They say hippos kill more people in Africa than any other animal. No doubt the locals take the brunt of those hits. From a hunting standpoint, however, how much danger is involved when hunting them in comparison to lion, buff, ele, or leopard hunting?

It depends on where he, (the Hippo) is when you touch off the shot. In the water, no not much of a threat. I never went after one out of the water but I would say there's more of a chance then.
Hippo's will defend their area, that's where the locals have a big problem.

How would you like these teeth running at you!

Spring, Hippo hunting is great fun and is done best when hunted out of the water. I have had clients shoot hippo in the water many times, but usually because I was in a hurry to get some lion bait and di not have time to hunt hippo out of the water properly.

But, when you do have time to hunt hippo properly out of the water it is very exciting and also can be very dangerous in certain situations. Most of the time though a hippo will run towards the water and if you are at close range and you are between the hippo and the water then you better shoot straight as the hippo will stop at nothing getting to the water.

Other times, you might catch a hippo in a small waterhole away from the river and if there is no much water, and you get close enough to where he feels threatened, then the hippo will give you a full charge.

Usually though if they are in the water and it is deep water, they will usually not charge or come out of the water after you, as they feel protected in the deep water. Sometime though, they will give you a mock charge coming out of the water chomping their mouth trying to give you a good scare, which usually works.

I personally though have only had full charges from a hippo when out of the water. Have had many mock charges from in the water. But really only dangerous charges when out of the water or in very small water holes.

I did however have a hippo last year get shot just on the shore of the river, and he ran out of the water into the thick bush at which he then turned and gave us a full on charge once he saw us standing there and knew where the danger was.

But, to answer your question, hippo hunting is great fun and can be very dangerous and no room for mistakes at all when one does charge as it is a tank coming at you! They are very fast out of water and can surprise you very quickly in the tall reeds or if you are in the dense cover by the river. It is very dangerous when walking along a river in the reeds or dense cover, as you will not see the hippo until it is either run towards you or away from you and point blank range. I could tell you stories about hippo hunting for a long time, but will spare you on that.

Thank you, Adam, for the great stories and insight. Only last week did I decide to add a hippo to my hunt for this year. I did so not only because it would be a great quarry, but also because I was told it would be a good source of 4 lion baits. I've always heard that "they kill more people than anything in Africa," but I've never heard of them being a significant threat to hunters, partularly when compared to the discussions we regularly hear about buffalo.
It certainly does sound that they can be dangerous in the right circumstances. No doubt they deserve plenty of caution and respect.

Spring - hippo does make great lion baits, and in this respect is the "cheapest" of all game (I only got one bait out of my $800 zebra, but four from my $1300 hippo, for example). I had hoped to shoot one on land, but after all it is a lion hunt, priced as such, and lion is the priority. Your PH will LIKELY want to get the baits hunt the first day, which means that you will PROBABLY shoot one in the water (hey anything is possible though).

Although not sporting perhaps - overall it is one of Africa's classic experiences, including the "hunt", the shot, waiting until the hippo surfaces all the while you wonder if there wasn't a secret escape hatch and he's really not down there, dragging him out of the water, the quartering and of course the excitement of hanging the lion baits. For me personally, more memorable then most all the plainsgame I shot. And again, there are dozens of ways this can unfold and your experience might be totally different.

The other thing is, most game you don't know for sure you are going to shoot, but when the PH says after dinner "Tomorrow we'll shoot a nice bull hippo first thing"...it not that easy to get a good night's sleep!

Bill,
You sound like you've already spoken with my PH! Yes, he did say that we would go after the hippo first thing. They had previously listed the hippo as "difficult" on my list of possibilities on this trip, so last week I asked them, "Why?" I was told it was simply a matter of proximity and that we'd have about a 2 1/2 hour drive from our camp to where they were. That didn't bother me, especially when thinking of the excitement of hunting one, so I e-mailed my PH and we decided to make that a priority.
Since our plan is to try to get one in short order (which could mean, as you said, shooting one in the water) would you expect that shooting one with a scoped rifle would be in order or will they still give you enough of a target to use a double rifle?

BillC - I'm convienced. Hippo is now definetly on the list. Matter of fact, it has moved into 3rd place after lion and elephant.

Spring,

I've shot 3 hippos for lion bait and would have shot a 4th in Muhesi/Kisigo but I thought it would be a slam dunk to get 2-3 buffalo. Wrong! You are making the right choice even if you shoot it in the water. I think if I had opted for a hippo I would now have a huge blond maned lion. We just ran out of bait which we struggled for the whole time there.

