(Newswire.net — February 2, 2014) Thabazimbi , Limpopo —
Although the hunting of the big five remains the more popular choice for many hunters coming to South Africa, there are those individuals whose love for hunting plains game cannot be stifled.
According to the owner of Matlabas Game Hunters Willem Frost, the hunting of some of the smaller animals can be a greater challenge due to their habitat, limited distribution ranges and the habits of the species.
“Not all trophy hunters are able to build a vast collection of African trophies,” Willem says in his blog.
A trophy of that of the greater kudu displaying the characteristic sizable horns can look equally spectacular to that of the more expensive sable or roan antelope, at a much lower cost.
“Naturally, a hunting safari in South Africa can be a combination of plains game with the hunting of the larger, more dangerous animals,” Freddie Oosterhuis from Hunting Legends International says.
“The variety of rare game species, especially that of the color variants available for hunting today, by far exceeds that of a decade ago,” Freddie says, stating that South Africa remains one of the few countries in the world where the hunting of rare species continue to be happening on the scale it currently does.
“Most overseas hunters are familiar with the mainstream tendency of either hunting the more expensive dangerous animals making part of many a hunter’s bucket list, or the shooting of a selection of plains game species. When we however mention the option of hunting a black impala ram or golden wildebeest, the trophy hunter considers making it part of his strategy for acquiring the necessary trophies worth boasting about.”
The trophy of white, black and copper springbuck for example, is indeed a rare sight against any wall in South Africa, let alone overseas.
Freddie also says that it only make sense that the price tag on the hunting of rare species and color variants surpasses that of normal plain game, but as countless international hunters will testify, it’s worth every dollar.
“The wildebeest especially shows an unbelievable inherited diversity found in the South African wildlife populations, contributing to very healthy hunting experiences.”