Date: 4th-19th of December
Agent/Organisation: Caracal (Dennis R. , from this Forum, dennis@dr-safaris.com)

Regions: Northern Cameroon and Extrem Northern Cameroon.

Animals Taken: 2 Elephants, 1 Cop du Buffon

Rifle Caliber: .416 RemMag

Rifle: Blaser R93

Since I started hunting in Africa, it has been one of my dreams to shoot an Elephant. This is not as for so many hunters because of the ivory but rather for their size and their sometimes aggressive behavior. Maybe lucky for since I couldn't effort one of the big ivory hunts. So I was looking for a tusk less cow or something similar that fits in my budget before I I got offered to go to Cameroon.

It didn't took long to convince and so the decision was made: one trophy elephant and a problem hippo was planned! Elephants in Cameroon don't get big in Ivory but for me this doesn't matter and I was thrilled to shoot a male. All was booked and settled.

About one week before the hunt started I got a message from the concession owner, that there was a problem with the Hippo permit but he will make a plan and maybe I can shoot another elephant instead. I agreed instantly.

To get into the camp you arrive in Yaounde and from there you need to flight to Garoua. From there a car ride of about 6-8 hours is required. The whole trip getting there has some interesting stories but I know people want to see the hunt.

I can't remember all details of the hunting zone and it is bigger than the area they user for hunting but 45 000 Hectare (111,000 acres) seemed to be enough for me. The camp in looks simple on the first glance but all rooms had air conditioning and the amount of cool beers was more than sufficient. In the camp their is no signal, no wifi and electricity only over a generator. So a real African adventure. Food was good and did I mention they have a lot of beer?









On the first day we took the time to zero in the rifle. I rented the Rifle from Reinhard the owner. The first night the generator run all night so it was cool and I slept excellent.

The next morning started early just shortly before the sun went up. A small breakfast and then into the car. In December the bush is unbelievable thick and the grass is really high. However since burning grass making the elephants disappear, it needed to remain. Luckily the staff and Reinhard had already scouted Elephants before we arrived, so at least we knew which corner we had to start. We found a lot of tracks but most of them too old to follow. One fresh track the trackers should follow while we returned to camp... and as it turned out later, they didn't!

However since the meat in the camp was low we decided to shoot a Cop.




The second day more or less was similar then the first day. Only that in the morning I nearly shot a buffalo which wasn't on my list but since we came so close we gave it a chance. At the end the wind was not in our favor and we stopped buffalo hunting to return to the elephants. After the lunch Reinhard just wanted to double check the track of yesterday morning and surprise we found really fresh tracks of the morning which was good for me but bad for Reinhards trackers.... However after following the tracks over some hills we knew in which areas they moved.

On the third day we started directly to the area we knew the elephants have to be. At around 7.30 am we could hear them. So we stopped the car and tried to come closer which was not easy with all the high grass. However the were in a hilly area and we could approach them but a riverbed.





I am no elephant expert and I don't know why but in Cameroon the males seldom move by their own and are with the cows in a big group. So we approached the group to find a decent male in it. However they were eating and the bush was so thick. It was thrilling and difficult to find the right elephant. I think it was the most exciting hunt I had. At one point all elephants got quiet from one second to another... However we all stayed quiet and the hunt continued. Then we saw one male elephant which matched the criteria. I didn't hesitated and the moment I saw him go down I was so thrilled and happy. My shot slightly missed the brain but hit his neck. We took some more shots to be safe. I think it was not even 9 o'clock.











While Reinhard got more vehicles and people to transport the meat the guys started to butcher the elephant.

In his neck they found a hand made bullet from poachers which already tried to kill this elephant.



But that was not all of the fun, since Ants found the elephant and started to bite the trackers they ask on permission to make a fire... Luckily they didn't burned the whole bush.




Of course that night we celebrated!

So while I was in Cameroon, I got the full story of my Hippo: The problem hippo was shot by a Minister and while Reinhard tried to get another permit they only gave him a permit to shoot problem elephants. For whatever reasons this needs to be a "male Dominat Bull" which makes is a little stupid but we are coming to this.