I would sometime like to have the luxury of hunting hippo on land. I believe it would be as exciting as any buffalo ever was.

Regards,

Mark

quote:

...would you expect that shooting one with a scoped rifle would be in order or will they still give you enough of a target to use a double rifle?

I'm gonna need to defer to others more experienced on this, and your PH will be able to tell you best based on what type of water you will be hunting, and the expected distance. I ended up playing "Whack-a-Hippo" for about 20-minutes, where he kept bobbing up at different places, and each time I'd have to wait for the PH to tell me if it was him, or a cow as he was in a pod. There was not much time to shoot, so you are on the sticks, finger poised, aiming at where you think he will surface. Although not hard to kill nor difficult to find the appropriate place to shoot, the brain is a pretty small target. I had my scope set at 1.5 and the crosshairs helped me quickly get on "the spot" in the few second window he finally gave me. Although an escape was improbable, you want to kill quickly, and as it is the first morning of the first day…nobody wants to get off to a bad start!

Again, your experience could be totally different, you might be able to stalk him and line up a side brain shot, or the water might be low enough that he can't get under in which case he'll be looking at you if he knows you are there. See what the PH expects, and maybe be prepared for either situation.

Spring, If you are shooting a hippo in the water plan on a scoped rifle for sure.

Last year we found the tracks of a hippo quite a way from the river, and decided to follow him.

We followed him all the way until he got into the water.

A few days later, we wanted crocodile bait, and decided to shoot a bull in the river.

There was about 70 yards of very shallow water - about knee deep - and then there was a deep channel where the hippos were.

The closest to us - about 12-15 yards - were a bull and a cow, who were in the process of procreating. They were making waves!

We thought we better be on our toes, as he might not like being disturbed, and charge.

He did not.

The trackers thought they will intice him to charge.

They started screaming at him, beating the water with branches and generally making a bloody rackett.

He would not oblige, so when he stuck his head out of teh water next, I put a 300 grain Walterhog bullet into his brain.

We dragged him to the shallows, and started cutting his head.

His girl friend remained close by while we cut him up.

might be a dumb question ,but can hippo hides be tanned or used for something useful ? as a trophy or gun cases etc

Not very politically correct but they make brilliant SJAMBOKS "whips"

When hippos try to kill you, how do they do it? Do they have a priority to bite down on you, run you over, or stomp on you?

I'm not trying to scare you, Spring, and good luck with your future hunt!

Bongo Congo- - -
That sounds like a Hippo!

All of the above!


Velodog - - - -

Yes the hide makes very nice leather! I'm going to get a brief case and a gun case made. not sure what else yet but I think I'll have enough left for something else.

Don't leave your hide to rot along a river back, get leather made, it's worth it! And have the leather tanned over there, the place that did mine did a great job, I didn't get it all back, but they did a great job on what I did get.

Maybe I'm just identifying too much with other predators, having never hunted any of any species, but for me the hippo on land would come 'way, 'way ahead of a lion. I've even tried to book such a hunt but the economics were against me. Doesn't look like I'll be getting one anytime soon. Drat!

This thread has got me thinking. When I was in Kenya or Tanzania in 1988 we were taken to a spot in the bush somewhere to view a hippo which often was in a shallow pool before dusk.

Walking on a path as we rounded a corner, the pool came in view and we only got a glimpse of a broadside hippo fleeing very fast into the thick jungle like bush. Got a very blurred photo of it with a slow shutter and fast hippo.

Now I really do think that was an irresponsible thing to do as no one was armed or even warned of a possibility of a charge.

Could have been a stupid tourist killed in Africa story.


But I can say this thread has made it even surer I want to hunt hippo on dry land one day. Now where is that MS video ......

NitroX,
I guess Sullivan heard you as he is advertising a hippo hunt video on his site. I know he has a hippo hunt on a couple of his other videos but this one appears to focus on the big stuff.

I have stalked and killed a big bull hippo on land and it is some of the best DG hunting to be had.



They are massive, fast and can bite a man in two. I shot this one six times with a .458 Lott using 500 grain Woodleigh solids.



The first bullet punched through his heart and would have done the job, but he instantly wheeled and bolted for the water and I emptied the magazine through his neck and chest at 35 yards to drop him before he got there.

I know it depends on the size of the hippo, but how many square feet of leather can one obtain from the average size male hippo?

Lexma, old chap,
By gadfrey, that is one Hell of a hippo! Couldjer remember what the tusk length mighta been, by any chance?

