Giant Eland - Cameroon February 2014

I finally decided it was time to heed my own advice and go on a Lord Derby Eland hunt before it was too late! So after a bitter cold NY winter, Douala, Cameroon was a refreshing 90+ degrees! From there I flew North to Garoua and from there 5 hours on terrible roads got me in to the hunting area.

I assure you that your bum will never be the same again after the roads in Cameroon. Anyway here is the story in photos. I was fortunate to shoot a very old, large Eland bull on day 4 of my hunt. After which I shot some other antelope and just spent my time checking out different concessions.

About 4 hours from Douala we drove towards the border with Nigeria. The beach was clean but the sand was volcanic and black.

The camp was comfortable, but not luxurious

This is what cotton in the raw looks like.

Bush camp

Nagor reed buck

We burnt a lot of high grass

Western Kob. I found them to be larger in body as well as in horns when compared to the Kob in Burkina Faso. I think the same applies to all the animals in Cameroon when compared to Burkina Faso. There is just more vegetation and food available.

Not very clear in this photo but the short wheeled base land cruiser went straight up a very steep river bank, near damn vertical!

THE PRIZE! I was lucky to shoot a very old big bodied bull. When you walk up to one of these there is no ground shrinkage and as the French say they are truly Magnifique! You really say Oh my God!

The neck was just massive

This is what an eland does with those thick neck muscles. They put the trunk between their horns and snap small trees like a twig to feed on the leaves! That tree was atleast 4-5" in diameter.

Tired but happy

I thought this was a cool photo. The number of stripes on each side never add up!

One with the boys! On these hunts you pull the trigger but they do all the work.

Yves planning the hunt. The French operator I work with, offers a 100% shot opportunity on Eland and really manages his quotas to offer his clients quality Eland. He is a little eccentric, but is very experienced and a true hunter at heart.

Praying Mantis - you start praying that it wont be a very long slog each time you start following tracks in 100 deg+ heat.

We dropped in to a National Park office, of course it was all run down and dilapidated.

Patrick and me with a Sing Sing Waterbuck. He has shot over 35 lions with clients over the years and is a very experienced hunter.

I caught a small Nile Perch which was great eating.

Celebrating back in Douala with my new found friends Eric and Sarge.

To summarize the overall experience, I can say that the Lord Derby Eland hunt is a tough hunt mainly due to the heat and the miles one has to cover. However the Operator I work with knows his three hunting areas like the back of his hand which enables him to plan the hunt to cater for hunters who may not be in top physical shape. He also uses scouts where possible to cut down the walking and miles of endless tracking. He also manages his Eland population never taking his full quota so as to offer his clients good trophies. His prices are also very competitive.

I am of the opinion that the opportunity to hunt LD Eland may decrease sharply in the years ahead. To start with Cameroon and CAR were the only two countries where one could hunt these magnificent antelope. With the closure of most of CAR that leaves only Cameroon for the foreseeable future. I am told that the annual quota is only about 50 Eland per year and with the added demand because of the problems in CAR the prices are going up!

In Cameroon there is a lot of problem with cattle herders coming in from Chad and Nigeria. Many of the hunting concessions are facing growing problems and conflict with livestock and the herders themselves, who of course poach and also disturb the game. Lions have taken a tremendous beating as they have been poisoned extensively as they have been preying on the ever increasing number of cattle coming in to the hunting zones and also in to the National Parks. The picture is not rosy! Go while you can......

Thanks for looking.

Arjun Reddy
Hunters Networks
New York
Tel: 845 259 3628
Email: arjun@huntersnetworks.com

Posts: 2537 | Location: New York, USA | Registered: 13 March 2005

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