Baboon hunting
International
I have hunted RSA before and I will be going back in 09. I would really like to shoot a Baboon. I'm not sure why it has become such a big deal for me. I don't really care that it's a primate. Has anyone here shot one before? Will a PH think I am crazy if I say that a Baboon is high on my harvest list? Can they be treed like racoons, or cats? I will be hunting at Tshepe, has anyone seem them there?
Thanks
I've got a friend who shot one....said he'd never do it again. The baboon grabbed the arrow that was well placed in the center of his chest and looked at him(the archer) with the expression of "you SOB!" LOL.....Good Luck, Hope ya get one. My next time back I'd like to kill one as well.
TomL
They are tough! They can move by the time the arrow gets there and can see so well it's amazing. You have to catch one off guard....which i finally did.
They are extremely difficult with a bow. I think i got lucky.
Seems kinda twisted but given the chance I'd shoot one.Cool trophy.
Hey there Shifty :-)
Talk to Ken Moody. He had lots of them on his concessions, and he hates them. One grabbed his young daughter, and despite his efforts to fight the buggar off, the Baboon got her loose from him and then proceeded to stuff her under a car;-weird. She was ok except for scratches and emotional trauma.
A few guys shot them when I was in his camp. I had one, the leader of the troop, sneak up behind my blind just the other side of the door, and let out the loudest, most blood curdling scream/roar I've ever heard. Really made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Then, as the rest of the troop moved in on the waterhole, all the little guys were trying to get into the blind. I had to whack on with a broadhead. So,- the head honcho sits down behind the waterhole, and starts grooming himself, while surrounded by his lady friends, like he's some king. I'm looking over at him, & thinking 20 yds -a slam dunk. However, as my nerves settled, the more I watched him, the more he seemed like some humans I know. Then, strangely, killing him felt more like a revenge murder for scaring the he!! out of me. I let down my bow and just watched.
Later in the week, I missed one at 25yds in the wind. I was in a different frame of mind. They are easy to get a shot at around water holes.
Probably because I worked with many full grown male baboons involving my medical research projects some years ago, I came to respect what they are and their abilities, so I really have no desire to shoot one.
Plus, I've also come to know what kinds of diseases they can have and transmit to humans. How common do you think simian genital herpes is? Its quite common.. Did you know that Simian herpes can be LETHAL to humans and visa versa,. ours can be lethal to them?
From what I know, I'd just a soon stay away from all close contact with Baboons and that goes for other African monkey species as well. Vervet or African Green Monkeys are known to carry herpes as wel and also another virus similar to Ebola. This is called the Marburg Virus or African Green Monkey virus. This was discovered over an outbreak in a research lab in Marburg, Germany where several African green monkeys infected the 12 lab workers..all of them died as there is no cure.
I'll just stick to the non-simian game thank you.
Yeah - I worked with captive macaques for a while; until I learned more about the risks associated with the transmission of herpes virus from monkey to human (and AZRich is right, it can be lethal to humans). The risks are too great, I'd rather not handle any of them anymore.
I had a friend who was a medical missionary in Sierra Leione. He said that the only animal that really scared him were the baboons. Lions would leave you alone but a troop of baboons would tear you apart.
LBB
I've had the priviledge of rifle hunting in "Northern Transvaal" a couple of times,( dating myself). All the baboons I saw were the smaller, light grey colored ones. There were only a couple of small troops, and they were spooky as heck. The farmer kept them under control with 243. He liked culling them himself. He also said they were filthy and not to touch them, let them lay. There was also a leopard on the place, and he liked them pretty well farmer said. If I was bowhunting from a blind, and i wanted one, I would have to be prepared for; A. Alot of screaming and flopping around from from another primate ( bears look alot like a man too, especially when skinned) This can be unnervinfg to some people. B. Take some rubber gloves and have the tracker/skinner use them for trophy prep. Just my .02
As for the herpes thing, i was just hunting the baboons...nothing extra-curricular for me thanks.
Tom - it's spread by any body fluids, as far as I understand.
I hope they dont catch anything from me.......
;-)
I'd love to shoot those ugly sumsabiches, but then again, I've been told I'm "not right"
The baboons on Ken's place are numerous and there are some real honker males! IMO, I wouldn't shoot one until you are done hunting everything else. You will find the baboons come in, get settled and then the other animals come in because they feel safe. We always had other critters come in within 20 minutes or so of the baboons. I bet we saw around 50 at one time one day.
...they are a cool trophy, and fun to hunt, being as alert as they are.....they also do funny things...as with a friend of mine whose daughter had one in her sights just as the critter began to "pleasure himself"...she shot, then asked her dad "what was that baboon doing?"...he quickly thought then answered "...I think he drug his peepee in the dirt and was trying to clean it off!"...when my PH asked if I wanted to shoot a big,lone, male, I said "no"...until he began to "pleasure himself"! Then ZORK, another booner went down with a smile on his face....be sure to check latest regs as they may not let you bring back any monkey parts anymore....
