The Secret Seven

[Wheels]

Does it need to be a mammal? How about a big python?
Have tracked one to its lair, gone in after it, and (with help) pulled it out. A worthy opponent.

Do you have video or photos of this? If so please post. Sounds really cool.

 

[K-man]

will look for it. I was a bit younger and much more foolish. Alcohol may or may not have been involved, it was late at night.....

 

[Mort Hill]

In all seriousness, as opposed to my previous post, I do think mongoose would be a better #7 choice than jackal. I am not partial to which one, but the white tail and water mongoose are both worthy adversaries.

 

[Philip Glass]

Take out Jackal and put Aardwolf and I’d agree. I see it as silly to have Jackal as part of the secret 7. Nothing wrong with having mongoose instead of honey badger either.
Two years ago I was hunting with a guy who caught a young black footed cat. They are evidently very rare and also very secretive. A neat animal I’d like to know more about.
Philip

 

[Lee M]

I wouldn’t do the wildcat as i had a pet named prince as a child that was a carbon copy of one. Lol. Too much like a large house cat for me. I would like to get a caracal though.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

 

[Hogpatrol]

Not real secretive but a predator nonetheless, white breasted crow. Have blasted them with a 12 gauge and 17 Fireball. Foxpro caller and some dekes makes for some great action.
Plus another vote for the aardwolf.

 

[Hank2211]

Take out Jackal and put Aardwolf and I’d agree. I see it as silly to have Jackal as part of the secret 7. Nothing wrong with having mongoose instead of honey badger either.
Two years ago I was hunting with a guy who caught a young black footed cat. They are evidently very rare and also very secretive. A neat animal I’d like to know more about.
Philip

Philip, I'm not sure why the jackal is "silly", but given the consternation it's causing, I'm happy to take it out. But I don't think an aardwolf is a predator, so that would keep it out.

Having said that, there might be some sense in not restricting the list to predators. Now before we open it up too far, perhaps we can see if there's at least some semblance of agreement on substituting the aardwolf for the jackal.

If we can't get reasonable agreement on the aardwolf, then I suggest we substitute mongoose (of any type) for the jackal.

As for the honey badger, I am going to leave it in. I think it's a wonderful animal to hunt and a worthy adversary. It also has a personality which I find congenial.

will look for it. I was a bit younger and much more foolish. Alcohol may or may not have been involved, it was late at night.....

No offence @K-man, but I'm not sure a snake fits in and in any event, it would be a very tough one for most people to get - not sure where they are on license, apart from West Africa, but having hunted one, I can say it's a very uncommon trophy. I'm not necessarily against snakes - had a bit of stupidity myself beating a gaboon viper to death with a stick in Cameroon some years back - but I like the idea of restricting the list to mammals.

So the current proposal is African wildcat; caracal; serval; civet; genet; honey badger, and aardwolf.

 

[Philip Glass]

Philip, I'm not sure why the jackal is "silly", but given the consternation it's causing, I'm happy to take it out. But I don't think an aardwolf is a predator, so that would keep it out.

Having said that, there might be some sense in not restricting the list to predators. Now before we open it up too far, perhaps we can see if there's at least some semblance of agreement on substituting the aardwolf for the jackal.

If we can't get reasonable agreement on the aardwolf, then I suggest we substitute mongoose (of any type) for the jackal.

As for the honey badger, I am going to leave it in. I think it's a wonderful animal to hunt and a worthy adversary. It also has a personality which I find congenial.



No offence @K-man, but I'm not sure a snake fits in and in any event, it would be a very tough one for most people to get - not sure where they are on license, apart from West Africa, but having hunted one, I can say it's a very uncommon trophy. I'm not necessarily against snakes - had a bit of stupidity myself beating a gaboon viper to death with a stick in Cameroon some years back - but I like the idea of restricting the list to mammals.

So the current proposal is African wildcat; caracal; serval; civet; genet; honey badger, and aardwolf.

I’m just saying that since the topic is Secret Seven the jackal does not fit but the nearly nocturnal Aardwolf does.
Fun discussion!

 

[K-man]

Do you have video or photos of this? If so please post. Sounds really cool.

No offence @K-man, but I'm not sure a snake fits in and in any event, it would be a very tough one for most people to get - not sure where they are on license, apart from West Africa, but having hunted one, I can say it's a very uncommon trophy. I'm not necessarily against snakes - had a bit of stupidity myself beating a gaboon viper to death with a stick in Cameroon some years back - but I like the idea of restricting the list to mammals.

I agree about keeping it to mammals, It's about the only trophy I have had that was catch and release!

 

[Hank2211]

Alright. The list is locked down. Until someone (cogently) objects!

I've always had an interest in the cats of Africa. Not sure where it came from. I'm aware that there are some who say that you shouldn't shoot what you won't eat (and I'm not a big cat eater), or they just can't shoot cats, but neither has been a big issue for me when it comes to hunting predators.

From my perspective, one of the most interesting of the cats is the serval. With the spotted coat it's almost like a mini cheetah.

I think there are two main ways to get a serval. The first is coming upon one by chance while hunting for something else. I've never been that lucky, and I've never seen one in daylight in over 15 hunting trips to Africa. The second of course is to hunt for them specifically. I don't know if anyone has tried this during daylight - if so, I haven't heard of it. Most likely you will be hunting them at night and that's not particularly easy - you have to be in a good area, you (most likely your PH) have to know how to spotlight without scaring the animal, you have to be able to identify it virtually instantly and you have to take the shot in a second or two.

