Most Dangerous Game (unwounded)?

[Charles de Ribeau]

I am talking about Big Game (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, croc and hippo) - Dangerous 7. Which one do you think is the most dangerous to hunt if the animal has not been wounded and why? I'm be particularly interested in the opinions of the PHs on here and the true safari veteran hunters.

 

[K-man]

I think if you just look at statistics (reported) more deaths occur from cape buffalo. But it seems every village you spend time in you will meet someone who has lost a limb or a family member to a crocodile. I know all of them have the potential to be deadly at the drop of a hat.

 

[Ridgewalker]

According to Wikipedia, hippos kill more humans each year than any other. The crocodile is second.

 

[Red Leg]

The most dangerous to human beings - Hippo and Croc - by a landslide. However most of us won't be checking nets from a dugout or washing our clothes on a river bank.

I am convinced that the most dangerous for modern hunters is the Cape Buffalo. Seemingly every year a PH or two, tracker, or client gets hammered, shot, or gored hunting these big truculent beasts.

 

[WebleyGreene455]

Not an expert nor a professional nor have I stayed at a Holiday Inn recently, but I'd think hippos, being territorial and quite aggressive in defending it, those massive serrated teeth, and because people get the wrong idea about them being slow, docile animals because that's pretty much how everyone knows them from pictures, films, zoos etc. Crocodiles as @Ridgewalker and @Red Leg mention, I expect those deaths are from people who got too close to a hungry one and didn't realize it; dangerous but not exactly aggressive?

Now, rhinos, I'm not sure. I reckon if you made one angry, it'd attack, same as any animal, but I'm given to understand that White Rhinos are considerably less aggressive than Black Rhinos, who seem to be quite violent indeed to the point of charging termite mounds because they perceived them as a threat. I will say, however, that on two separate occasions at Walt Disney World, where they operate a "safari" attraction with actual animals in a simulated environment, the normally-doesn't-stop-for-anything gas-powered vehicles did stop because in the first instance, a rhino stood in front of our vehicle and appeared to be preparing to charge it (it may have been agitated by the fact that a cheetah was prowling nearby), and in the second, a pair of males were engaging in combat over a female and they were at risk both of being hit by our vehicle and of possibly doing it intentional damage. I do not doubt that if on either occasion, the rhino(s) intended to harm the vehicle it would've done so.

 

[Pheroze]

The most prolific maneater I believe was a leopard I read about in one of Jim Corbett's books. Stealthy, fast as lightning, and a small target.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Most people in Africa gets killed by Hippo, most hunters by Buffalo.

My tracker got charged unprovoked by a Caracal. Does that count?

 

[Major Khan]

I would have to say leopard ( the African cousin of our Indian panther ) , crocodile or cape buffalo ( the African cousin of our Indian gaur . )
An interesting thing about leopards is that while they are extremely dangerous , an encounter with an unwounded leopard is seldom fatal ( except for a man eater ) . The average leopard will pounce on their victim and give a series of quick bites and scratches with the claws on it's fore legs before jumping off. The attack is severe , but quite brief . In my career as a professional shikaree , l have not seen an unwounded panther ever carry out it's attack for more than 30 seconds. Provided good medical facilities are nearby , you will most likely survive , but will look as if some 1 ran a lawn mower over you . A man eating panther / leopard , however will carry it's attack through to the end .
Here is an example which l had shot in Takalghat , India.

The Ganges River crocodile is the single biggest threat to the people of South East Asia . More people are killed by crocodiles in every year than all other Indian dangerous game combined . A crocodile , unlike other animals is not instinctive or feral in it's mode of attack. It is extremely calculated . It will seize it's victim by the calf of the leg and drag them into the water. It will drown them and then take the corpse into a hole near the stream / swamp / river and will only commence eating the corpse when rigor mortis of the corpse has begun .

Here is an example , l had shot in the 1960s which had at least 2 confirmed victims .

The cape buffalo / Indian gaur is a thick skinned creature and very ill tempered . In the case of an Indian gaur , we local Indian shikarees used to call them " grey forest ghosts " due to the stealthy manner in which they could move through the forests. A buffalo will often charge without provocation , which is what makes it so dangerous. It often attacks people in the thickets , which makes it extremely difficult to see them until they are uncomfortably close to you .
Here is an example , which l had shot in 1969. This example gored my best friend and fellow professional shikaree , Tobin Stakkatz so badly that Tobin lost a kidney and retired from hunting dangerous game.

Even though l have unfortunately never had the privilege to shoot an elephant , l have accompanied quite a few forest department officials when they had to dispatch rogue Indian elephants and have seen many shot before my very eyes. An elephant is the least likely to carry through with a charge .
I hope this helps.

 

[Royal27]

According to Wikipedia, hippos kill more humans each year than any other. The crocodile is second.

That's because no one finds the croc victim....

I could certainly be wrong but I'm convinced crocs kill more people and it's just never confirmed.

 

[Ridgewalker]

That's because no one finds the croc victim...

Very valid point!

 

[Red Leg]

The most prolific maneater I believe was a leopard I read about in one of Jim Corbett's books. Stealthy, fast as lightning, and a small target.