I zipped one in 2006. He had just fought another big male and returned to the water hole to gloat when I ran 580 grains of humility through him. I'm sure that I saw around 400 to 500 of them while I was there.
Be warned! The trophy fee was only $80 (my PH paid the $40 US CITES permit for me), but there are additional fees in the dip/crate/ship procedure for primates (and warthogs/bushpigs too). Plus, once it gets to the US, it must be boiled and treated once more before they release it to you. I estimate I paid $200+ in shipping and treatment for each (I brought home 2). That was money I had not planned on spending.
-dave
No primates for me. It would simply feel like murder...
If I was to shoot one, and I was wearing a condom, would it keep me from getting monkey herpes?
I shot one and missed two others on my first trip. I Shot a vervet monkey on my last trip. That was a tough shot to get. I blew a chance on a BIG baboon on my last day there. Like Ultratec said, make sure you don't want anything else after you shoot. When baboons spook, nothing else will come in and you'll have to change blinds for the day. I didn't know that my first trip and shot at every baboon that I could. Nothing else showed. They are considered pests over there, so I thought of them as hairy carp.
"Hairy Carp"....you're killin me :-)
Hairy carp...that is funny. The PH I hunted with also has avocado farms and described baboons as pests. He said that baboons will pick a fruit/avocado, take one bite, then throw it away in favor of another one. Since there is no mating season/rut, there is no natural regulation for females to come into heat, so they breed prolifically. Like the old Doritos ad: "Shoot all you want, they'll make more."
-dave
Hey Shifty, I was on the same trip as AK and saw alot of baboons around the water holes.Being one who cannot pass up an opurtunity and has no control I had to shot one, you know, to help keep the population in check
I've shot many babboons in Africa where I grew up. They are a threat to native crops, children and domestic animals. Locals weren't able to kill them and they can be a difficult quarry. When hit, they sometimes display that "human" reaction but make no mistake my friends, the babboon is as much a dangerous and savvy target as a leopard or other toothy critter.
I will GLADLY shoot another one on my next trip in 09. Until you've been in the blind with these things making noise all around you it's tough to understand.
I'd have no problem shooting one, but the disease issue gets too me a little. I've heard that mentioned too many times to not think about it.
Cool pics guys. Anyone have one mounted? What do you do with them, besides keeping the skull, if you don't mount them?
Boy, I usualy try to pick a mount based on how the animal was posing at the shot. I can hear the conversation now with my taxidermist, "no really, there was this guy named Dennis on the bow site and he said that the baboon...."
Bill in MI ;^)
Shifty
I know baboon are on the species list for Tshepe but in the 10 days I spent there I never say one Maybe they have somewhere they can take you for one . I never asked about them because I wasn't interested in one but would have probably taken one if it came in front of the blind.
I really wanted a baboon on my African hunt. The PH put oranges out to try and lure them in...no luck. I never even saw one. When I go back I will try again.
They can be your best decoy or your worst nemesis if they spot you in the blind.
I shot them accordingly.
My wife was sitting with me one day and she had the pleasure of watching several...uh..."fornicating" I guess you could say! It was NOT HARD to tell which females were in heat!
One of Peter Hathaway Capsticks books talks of baboons & how much he hated them. I beleive he killed tham whenever he could. Once, he wrote, they stole a baby from a native villave & I think killed it. Capstick rounded up a few other gunners, lights & tracked the baboons to their night lair & killed about all of them. I remember he used a 9mm fully automatic rifle if memory serves me right.
Anyhow, great African reading nonetheless. Death in the Long Grass, Return to the Long Grass, Sands of Silence, Dath in a Lonely land.... all were awesome reading....
>>>>>----------------->
Nope Dave...you can't leave it at that. The story gets better every time I hear it...you know the one...you...in your undies...making noises in the blind...bonding with the primates!
That's Lord Greystoke to you knave :) I've got to go on a call I'll post the story this Sunday.
I've shot baboons with my bow on two trips to Zim. I love shooting baboons. They aren't easy, at least if you want to shoot the alpha males. They make great trophies, even if you just want to keep the skull.
As far as disease, you won't be doing the skinning, so there are no worries. (I'll assume you won't be doing anything else with the carcass, either!) If you are in an area with plentiful baboons, you will see and smell their crap everywhere. They are all but a plague in many areas, and most PH's will be very happy for you to shoot them. Enjoy,
Bill
I thought they were pretty difficult to get a shot on ....finally did.....Outfitter encouraged us to take at least one. Heard LOTS of stories similar to those recounted above....didn't have any personal experiences. That will probably be my one trip to the dark continent so I took one when given the chance... part of the experience. This was Aug 07 with KuduLand Safaris
Herpes-B isn't something I'd want skinners exposed to, either.
I don't know how common the herpes B thing is but this is the first that i have heard of it.