Sidenote:
Last year in Tanzania (Selous) we came across a cow hippo and her calf about 3 miles from the river around 10:00 in the morning. She had been attacked by lions, probably in the early morning or that night, when she came out of the river to feed. Her back had deep claw marks (really open wounds) and you could see chunks of flesh missing on her hips where the lions had literally tried to eat her alive. Apparently, the lions were unable to get her off her feet and thus unable to finish the job. The hippo calf appeared unmolested and was staying close by her side. The cow was in bad shape - we could see flys swarming into her open wounds. The PH didn't think she would last another night and thought she was probably looking for a place to die, as she was moving away from the safety of the river. We never saw them again during our hunt.

Usually when a hippo has a bad open wound, they will not stay in the water as the water hurts their wound too much and will find a shade and stay out of the water. This is when you can find some real tempered hippo if walking along and you bump into one.

Here are some pics for your pleasure of some big Hippo

There's anoher way to hunt Hippo that no-one's mentioned yet. I was taught this umpteen years ago but haven't done it foe some years .....It's a shed load of fun but should only be done with absolutely steady staff & clients and the only place I've seen it mentioned in print is in Lou Hallamore's book "In The Salt"..........going out at night and lamping them when they're feeding on the land........all I can say is WOW!

I've been hearing the old story about Hippo's killing more people in Africa than anything else for years.......but I've never seen any proof of it. I would have thought that amongst the bigger killers would be flatdogs, snakes and probably a few more......to say nothing of the mosquito & tsetse etc.

Anyone ever seen any proper scientific studies of this?

Steve, that sounds exciting, but wouldn't you be just as apt to have a cow charge and be forced to shoot her?

Steve,
Actually, that was what I wanted to do! I was told by a South African rancher that it would be the scariest thing I would ever do in my life. And it sounds like it!

Shakari, I do not have any scientific studies or numbers for you, but do have some proof and some some experience hippo hunting.

I grew up right on Lake Victoria just outside of the Serengeti and have seen and done a lot with hippo when growing up there. The people there all grow their shamba "garden" along the lake shore, so along the whole lake there is nothing but shamba's with various things planted from corn, peanuts, sweet potatato to sugar cane etc. The hippo in the lake always come out after dark to feed in the shambs's and they go quite a ways inland while they feed at night. So, when the people go to their shamba in the early morning to start working there, they would sometimes get to the their shamba before the hippo had returned to the lake from their nightly feeding and rading of crops. Now you have the local village women in the shamba's and the hippo are trying to return to the lake before the sun rises. As I mentioned above, when you get between the hippo and the water, you have a problem. So, several times the hippo would kill a villager when returning to the lake and got surprised to find someone in their way and simply ran right over them. Sometimes you will also have some hippo that prefer to stay in the small inlets along the river and when a villager bumped into the hippo, the hippo would be threatened and kill the viallger.

You also have along the lake a lot of fishermen that pull in their nets early in the morning, and they were always getting mixed up in the hippo. I can not tell you how many times we heard of people getting killed by hippo while fishing and pullig in their nets. It seemed to me growing up there, that it happened all the time, but maybe that is just because I lived right there, and we were the first people that they came to to go and kill the hippo that was causing them problems. It seems like I was shooting at least 1 hippo every week on the average for several years. The game department in Magu, used to come to me and ask me to shoot as many hippo as I could along the lake as they were were destroying crops. So, I did as much hunting as possible for hippo and could not even begin to tell you or count how many hippo I managed to shoot, but would guess around 60-70 hippo.

80% of the hippo that I shot while living on the lake were all shot at night while they were coming out of the lake or while they were raiding crops. If the moon was full, there was no need for any lights at all, and was excellent for hippo hunting. We would walk slowly along the river and stop every couple of minutes to listen. You can hear a hippo eating and chomping a long way away, especially at night time. So, we would get a sense of direction from where the hippo were feeding and walk towards them. When the moon is full a hippo will look like a white/silver and shinny in the moon light and very easy to pick out. Once you spot the hippo, you then get as close as you can by taking a few steps at a time while the feed. They stop feeding every couple of seconds to hear or smell for danger. So I would take a couple of steps and wait, then when the head went back down to feed, I would take more steps foward until you get to about 10-20 yards from the hippo then put a bullet into the head and drop him. I did most all of my hippo hunting with a 30-06 as that was my favorit gun and one I was comfortable with. Sometimes I would use a 458, but did not like it as much. I was doing all of this hippo hunting when I was 14-18 years old and a 458 was too intimidating for me at that time and did all of my hunting with my trusty 30-06 from hippo, to buffalo to lion. Now I look back and consider my self crazy, but at that time that is all I had and all I knew.

I never used lights much, except for nights that were really dark with no moon and a light was necessary.

