Big and toothy best describe bobo dogs. Gotta love them as ugly as they are! Baboons are a very challenging game animal to hunt. It only took me four safaris to finally score and then I plain cleaned up! I shot four in Zimbabwe with the .375H&H and took the fifth in the Limpopo with an arrow.

Very versatile, they can make for good leopard baits. I shot my first one in a rocky gorge at the Mariatsoro spike camp in Chewore North. We put him with an impala doe I shot earlier to entice leopard. No luck with the cat hunting here but there were lions in the area each night.

Still at the Mariatsoro Camp I was still feeling the glow from my elephant hunt.

While walking in the Chewore River bed we heard a troop of baboons barking. We quickly located them and when they saw us they climbed up into some high rocks. Once up in the rocks they forgot about us. This dog was foraging and stopped behind a bush, he fell with one shot. The brush did not hinder the Woodleigh soft one bit. This baboon was very old, his canines worn down to nubs. I did not notice the rather pornographic pose and apologize for that!



From our second fly camp we relied on the Zambezi River as our “road†and thus traveled by boat to reach other hunting spots along the river, still within Chewore North. A large troop of baboons was seen from the boat as we were coasting down the river looking for hippos. We spotted a big dog walking along a sand bar on the shoreline. Buzz gave me a look and said something like, “I suppose you want to go for them?†I immediately replied I wanted to fill my quota! So we coasted past the troop hoping to set up an ambush by faking them out. We ditched the boat a bit further up stream and hiked back. The baboons all took the rocky hills rising up to form the sides of the gorge. They seemed to feel at ease once at a bit of altitude. Three of them found out otherwise with the .375H&H easily reaching them on their rocky perches. Two were very prime dogs and the third was a very old one that was in poor physical shape and had teeth worn to the gums. Most of his tail was gone. I had the dog in the center skinned for a full mount. They were all taken in about a 15-minute time span.



My paying job is as a Forensic Scientist and my specialty is fingerprint analysis. I happened to notice that baboons have similar patterns on their hands and feet to humans.



A close up of the ridge detail on the palmar surface.



What big teeth you have! Notice the dog-like snout?



Number five was taken in South Africa in the Limpopo Province at our hunting area north of the Soutpansberg. I was bow hunting at a water hole hoping to see a big bushbuck show himself to me. This bobo came in alone which I thought was strange. He initially came in silently but very close to the blind but by the time I got ready to draw he had moved across the water hole and was now 27 yards away. That’s further than I like to shoot but he was not paying attention so I gave it a go. My PH was in a different blind on the same side of the water the baboon now on . He could see the whole show as I launched an arrow. The PH said he figured if the baboon didn’t die from the arrow that he’d have died from a broken neck. When I let the arrow go the bobo swung his head so fast to see what was coming his way it was a blur. The arrow entered his upper right arm and plunged through his chest with a double lung kill. The baboon only went 20 yards before expiring.



One thing I noticed was of all animals I have bow hunted, only the baboon did not react and try to jump the string. I wondered then if that was because they have eyes forward and not to the side like antelope and deer? I will have to keep track of my future observations.

It was early, about 1630 when I got this guy so I left him lay in hopes of still getting a chance at a bushbuck. I had thought the baboon crawled and had hidden under a Fine Thorn bush as he died. Things settled down quickly at the waterhole and as the evening wore on all kinds of other game came wandering in. Nyala (some real whopper bulls!), kudu, waterbuck and then all the rest of the bobo’s showed up. All of them came to the water from the direction where the baboon was lying. I was really starting to worry that as the big troop of baboons came in they were going to find the body and drag it off. Sunset came and I got out of the blind to find that my bobo was actually lying out in front of the bush in full view! My broken arrow lay just to the side of him. None of the other animals were apparently concerned. There were dozens of hoof prints and paw prints within inches of him.

-Bob F.

Some great photos, Ann! I have seen many at a distance, but in RSA they are really fleeting targets, as all the farmers hate 'em and shoot on sight.

Hey Ann: Can we get some college credit for your information? Very interesting! Did you fingerprint any of the victims? You should have and put those prints into the system!

Ann

That's way cool!!

Ann
Nice Baboons.
Are you comming to the Dallas Safari Show this Jan?

Ann,
You are a peach. That was way cool. Lois says hi.
lawndart

Good report and nice photos.

Interesting critters. Congratulations Ann, and thanks for sharing!

Regards,
Martin

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
Ann
Nice Baboons.
Are you comming to the Dallas Safari Show this Jan?

I am hoping to, but I don't know what my work schedule will be as of yet. I am presently "making up" for my time off to Africa. So I really don't get time off. I have to see what the call-out scehdule is going to be. I do want to get down there. Texas weather will be much better than where I am at that time of the year!

Hey JCN, have you and Lois been out doing any hunting lately?

UEG- Baboons are never victims, always suspects. But when the suspect is deceased there is no need to put the prints "in the system". Case closed!

Well done mate. If I ever get a chance to hunt Africa, I would like to take a baboon. Only trouble is we can't import the trophy's into Australia

Ann
Sounds like you had a great trip overall. Could I ask details on your rifle

Thanks

Good point Ann about those devils never being the victims!

Thanks Ann. I have tried for two safaris now to get one of those bastards with no luck. Seems like once they have been shot at they become smart in a hurry. Hoping to have an opportunity next year in the Selous. Nice shot with the bow!!

John

Hiker-

The rifle is a slicked up Win Mod 70 in .375H&H. It was a loaner to me, it worked so well I wanted to buy it but the owner won't part with it!

quote:

took the fifth in the Limpopo with an arrow

Anne, is that anything like a "Texas Heart Shot"?

Only if I had spelled it as Limpoopoo!

Anne, do you think that the fingerprint thing means that the security system (opened by fingerprint) that I have on my computer is too weak???

Very Seriously, thanks for the report and photos, they are appreciated..

8MM,

I would say it could possibly run a check and see if you have any outstanding felony warrants.

Hope that computer likes you.

I've considered that one as a purchase, do you like it?

Actually, Anne, yes I like it, it allows the grandkids to each have a profile they can open easily, and they all seem to have forgotten that the password for thier account is thier name!!! Its just to much fun polking at the ringerprint reader!!!!!

At a corporate user level, it poses interesting solutions...and multiple levels of security for the same user, depending on which finger is used for what.

Thanks again for the report and pix!!!

Hey Ann,

Finally, I got to read your baboon post!

It's funny to see how people take photo's, you can see their "profession" in the pic's. You and the close ups of the feet!

What you where saying about the baboons not jumping the string like other critters. I truly believe it's their thinking like humans, they don't have that instinct that deer or antelope have, they think about that noise. But don't get me wrong, your idea about the eyes being forward not to the sides does play into this all..

Reading your Baboon hunts was super, take it from a baboon hunter, I love shooting those boons! I've told my PH, "Any time you see a troop, let's go! It's Baboon time!!!"

Great photo's Ann!!!!!! Nice teeth!!!!!!