Most people today who go on safari are going to look at and photograph the aminals and such. And that’s fine. I’ve never done it, but it would likely be fun.
But from browsing the websites, it’s still possible to do the Bwana Bob thing and actually go out stalking and shooting everything from a dozen kinds of antelopes to leopards, buffalo, rhinos, lions, and elephants.
Obligatory disclaimer(s): I am not necessarily or even possibly planning to go kill Simba. If you disapprove of hunting, or of hunting threatened species (from what I can tell, none of those African beasts, except maybe one flavor of rhino, is “endangered” at this point), I understand that, but don’t want to debate it.
Just wondering whether anyone here has done it, and what it was like.
There seem to be various varieties of “safari,” from some that actually involve you out in the bush, camping rough, to faintly or more-than-faintly decadent “camps” that are more like resorts. Given that many of these places (maybe most) are set up as private game reserves, there also arises the issue of whether you are really hunting or just being driven to shoot fish in a barrel (which poses some concern for me. given that the hunting I’ve done has generally involved some degree of skill or luck short of being delivered to a feeding trough to shoot captive animals).
So: I’d welcome any experienced hunters’ thoughts/experiences with the full safari experience. In addition to my above concerns about it being “fake” or “unfair,” I also have the practical thought that: geez, it’s expensive.
Not a hunter at all, and not weighing in on the ethics of it.
I’d say do NOT trust what safari tour websites say. Really look into the legality of killing whatever animals you might kill, independently of their claims.
Well, S. Africa in particular seems to derive a lot of revenue from this (there are “head fees” for whatever animal you shoot, plus of course the revenue/taxes coming into the country from the cash you drop on the safari). I would do a llittle research, but I would imagine that the countries organized enough to exploit this for cash, are happy to do so, and those corrupt and disorganized enough that they might let people get away with unauthorized hunting, are, well, corrupt and disorganized.
As far as I could tell, it seems completely legal. Private landowners who raised the animals to be shot.
Whether it is sporting is more debatable. It depends on which outfit you choose. Some are for hunters and it’s an effort to shoot something. Some are for people who just want a trophy to hang on your wall, so they put you in a blind near a watering hole and you wait until the animal shows up and pull the trigger. They do get paid based on what you shoot, so… they don’t exactly have an incentive to make it very difficult to get an animal.
And I’ve looked at the Alaskan outfitters as well. (What probably appeals most to me IRL would be one of those float-plane expeditions in Alaska or Canada for fishing and/or hunting). The hunting in Alaska seems more “free range.”
I guess though my OP was geared toward African safaris as they are packaged today.