I was lucky to get a serval on the second day (if memory serves) of a hunt in the Limpopo - we hunted for wildcat every night I was there and I never saw another serval. I was also really pleased with the shot - it dropped on the spot. You have to quickly decide to shoot for the eyes you see or where you think the body will be in relation to the eyes. Rarely do you get the whole body and the time to make think about shot placement.

So the good news is I got the serval. Here he is (please ignore "tinker bell" (named by Brickburn) on the picture - not sure what that is!):

The bad news is the taxidermy. I wanted a "rug mount" with the head on and the mouth open. If you were to ask people what is the most distinct characteristic of a serval, apart from the spotted skin, they would likely say the big ears which stick straight up. This is what the taxidermist in Polokwane sent me:

This only tells half the story. The skin was matted with some black tarry substance and was such a mess that I couldn't bear to look at it, so I gave it away (to someone who has no idea what as serval should look like - probably related to the guy who did the work on it).

 

[Brent in Az]

I would like to add as #7 the Nubian Princess. They are carnivores preying mainly on newly arriving safari hunters at the bars of local hotels across Africa. Although often seen briefly during daylight hours, they mainly hunt at night. Their numbers are quite high so there should be a good quota. They are quite secretive until they start asking you to buy them drinks, which usually precedes the bearing of great fangs and claws when denied. I have never seen one mounted, but understand that when mounted, and done right, it is a frightening sight. Just saying.

What's the trophy fee for a Nubian princess these days? LOL .....

 

[Mort Hill]

What's the trophy fee for a Nubian princess these days? LOL .....

I honestly can tell you I don’t know. Never got close enough to one, except by sheer accident, to find out. As someone else posted, I guess whatever the going rate for a divorce is.

 

[Wheels]

Alright. The list is locked down. Until someone (cogently) objects!

I've always had an interest in the cats of Africa. Not sure where it came from. I'm aware that there are some who say that you shouldn't shoot what you won't eat (and I'm not a big cat eater), or they just can't shoot cats, but neither has been a big issue for me when it comes to hunting predators.

From my perspective, one of the most interesting of the cats is the serval. With the spotted coat it's almost like a mini cheetah.

I think there are two main ways to get a serval. The first is coming upon one by chance while hunting for something else. I've never been that lucky, and I've never seen one in daylight in over 15 hunting trips to Africa. The second of course is to hunt for them specifically. I don't know if anyone has tried this during daylight - if so, I haven't heard of it. Most likely you will be hunting them at night and that's not particularly easy - you have to be in a good area, you (most likely your PH) have to know how to spotlight without scaring the animal, you have to be able to identify it virtually instantly and you have to take the shot in a second or two.

I was lucky to get a serval on the second day (if memory serves) of a hunt in the Limpopo - we hunted for wildcat every night I was there and I never saw another serval. I was also really pleased with the shot - it dropped on the spot. You have to quickly decide to shoot for the eyes you see or where you think the body will be in relation to the eyes. Rarely do you get the whole body and the time to make think about shot placement.

So the good news is I got the serval. Here he is (please ignore "tinker bell" (named by Brickburn) on the picture - not sure what that is!):

View attachment 370401

The bad news is the taxidermy. I wanted a "rug mount" with the head on and the mouth open. If you were to ask people what is the most distinct characteristic of a serval, apart from the spotted skin, they would likely say the big ears which stick straight up. This is what the taxidermist in Polokwane sent me:

View attachment 370402

This only tells half the story. The skin was matted with some black tarry substance and was such a mess that I couldn't bear to look at it, so I gave it away (to someone who has no idea what as serval should look like - probably related to the guy who did the work on it).

The taxidermy on such a beautiful animal is certainly unfortunate.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I would like to add as #7 the Nubian Princess. They are carnivores preying mainly on newly arriving safari hunters at the bars of local hotels across Africa. Although often seen briefly during daylight hours, they mainly hunt at night. Their numbers are quite high so there should be a good quota. They are quite secretive until they start asking you to buy them drinks, which usually precedes the bearing of great fangs and claws when denied. I have never seen one mounted, but understand that when mounted, and done right, it is a frightening sight. Just saying.

@Mort Hill
Depends on where you are but I've heard the trophy fee can be quite reasonable for a Nubian Princess and you can mount as many as you want per night depending on stamina and wallet. If caught by the wife they can turn very nasty very quickly resulting in great losses.
Bob

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

@Mort Hill
Depends on where you are but I've heard the trophy fee can be quite reasonable for a Nubian Princess and you can mount as many as you want per night depending on stamina and wallet. If caught by the wife they can turn very nasty very quickly resulting in great losses.
Bob

sounds like truly dangerous game

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

 

[Nyati]

What's the trophy fee for a Nubian princess these days? LOL .....

A bottle of Johnny Walker Red will be fine for the daily rate, trophy fee is then negotiable....or so a friend told me

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

sounds like truly dangerous game

@Skinnersblade
Definitely is for a married man and not to safe for a single either mate.
Bob

 

[Randy F]

sounds like truly dangerous game

Research shows the fee is one cow and one goat, but throwing in an additional cow gets you a lifetime supply on penicillin.