We see this every day from the anti hunters living in the concrete jungle. And there are those who spend their lives actually playing in the game, active participants with nature who pay the freight for conservation. The Hunters.

I hope this is helpful to you @tigris115 . And I hope you have the opportunity with your project to share some of the many positive messages from the Hunter/Conservationist point of view with those who may not otherwise get to hear it.
My Best

 

[Eric Anderson]

The short and dirty answer is because shooting whitetails in my underwear on my front porch is boring after the 47th time.

A less snarky and much more serious answer:
On the exotic places, I first started because I wanted to get a less skewed view of the world. As a young man, I was a proud member of Uncle Sams Misguided Children. I saw some places on the governments dime. They were not nice places. They were shitholes in fact. The thing is, nice places do not need Marines.
So as my means allowed, I decided I wanted to see the world as it really was, and not through the filter of “If the place didn’t pass dumpster fire status and keep going downhill from there then Marines wouldn’t be required.”
So I applied for my passport and went. Pretty naively at first. “Have gun, will travel” was my motto, with an intellectual understanding that firearms laws are much more restrictive elsewhere than the United States, but not a true understanding. That is a topic for another thread though.

As for the exotic species? Why do I hunt while overseas? Because of National Geographic. I used to love to read the magazines, and watch their shows as a child. When I became an adult, I love going to those places, and seeing those things. I want my children and Grandchildren to see those sights. The only thing keeping them there is hunting. Otherwise they would have been plowed under years ago to feed the worlds huge population explosion.

Those things are precious, and once gone, they are usually gone for good. Nobody ever knocks down houses to plant trees.
All my siblings got to see Notre Dame Cathedral. I never made it to Paris. Now I will never get to see the awe inspiring structure that almost 7 generations of Master craftsmen dedicate their life’s work to building.

 

[Rum Runner]

Thank God, nature doesn't ask our permission for anything. So it's in part the challenge of pitting yourself against something that doesn't give a whip if I live or die. (Going cape buffalo hunting in a few months; disposition of that animal...would prefer it if I die! ).

Getting back to the point, I'll be a visitor to a wilderness I had no hand in making. I'll be out of place but in my zone. I'm a hunter through and through, and I can tell you the hunt is more important than the kill. The chase is a thrill! Its wits, comrodery, respect, and stamina, and its real! Perhaps most important, it's humbling...

 

[ActionBob]

@Eric Anderson you should try switching it up and put some pants on... or go all the way naked, just don't use too big a gun, recoil doing what it does

 

[Eric Anderson]

@Eric Anderson you should try switching it up and put some pants on... or go all the way naked, just don't use too big a gun, recoil doing what it does

Last year, a friend may have seen some really big does in my pasture along a tree line about 50 yards from my front door. He may have told me this about 8 am. I may have rolled out of bed, grabbed a rifle, a single round of ammunition, and been on my porch in 20 degree weather in nothing but a t-shirt.

Nothing but a T-shirt.

 

[Ridge Top Ranch]

Trophy is in the eye of the beholder. What I consider my best trophies are the challenge of the hunt in harvesting a particular animal. I consider a whitetail doe I shot at 8 yards with my long bow one of my best. I have a 43" sable that is nice but hunt was not too difficult. Not on par with the whitetail doe.

 

[tigris115]

This is all amazing stuff. Thanks everyone

 

[ArmyGrunt]

George Mallory had the best response to questions of this type: "Because it's there."

