I think that these three photographs all show the same cape buffalo, killed by TR in British East Africa in 1910.

Here he is just after he was shot by TR. Note Kermit with his Rigby .450 NE and TR with his Holland & Holland .500-.450 NE. They liked Winchesters, but were no fools, and used big bore English cordite rifles for the big stuff.



The buff seems pretty wide, but quite young and soft bossed.

Now, here he is again, just in front of TR back at camp. Note R.J. Cunninghame and Kermit on TR's right, and Edmund Heller and Hugh Heatley on his left.



From the gap in the boss and the width of the horns, it sure looks like the same buff to me.

And here he is again, on the wall above the mantel in the front hall at Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York:



Of course, I could be wrong, but don't these all seem to be the same buff?

I'm certainly no expert, but I'd say you're right about the bottom two, the first seems to have a different curl.

Mike,

To my eye the horn points come up above the boss much further on the mounted buffalo than on the first buffalo.

Mark

According to TR's book, Kermit almost exclusively used his 405 winchester except for early on in the safari -- he had a shoulder problem, and had difficulty w. the bigger guns -- admittedly, by the end of that hunt, they probably had more experience of shooting African game than almost anyone (if not everyone) still living...

It looks to me like the mounted Buffalo is the Buffalo on the right in the skull line up in the second picture.

Mark and Jerry, I think you're right.

I would say that the buff in the top photo is probably the middle buff in the second photo.

And the buff on the right in the middle photo is almost certainly the one on the wall in the bottom photo.

Pretty cool. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
Mark and Jerry, I think you're right.

I would say that the buff in the top photo is probably the middle buff in the second photo.

And the buff on the right in the middle photo is almost certainly the one on the wall in the bottom photo.

Pretty cool. Thanks.

The trophies in your office are more impressive Mike.



Don

Thanks, Don. Speaking of which, I'd better get back to work!

Yikes, poor TR would have got hell for posting a picture of that first buff here on AR!

quote:

Originally posted by Boghossian:
Yikes, poor TR would have got hell for posting a picture of that first buff here on AR!

Ain't it the truth!

I'm lost as to the point of this investigation.

Soft bosses that get melted away in the boiling pot are routinely returned by taxidermists. Is that what is worrying you?

Personally, I think the whole safari was faked, much like the moon landing.