Zim orders cull of 200 elephants

[Shooter375]

Zimbabwe orders cull of 200 elephants amid food shortages from drought | Zimbabwe | The Guardian

Environment minister says country has more elephants than it needs while critics of hunt say they are a major tourist drawcard

amp.theguardian.com

 

[375Fox]

I unfortunately think this will be a really bad move. It will be done by parks who will likely target bulls because bigger bodies for more meat and more predictable than cows. It takes a long time to grow trophy bull elephants taking out 200 big body medium age bulls isn’t going to help or control population. Taking out 200 cows would likely be a great thing for certain areas but I don’t predict them doing this. The elephant bull I shot this year had large caliber head wounds likely from parks conducting problem animal control instead of recognizing the potential trophy value.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Better idea, levy a special one time tax on the organizations lobbying for a ban on African hunting. Then use that money to transport them to the organizations' CEOs and boards' back yards.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

In many area they would be much better off increasing the number of permits issued and substantially reducing cow elephant permit cost. Parks doubled our permits this year, and we filled them.

Lon

 

[Neophyte]

If you want to increase trophy bucks you decrease the doe population.
Take cows and in a few, relative term here, years you would have more trophy elephants thus generating more revenue. The reduction of the cow population would have two benefits.
Herd reduction in the short term thus solving today’s problem and increased trophy bulls generating future revenue.

 

[Rare Breed]

Zimbabwe orders cull of 200 elephants amid food shortages from drought | Zimbabwe | The Guardian

Environment minister says country has more elephants than it needs while critics of hunt say they are a major tourist drawcard

amp.theguardian.com

I remember hunting with Dalton & York in 2023 seeing huge chunks of Baobab trees eaten out by the over population of elephants with very little to eat

 

[Sideshow]

Interesting article, funny how they say it’s unethical yet will let other animals get pushed out of these areas by the destruction of their habitat by the elephants.
Didn’t a bunch of park rangers shoot each other in the last Zim cull. Hope they’re better trained this time.
Is SA in the drought zone? Because the number of elephants in Kruger is way over the top. Incredible when you think that when that park was formed they had around 5000 elephants, historically hardly any in Southern Africa.

 

[VertigoBE]

So.... where exactly do I sign up?

 

[Tusker]

So.... where exactly do I sign up?

+1

 

[Altitude sickness]

Hopefully they go the direction Lon suggested. Lower the price and increase the quota and they will come.

I can’t wait for another tuskless hunt some day. Drop the price and I’ll shoot two.

 

[cajunchefray]

Do the tuskless female elephants have a recessive genetic trait?
I have read that they are not very friendly. Perhaps they are under resourced in body type, therefore adopt an aggressive attitude?
I only know what I read and watched but seems like an exciting hunt.

 

[Green Chile]

Culling is an unpleasant but necessary part of proper management. It would be great to see the govt offer some reduced cost permits BUT culling elephants in particular is nothing like sport hunting. It has to be done quickly with none escaping, including calves. Liability and risk are much higher than sport hunting and it takes proper training to do it correctly...and there's nothing "fun" about it. It's ugly business. They need this cull done ASAP and you can't really do it in small batches because elephants communicate danger quickly and they could flush out of the country so quickly that it's beyond belief. It's happened before.

 

[375Fox]

Culling is an unpleasant but necessary part of proper management. It would be great to see the govt offer some reduced cost permits BUT culling elephants in particular is nothing like sport hunting. It has to be done quickly with none escaping, including calves. Liability and risk are much higher than sport hunting and it takes proper training to do it correctly...and there's nothing "fun" about it. It's ugly business. They need this cull done ASAP and you can't really do it in small batches because elephants communicate danger quickly and they could flush out of the country so quickly that it's beyond belief. It's happened before.

I agree but I highly doubt we will see a professional cull like you described conducted. The individuals that had the proper training and understanding are mostly no longer in parks.

 

[Green Chile]

That's very true. Most of the professional culling expertise for DG is gone...long gone.

 

[375Fox]

Do the tuskless female elephants have a recessive genetic trait?
I have read that they are not very friendly. Perhaps they are under resourced in body type, therefore adopt an aggressive attitude?
I only know what I read and watched but seems like an exciting hunt.

Yes they have a recessive trait increased in areas that have seen higher poaching. I’m not sure they are any more or less dangerous than other cows in these areas. Bulls are very predictable. Cows with calves are very unpredictable and dangerous.