Watched an African wildlife non-hunting video the other night about the Serengeti -- but watched, of course, from the hunter's vantage point.

The big question that occurred to me -- how on earth do you single out a particular wildebeest from a herd of thousands? I could only seem to judge them as "little" and "big" but there always seemed to be a lot of them tied for "big." Then they'd move around and I'd lose track.

And since the zebras seem to go along with them quite often -- how do you judge a good trophy zebra? Is it just by body size?

Finally -- are these the most numerous plains species? Watching the DVD it was hard to imagine that there could be even more of something else.

John

I believe you are correct in assuming that the wildebeest in all its' various sub-species is the most abundant and widespread antelope in Africa.

From my limited experience on two safaris, when stalking a herd of black wildebeest, the older bulls tended to trail the herd while moving, and stand around the fringes of the herd while grazing.

Judging the horns on a black wildebeest takes some practice. It helps if you can see them from the front to judge the bases and mass, and from the side to judge the length of the back sweeping horns. Rely on your PH to make the call.

The trophy blue wildebeest bulls I've seen have all been in bachelor groups. The older bulls were mixed in with younger bulls. At some point during the season the bulls must get together with the cow and calf herds to propagate the species; but, my experiences have all been with bachelor groups.

Judging a blue wildebeest is easier than the black. The basic rule of thumb for a "shooter" blue wildebeest is horns that extend to the end of the ear tips when looking directly toward you, with appropriate mass in the bases. Horns that spread beyond the ears get into the exceptional trophy range. On the several that we have shot, the ears were about 28", tip to tip.

On zebras, I think that the "trophy" is in the eyes of the beholder. Generally, I believe that the land owners/managers prefer you shoot stallions and leave the mares alone. However, I've seen a number of trophy photos of zebra mares. I imagine from time to time, well-managed properties must cull a few mares to keep them in balance with the stallions.

I shot a young stallion to use for a shoulder mount and an old mare to make a rug. The young stallion had beautiful, clean markings. He hadn't yet acquired all the bite marks, hoof wounds and claw scars that the older stallions usually have.

The mare was an ancient old nag that my PH thought was probably barren. She didn't have a foal with her and wasn't pregnant at a time when most other mares were, so he gave me the green light to immortalize her on our trophy room floor.

In short, like someone once said, "the big ones look big!" And remember, the real trophy of an African safari is the experience itself. The heads and rugs just help you remember it longer!

[ 05-30-2003, 06:11: Message edited by: Mark in SC ]

How do you field judge a zebra other than make sure it has outdoor plumbing and is mature?

The "trophy" of a zebra is the hide. I shot a big, gnarly old male and his hide looks like an old canvas tarp, complete with tears and hole! My hunting partner shot a younger and smaller female (with the landowners permission), and it's hide is very nice. When a zebra hide is adorning your trophy room I don't think anybody gets a tape measure out to check it's size.

The real question with zebra is......do you shoot them in the black stripe or the white one?

First off it depends what you want a zebra for! If it is a very nice wall rug, then you want to shoot a mare, if you want a mean little crapper, then shoot a Stallion! Any mature zebra is a trophy! Of course I'm speaking of unfenced hunting concession land, not privately owned animals! There you must shoot what the land owner wants to sell! On some properties you will only see males, because that is all the land owner buys!

The Black wildebeest is judged more on the size of the bosses,and how far his horns come back up, and the amount of "WOOL" between his eyes. As far as I know all black wildebeest are privately owned, but All other wildebeest have wide rangeing populations, and are judged the exact same way a Buffalo is judged. The horns need to be wider that the outstreched ears,about 26", with heavy bosses, and with as deep drop in the horns, with the horn tips coming back up, and turning back, almost exactly like a Cape Buffalo, but smaller.
The bosses will not grow together on any of the wildebeest. On a Cooksons the horns need to be in the 28" up width! Young wildebeest will not have the dip in the horns, and will look flat, then turn up on the ends, and though he may be wide enough, he will not measure well!

To me all that matters is he is the one I want, and as someone already said he's in my house just to bring back the memory of a long belly crawl to get him!

Mac, There are lots of black wildebeest available in the national park concessions like QWA QWA.

Willem Pretorious State Game Reserve in the Orange Free State is also full of black wildebeest and many other game species.

I believe several world record black wildebeest have been shot there over the years.

I took two beautiful bulls there hunting with Coenraad Vermaak Safaris in 2001.

Here is a link to the photo album from that safari.

http://community.webshots.com/album/22883557wutrVBTzFn

Here's a pretty good Nyasa wildebeest.


A Tanzanian zebra (no shadow stripes)


A Blue Wildebeest


A pair of Zebra


My first Zebra


Regards,

Terry

[ 05-30-2003, 07:58: Message edited by: T.Carr ]

It is illegal to shoot a female anything in Tanzania, so it costs and extra $50 in bribes, and since it is impossible to tell a stallion from a mare in the high grass, regardless of what a lot of young PH's try to tell you, a lot of females get shot there. Game scouts love that, more money to feed the kids...Zebra are like horses, the big beatifull stallion in the rear of the herd turns out to be an old herd mare.

Mike,

A stallion's head is also supposed to be larger in relation to its body than a mare's.

Best,

JohnTheGreek

Ngrumba, I shot my zebra on the black stripe the top chevron on the shoulder it worked...and I got a very nice rug...Mike

Freedom is not Free

Terry, what spieces is the pair of zebra in the pic??? Those wide stripes on the neck look real cool... Mike

Freedom is not Free

I have to tell you I felt sorry for that stallion I shot. Not because I shot him though. Drom picked out a nice stallion for me and I took the shot. He tumbled into a cloud of dust after about thirty yards. I couldnt have told you if it was a mare or a stallion until I got up next to him. The sympathy stems from the fact that the old boys "sack" was totally covered in ticks. That was the only place on him you saw them. Now there is a real mental picture for you.

retreever,

Burchell's, shot in South Africa. The one on the left had very little shadow striping. Turned it into a nice rug. The one on the right became a shoulder mount.

Regards,

Terry