That's basically the reason I chose to use a knife when I took an alligator. "Why not?" was my reason there.
I took my first hunt trip in 2014 with a re-enlistment bonus. I'd never been out hunting beyond chasing stray cats at my aunt's property when I was young, or a few rabbits in my parent's backyard. I set a goal to hunt all six continents. That was about the adventure, traveling the world as few of the people I know will get the chance to. They often say, "I wish I could do something like that," but they don't MAKE the way to do these things the way we do on sites like this.
I'm currently living in Vicenza with the US Army. Apparently, it is the single most requested duty station in the Army's property list. What a great opportunity. Flying here from Amsterdam, across the beauty of the Alps I was fairly speechless. Just seeing the wonders the Lord made can make a heart race, make one dizzy with awe. A few weeks ago I got to take a trip with Outdoor Recreation to try my hand at skiing, another first. We went to the Matterhorn. I didn't even get to the top of the mountain, which in hindsight I should have done just for the photos, but the day was as clear as I've ever seen. Another awestruck and breathless moment, and not just because I was at 8000+ feet elevation!!
I'll be going to Hungary in two months for another hunt. The mere experience, checking off another life goal, traveling to another country with its own amazing culture. These are the reasons for me. Perhaps one day I'll even get myself set up to sail (read by use of the wind) across an ocean. Partly because Why Not, partly because I can, and mainly because no-one I know has ever done it.

Good luck on the report.

 

[johnnyblues]

Well said everyone..My 2 cents. For me it's about new places, different animals that few people ever see in the wild. How many people can say they have seen Mtn Goats on high peaks? Or the might brown bear roaming freely 200 yards from themselves. Wolves criss crossing a mountain range... I can go on and on. I savor the thought of another warm sunrise in Africa. I can also remember the highs and the many lows of big game hunting. The sweat the pain or saying to myself what the HELL am I doing here? Man I wouldn't change a thing!

 

[Wheels]

God has made an amazing and beautiful world. We are blessed to live in it. Not taking the opportunity to see the majesty of this world and it's creatures, peoples and cultures, befuddles the mind.

Compared to some, I am a novice wayfarer. Compared to many, I am a regular globetrekker. I pray that I will continue to have the health and financial resource to be amazed for many more years!

 

[Outdoorbound]

Simple answer is adventure but for me its more than that. Whether its chasing Elk in the western states, capturing pictures of goats on the highest peaks or in the bush of Africa i cant help but feel humbled and grateful in so many ways. No mater where i'm at i always find myself closer to the creator and thankful for the beautiful places in which he has created for us to enjoy. I feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment knowing it was hard work that got me there and more hard work that will take me to the next wild place. Whether i'm alone with nature or sharing moments with my wife or children i have created a memory that will never be forgotten. As a hunter through and through, the thrill of the chase is just an added bonus.

 

[Tom Hawk]

Here’s a scientific viewpoint for your assignment.
“So why do we travel to hunt? We travel to hunt for exactly the same reasons that we hunt in the first place. We hunt because for nearly two million years our ancestors hunted. Six or five thousand years of so-called “civilization” have not been enough to evolve us into herders and farmers, much less into managers and freelance writers. It is an established scientific fact – ask any modern researcher, why is “the modern person” so fond of watching half a dozen of multi-millionaires play ball, or why do we seem to fit so badly into our perfect air-conditioned, fast-food, 9-to-5 environment, and they’ll tell you it’s all because the rate with which our genes evolve is too slow for the cultural change we are experiencing.”

 

[Ridge Runner]

Reading, watching videos, listening to other's tales, doesn't compare to physically being "out there". It's all about: relaxation/ fun /travel /adventure /experiencing different things, people, lands/localities.

How can you write about something you've never experienced?

"Exotic places" is an over rated term.
By that, IF you've never experienced a backpack in "primitive" camping- fishing trip to the near by lake/ mountains: then wouldn't this be an "exotic place/trip" for you?

Botanical gardens, zoos, aquariums, etc. are places to go to see nature, near and far, from home. Designed to spark peoples interest to go to places other than just to work and back home, sometimes to more work.

I like to travel to different places just for the adventure and see a place I have never been before or to experience something different from the last time I was there. As a hunter why not hunt something and bring home some meat, if possible, at least a shoulder mount to remember that particular time I was there and the hide to create a piece of art.....i.e. pillow cover, possible bag, vest/ jacket, ammo carrier, etc.