In India the leopard was/is a prolific maneater - rarely in Africa. Obviously no fun wounded and in-bound anywhere.

 

[fourfive8]

Been around all of them some. I would never trust a croc... an aquatic dinosaur with a brain the size of a plum. And the only animal I've ever had charge with intent to harm was a tuskless cow elephant- twice! I enjoy being around elephants but would never trust one completely- just don't know how they really feel. Many are carrying varying amounts of poachers, farmers lead and iron bullets and hard to tell if they are sick or injured. And that applies to any large animal. I never got in the way of a hippo on land and have always given them a wide berth.

 

[PeteG]

When talking of unwounded game, I’d be tempted to say croc and hippo top two, can’t say which is responsible for more.
I would guess elephant next.
lion and buff probably close to each other and leopard last on the list, by a long way.
This would be for people living in the bush around the animals all the time.

When talking about people hunting and experiencing lethal attacks, I’d say elephant most dangerous due to the proximity of the hunting, second I would say buff, third lion, fourth hippo (especially if hunted on land)

 

[Philip Glass]

Buffalo, lion, leopard, hippo are all bad news if you get too close and surprise them. Scary for sure!

 

[Pheroze]

In India the leopard was/is a prolific maneater - rarely in Africa. Obviously no fun wounded and in-bound anywhere.

Interesting , I wonder why the difference

 

[Major Khan]

Interesting , I wonder why the difference

A good friend of mine , Dr. Khayrul Amin proposed a theory to me once why man eating panthers are so common in India , as opposed to Africa , where the man eating panther ( referred to , as a " leopard " in Africa )
is comparatively rare . The theory is as follows :
In India , roughly 60 to 70 % of the population are unfortunately vegetarian . As such , the heat signatures of these people are different from those who eat meat . It may entirely be possible that leopards can sense the heat signatures of other animals . When they sense the heat signatures of these people , they associate them with the herbivorous animals which they normally eat ( such as cheetal deer or 4 horned buck ) .
In order to reinforce this theory , the good Doctor gave me a book named " The man eaters of Tsavo " written by 1 Colonel Patterson . The book revolves around 2 man eating lions in Africa which were terrorizing rail road workers in the early 1900s. The Doctor showed me that the rail road workers were all brought over from India ( and were all predominantly vegetarian as they were Jain Hindu ) and that the lions did not actually start molesting humans until the Indian workers started working on the rail road tracks . I do not know how sound the Doctor's theory is , as l am not a Doctor myself . However , his theory certainly does seem rather well thought out and reasonable to me .

 

[Ridgewalker]

Poton, that sounds reasonable to me. Many years ago when I bow hunted quite a bit, I would eat vegetarian for a month before the bow season started. I still believe it helped my scent signature out. I may be in fantasy land, but it seemed to help me get within my 30 yard range for my recurve. Took 7 deer with that old Bear Minuteman recurve.

 

[Pheroze]

A good friend of mine , Dr. Khayrul Amin proposed a theory to me once why man eating panthers are so common in India , as opposed to Africa , where the man eating panther ( referred to , as a " leopard " in Africa )
is comparatively rare . The theory is as follows :
In India , roughly 60 to 70 % of the population are unfortunately vegetarian . As such , the heat signatures of these people are different from those who eat meat . It may entirely be possible that leopards can sense the heat signatures of other animals . When they sense the heat signatures of these people , they associate them with the herbivorous animals which they normally eat ( such as cheetal deer or 4 horned buck ) .
In order to reinforce this theory , the good Doctor gave me a book named " The man eaters of Tsavo " written by 1 Colonel Patterson . The book revolves around 2 man eating lions in Africa which were terrorizing rail road workers in the early 1900s. The Doctor showed me that the rail road workers were all brought over from India ( and were all predominantly vegetarian as they were Jain Hindu ) and that the lions did not actually start molesting humans until the Indian workers started working on the rail road tracks . I do not know how sound the Doctor's theory is , as l am not a Doctor myself . However , his theory certainly does seem rather well thought out and reasonable to me .

That's an interesting theory, I wonder

 

[IvW]

I am talking about Big Game (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, croc and hippo) - Dangerous 7. Which one do you think is the most dangerous to hunt if the animal has not been wounded and why? I'm be particularly interested in the opinions of the PHs on here and the true safari veteran hunters.

I think a few are missing the original question.......

Which one do you think is the most dangerous to hunt if the animal has not been wounded and why?

Most Africans get killed by hippo but this is not related to hunting same for crocs....Man eating lions and leopards also do not fall into this category.....

On foot hunting DG game the most dangerous to hunt that has not been wounded would be elephant cows and in particular tusk less elephant cows.....Why, because there will invariable be cows with young calves present, which makes them super alert and protective and you need to get into the herd, find a tusk less, determine that she does not have a dependent calf at foot and then get into position to take this specific cow among the others, then take the shot.....this is often where the danger can start, if the rest of the herd take exception to your presence and actions....

That is undoubtedly the most dangerous of the seven to hunt without a doubt....if in doubt book such a hunt and come and hunt one and see for yourself.

 

[TOBY458]

I have found that two legged Whitetails are by far the most formidable.