Another way of hunting for hippo which should not be attempted by anyone unless you are really crazy, like I was back then, or you have a death wish wish is to do the following. Along any river you will find hippo paths in the dense brush to where you can only crawl through and there is no room on either side of you to go anywhere. So, it is literally do or die!!! I would find where the hippo where coming out of the lake and what appeared to be their most used path out of the water. I would crawl down the path and sit there about 20-30 yards from the lake and wait for the hippo to come out of the water and into the path towards me on their way to feed as they are creatures of habits. I would sit there and wait for the hippo to get 5 yards from me and them put a bullet in the brain and drop him. I did this a couple of times, until I took my dad one night, and he almost passed out when he saw the hippo right in front of us. That was the end of that style of hunting and almost lost my hunting and gun privlages after that stunt. If I had missed the brain at anytime, I would have been a pancake plain and simple. But now that I look back at all my experiences, it is fun to think about, and just shake my head at how crazy we can be when we are younger. I can assure you that I would not try that stunt now though!

Sorry for the long post, but wanted to try an answer you question and let you know my experience as I have seen several viallagers killed and happens a lot more around the big lakes and bodies of water of course than it would in the middle of nowhere. Also to let you know of other ways of hunting hippo.

Wow I have to say I've never seen any Sullivan videos before. After viewing the sample on his site, I'm surprised he has never been seriously injured at best killed at worst. I have never been to Africa so correct me if I'm wrong, but the guy seems to take serious risks with his hunting methods.

Great stories, Adam. Hunting hippos at night with an '06! No thanks!

Sarge, I have no idea how big my hippo's tusks are since we never measured them (and I don't even know how to do it properly for "book" purposes, anyway).

quote:

Originally posted by zambian:
Not very politically correct but they make brilliant SJAMBOKS "whips"

I have a whole bunch of these Sjamboks here, and always give one to any visitor we have who has an obnoxious wife

You can give me one for a wedding present, if i ever get married, i know i will be needing it wooooooohooooooooooooo !!!!

A friend hunted hippo on land just as Adam described. The PH told him they would find the bull at night in the native sorghum patch. His instructions were:"When I put the light on him he's going to be coming toward the light at 35 mph. The only thing between him and the river is you and me. I don't want to see anything except a steady stream of empty hulls shucking out of that rifle until he's dead". He said it was as exciting a lion.

SBT,

You have to be very selective about where and when and make sure it's a very dark night....but a quick flash of the light allows you to identify the bull(s) then you just just pick your spot.

Old Sarge,

It is very exciting indeed.

Adam,

I enjoyed your post - and might try to find the chance to try some of the alternative methods you suggested.......although not with a 30.06!

I roughly/slightly know the area you're talking about. After living in such a paradise you must have found it very difficult to move back to civilisation.

Just saw a nature show featuring the hippo, was called Hippo: African King of the River or somesuch. Was fascinated to see footage of a dominant male hippo muscling a zebra off of a bunch of crocdiles that were feeding on said zebra. They then showed a pod of hippo clearly eating the zebra! So I was surprised to learn that seem to be at least at times opportunistic carnivores. Being killed by a hippo in any form is bad enough I'm sure, but imagining being dined on by one is even more disconcerting! Another interesting thing they showed was footage of the formerly dominant male of a group killed by another interloping male, who, upon being discovered legs up, had his body extensively licked and bitten by his former charges. The narration seemed to imply that it was perhaps a form of 'mourning'. Not sure I buy that, but...Anyway, this may be common knowledge for folks here, but I hadn't seen that before, and thought it fascinating. Not as much as Adam's childhood tales of hunting the big bastards mind, but interesting just the same. BTW, in the program, they said that hippo can live to be about 30 years old.

Kamo Gari


Where did you see this show? if you could get the right name too! I'd really like to see that one

quote:

Where did you see this show?

It must have been "Hippo Night" on Discovery's Animal Planet last/Sat night. It was an excellent program, titled "The Hippo: Africa's King of the River". It will be aired again April 17th 4am. (I guess these shows can't compete with their usual Pet Stars and Animal Cops junk )

They followed it with their Wild Kingdon "Rumble in the River" which does a somewhat corny but informative croc-vs-hippo comparison, filmed in the Luangwa River, Zambia. You can tell how exciting my Sat nights are! Wild Kingdom April Schedule

Looking ahead at the Animal Planet schedule for April, not much except one called "Champions of the Wild: The Spotted Hyena" on April 11, 6:30am

bill

Thanks for the info, hey! that sounds like a fun "Saturday night" to me!
My dish network is being installed tomorrow so
I'll be looking forward to watching it.......