I got my Hippo on land in Zimbabwe in 2008. We were headed to the Zambezi to jump in a boat and try and find a big bull. My PH, Ian Gibson, got a call on the radio from another PH who said he had spotted a big bull in a mud pit along a dry river bed (Chewore). He had marked the spot in the river bed and we turned around. When we got there I loaded solids in my .375 H&H and we started into the THICK bush. Ian figured the bull had fed quite a ways from the river that night and that he was going to hold up in the shade of the bush till nightfall. After a couple of hundred yards of intense tracking, the trackers froze and we moved up. At twelve yards I could not make him out in the brush. It was that thick. With my binos I found his eye and brought my gun up and luckily hit him in the brain and it was all over. I also got a Leopard and a Cape Buffalo on that trip, but that Hippo in the thick bush was the most intense.

The problem is that it's so darn hard to find them on land, unless at first light. In most places, a hippo on land is a target of opportunity, and you sure don't have time to judge trophy quality.

Now, a bit off topic, I remember a photo a friend took on his safari - they found a small pool with some hippos in it, threw some watermelons on the ground around it, and came back later, there were hippos all around that pool eating those watermelons! They just took pictures, didn't shoot. I don't think I could bring myself to shoot a hippo eating a watermelon!!

Best place to play this very exciting game is in the Selous. Many of the blocks there are so over-populated with hippo that it is easy to find big hippo bulls in the thickets of the Korongos away from the main rivers.

Its a great hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by JTHunt:
Best place to play this very exciting game is in the Selous. Many of the blocks there are so over-populated with hippo that it is easy to find big hippo bulls in the thickets of the Korongos away from the main rivers.

Its a great hunt.

Quite right.... but you've just reminded me of a funny story.

A few years ago, I was doing a freelance cat hunt where I spent my time getting everything set up whilst the eastern European client was hunting with an eastern European PH glamour boy who talked the talk but didn't walk the walk.

The client also wanted to shoot a flatdog, so I spent a little time setting up a croc bait and blind set up for them. When it was all set up, I told the PH he could go down there at any lunchtime and sit for a croc. No, he said, I like to shoot my crocs at dusk. I tried pointing out there were certain problems with that but he wasn't interested. OK, fine I said. It's your hunt you do it any way you like.

They came back a few hours later as white as sheets and complaining bitterly because they'd spent the last few hours surrounded hippos who all wanted to give them shit.



The client never did shoot his flatdog but he did shoot a fuckin' great leopard.

I had someone in Africa tell me once if you can find a hippo in a shallow pan or pool, and pepper his butt with a shot or two of buckshot while standing close, it will make him pissed enough to come out of the water at you! That or standing on a hippo path in the early morning hours between the water and returning hippos that are foraging during the night might be a sure way to shoot a hippo on land.

I am NOT recommending either!