So we changed camps and left the bush to go up into the extrem north. Their we stayed in a hotel:



A nice and clean place with a nice atmosphere and good food. From their we started our trip. Since we arrived early that morning we already gave it a try. We need to pick up a tones of people, mainly some people from the Gouvernement.

The ride to the area of the problem elephant was about 2 hours and a bit boring. However in the area it seemed that the whole village is trying to help spotting the herd of animals. All problem elephants need to be taken out of the heard. We came very close but just couldn't find a male Elephant.

On the second day we found the heard quickly and came again very close. After stalking in and around the heard for a while we finally could find a young bull. I personally would have shot an old cow but different country different laws.

So my first shot was a little to low but luckily the elephant changed direction and didn't run with the group. So it was easy to give him some more shots... after about 35-50 meter he went down. Very different experience from the first one but not less thrilling.



It was amazing how quick the local people arrived at the elephant...










It was a fantastic hunt and going home with two Elephants was more than expected! So maybe one day I go back and try to get a giant eland.

Hope the mixture and text was ok and if you have any questions, let me know.

Cool trip for elephant. Saw a few in the savannah when I hunted LDE there a couple of years ago. Smaller body and tusks than farther south but still elephants and cheeky! Well done.

Looks like you had a great hunt, I'm heading to Cameroon in 14 days and can't wait

congratulations great report

Will you have the tusks sent back home? Are the tusks exportable to Germany?

Did you see many elephant?

When I was there last year we found dead elephant skulls from poaching and the PH's from all 3 areas that I visited stated that the Savanna elephant were "functionally extinct" due to the massive poaching going on in northern Cameroon.

I think I saw one set of relatively fresh elephant tracks in 15 days.

Good to hear that there are enough in some areas to have a huntable population and quota. Hopefully the rest of the country can recover.

Sounds like a great hunt. Hunting eles in herds and thick stuff is heart pumping and up close. Great fun, I'll take a elephant hunt over a hippo. Your PH worked things out satisfactory, outstanding. I'm going to the forest area next year for elephant and am looking forward to experiencing Cameroon.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
Did you see many elephant?

In the hunting zone I only saw this big group. I think it had more then 50 elephants. However the bush was very thick and I could see all of them. But I saw a lot of tracks. According to the PH the elephants leave the zone when it gets drier and they move back to they move back to the reserve. However in the reserve little is done against poaching. So the quota is not big.

quote:

Originally posted by Open Carry:
Will you have the tusks sent back home? Are the tusks exportable to Germany?

The export is not the problem however Cameroon is one of the countries that is not able to fill out cites forms. So for now they remain in Cameroon. Maybe one day.

Honestly, I can understand the hunt was nice, the experience was great, price is fantastic... BUT not the kind of hunt that's good for elephant nor for elephant hunting. A country that is full of poaching, not fullfilling CITES rules, two elephants, both obviously immature, the second(adolescent, at the best, the kind of animal that can be shoot only in a overpopulated area situation) with a "last minute license" made for a "male dominant bull" that WAS NOT... it would be a good hunt, maybe in 1917. Now, NO. My two cents, really, with respect.

Lorefuma,
As the person who has arranged and guided this hunt, I have to jump in here.
I don't know how familiar you are with the situation here!?
Cameroon has a cites quota. Cameroon has a quota for elephant.
We have A LOT if elephants in this part of Cameroon.
The quota is reasonable and a hunt covers the costs of the anti poaching that is done there.
So by hunting an elephant every few years in a hunting area, more good then harm is done.

The second elephant was problem animal control to get the animals out of the fields in an area that is threatened by a hunger crisis.

Maybe you know more then cites and us...So enlight us...

Thanks for the report. Cameroon is definitely on my list.

Well done on your hunt, always been interested in Cameroon and seems you had a great time! Congrats and thanks for sharing!

congratulations to the hunter and to the agent.A specimen of a Loxondonta africana cyclotis is not so common and is a real trophy.

Thanks for sharing

Morten