We get permits to hunt crop raiding hippos next to Kruger National Park every year and this is a very exciting hunt.
The hippos come out into the sugar cane fields at night and that's when and where we hunt them. Contrary to what some may think this isn't a "blind them with a spotlight and shoot them" kinda deal...
We stalk them on foot to as close as we can get - 30-50 yards without use of a spotlight. For the approach night vision equipment is used by at least one member of the hunting party - and this is usually not the shooter...
It's quite a thrill to walk up to a beast that weighs a few tons and is known as the DG animal responsible for the most deaths in Africa... All you're seeing is the outline of the hippo, at some point you're likely to find yourself between the hippo and water and you know that he sees much better than what you do...
When we're close enough the lamp is switched on and shooting starts... I say it "starts" because under these conditions a brain shot is not advisable so we go for the heart or lungs. Important is that the hippo must die on land and not make it to the water because - if it does - it can come back up to float anywhere - include inside the Park... So the shooter continues to shoot until the hippo is down.
Very exhilarating and in my opinion more fun than shooting them in the water.
I'd come across Hippos in bodies of water, including large pods of them in the Zambezi River, several times, but hunting them held little appeal for me. I do realize hunting them from a river bank and taking a bull with a brain shot can be challenging, but it just wasn't something I wanted to do. However, my interest in hunting hippo took a turn back in 2000 while in Zimbabe's Loveld region while on a leopard and plains game hunt with my daughter. Although I'd taken her to hunt plains game on a previous occasion that only seemed to stir her interest in hunting other things such as spotted cats. This was her hunt and I found myself there more to relax and enjoy the scenery.
While in camp one afternoon the ph said he'd been on the radio and learned of an increasing hippo problem in a communal farming area near Masvingo. It had been reported that 5 or 6 hippos would come out of the river on a regular basis every night and enter cabbage fields. Besides eating the cabbage and generally destroying the fields it was further reported that the hippos would also charge and chase villagers stationed in the fields to ward them off. I was asked if I'd like to take the drive over to that area and deter a few hippos from entering the fields by whacking one of them. Hmmmm, now that did sound interesting so I agreed to give it a whirl.
After gathering a bit of equipment we headed out toward Masvingo to camp out and spend the night near the cabbage fields. When we arrived to the area that evening one of the locals pointed to an area where he said 5 or 6 hippos would come out of the river every night after dark and enter the fields. He also recounted what we had already been told about how the hippos would charge. He said a charge would usually occur when he and others would try to scare them off by waving a torch (flashlight) at them. At that point I was sure glad I'd remembered to bring a flashlight along.
After nightfall we sat around the warmth of a small fire to discuss our game plan. It was decided that we would enter the fields on foot without the use of artificial light and try to spot the hippos by way of moonlight alone. If we could position ourselves close to one that was standing broadside we'd hit him with a flashlight beam and I'd take a shot. As we sat around the fire chatting one of the field workers came running up to tell us the hippos had arrived. Upon gathering our rifles and grabbing our flashlights we then set off on foot to the cabbage fields which were a couple of hundred yards away.
Entering the fields by light of the moon to stumble through the furrows and kick heads of cabbage while also straining to locate hippos was a humorous challenge. However, we were finally able to make out the outline images of 5 of them enjoying a nice meal of fresh cabbage and tearing the field up along the way. Upon stalking closer and determining which was the largest bodied of the group we then began positioning ourselves for a broadside shot. When about 25 yards away I shouldered the .458 Win mag and signaled that I was ready for someone to burn him with a flashlight beam. But right at the moment the flashlight was turned on the bull began swinging to his left to munch on what must have been in his mind the much tastier cabbage in the next row. When the light beam hit the bull he turned his head back to look at us while offering a stationary quartering away raking shot which I decided to take. The shot appeared to be good but when hit the bull spun around to face us and began coming.
My second shot hit him when about 15 yards away causing him to spin back around and run away in the opposite direction toward the river. Trying to prevent him from reaching the water I took my third and final shot from about 35 yards as he was running. My intention was to place that shot to break his right hip and put him down for the count, but at that distance the flashlight beam barely reached him and all I could really see was an outline. When I touched the shot off I knew it would be a matter of luck if I pulled it off. Not unexpectedly that shot hadn't hit his hip but it didn't really matter because the bull finally did go down for be count. That first raking shot is what did him in.
Killing that hippo caused the others to leave the cabbage field that night and run back to the safety of the river. But how long they stayed away I don't know. What I do know is that they didn't return to dine on cole slaw and tear up the field for the following 2 or 3 nights. I also know that it was a great way to hunt a hippo and an experience that my daughter feels was one of the most exciting times of her life. Even though she was successful in bagging a leopard and several other fine trophies on that trip her eyes will always light up a bit more brightly when recounting that hippo hunting experience to someone.
Sorry to go long, I got carried away banging on the keyboard.