It's not Herpes B, but Simian genital Herpes which is comparable to human Herpes Simplex II, commonly called genital herpes. Human Herpes Simplex I is even more common. Just about every human child gets infected with it, causing what we all see as common cold sores around the lips.
Herpes viruses persist for your lifetime and come to the surface (eruptions) under certain conditions like stress, a weaken immune system or as a result of the initial full blown infection. Inbetween eruptions the virus retreats back through nerve tracts to the remain dormant in the spinal cord.
Chicken pox or Varicella is another herpes virus that almost all kids get. After the inital infection, it remains dormant for many years but can come back with a vengence as an outbreak of Shingles later in life.
This is usually somewhere on your flank as the virus travels down certain nerve tracts from the spinal cord to affect a localized patch of skin associated with that particular nerve tract(called a dermatome).
Monkeys carry plenty of other viruses and potential diseases besides herpes. Don't mess with them dead or alive if you can avoid it.
I shot a few for leopard bait in Mozambique about 10 years ago and never thought of bringing one home. I missed a big one on a rifle hunt in Zim in 2000, and the PH asked at the end of the hunt why I didn't want a trophy baboon, as they make excellent mounts. "What?" I replied. "Oh yes- get one mounted with his forefingers pointint towards each other, about 4" apart- it makes an excellent toilet paper holder" As I had paid the balance of my safari and was leaving for the airport, I said,"now you tell me." Since then, I have longed for a baboon to sit in the corner of my powder room when company arrives...
I also would like to mount one with an open palm to put a candy dish on. But beware my friends- the baboon mount can cost over 3K due to the delicate finger work.
bowhuntercam,which one is the ventriliquist?
you could've moved the bow a little further to the right in the pic
Wow, we are going to Africa in June/July and the wife is wanting a baboon. I thought she was crazy, but after seeing the size on a couple of these, I think I would take one if a real big one was to come in. Bob
bowhuntercam,
Who's your buddy there?
I think viewing that baboon porn really scarred Peyton...it's all he ever talks about anymore.
Baboon are hard to kill with Bow I have goten 3 they kill black kids allthe time
they are vermin but have good eyes like turkey a realBow trophy
Tink Nathan retired RSA PH
My son took this old male from the blind in the backround, at Madiakgama last week.
No chance I would touch one of those nasty looking things.
I'll be they taste just like the flying monkeys we have back in Kansas.
"you could've moved the bow a little further to the right in the pic"
Why?
Because the baboon isn't wearing scivies.
"you could've moved the bow a little further to the right in the pic"
Why Jealous???
I don't know exactly what it is that turns some people off to whackin' a baboon. Maybe it's their "look" or their similarity to humans, but I do know that I'm not alone in feeling the eebie-jeebies about killing one. Even more strange, not many people appreciate them, especially Africans who mostly despise them.
do they eat those things.
I'd shoot one, they remind me of my third grade teacher. I use to say she looked like a baboon under my breath and now when I see pictures of one I just nod and hope I get to shoot one next summer.
Here's my son's baboon coming in. I'll post video of the shot and recovery shortly.
Looking forward to seeing the video.
I think the fact that they are so closely related to humans would be the whole reason I'd want to shoot one! If I could (legally) hide behind the potted plants in the office and fling arrows at my coworkers as they came to drink from the water cooler, I wouldn't have to spend the money to go to Africa. Maybe one day they'll pass my "Harvest 1 stupid person a day" limit.
OT (not a people person)
"Maybe one day they'll pass my "Harvest 1 stupid person a day" limit."
LMAO! And I thought I was the only one thinking that way....
is the lady in the video an owner? she seems like alot of fun. just curious.
"tough critters!" - no joke. He ambled a lot more than I would have thought after the hit he took.
BTW, is it just me or is that young fellow due for a slightly longer draw length? Perhaps it was just the camera angle. Can't argue with the results!
That's Linda in the video, as well as Jimmy, and Jaques. They are the owners.
I couldn't believe how far he went. I didn't watch the shot (sitting in the back of the blind to stay out of sight), but I could clearly see the wound, and the blood pouring out, through my binoculars.
I think the video angle makes the draw length look odd, and I thought the same thing.
The bow fits him like a glove, but at his age (15), I have to lengthen it about every 2 months! That Diamond Edge is an awesome bow for a growing bowhunter. It takes about two minutes to adjust the draw length, and it really zings an arrow.
Hunting baboon was one of my high lights when i went hunting in Namibia In Aug 2009. I liked it so much i shot 2. And wish i would have shot more. More Baboons than you could count. Probably the most challenging animal i shot. Very alert all the time.
i saw a photo one time of some african guys eating baboon brains. i feel crook thinking about it.
This has got to be one of the funniest threads in weeks. For all of you guys that think you look to much like a babboon to shoot it-your one UGLY individual! If you look at your wife or girlfriend and think a babboon resembles them, I feel sorry for you, no really, I feel sorry for you. Stop inbreedin and move to another city! Mike
I just feel like it's too intelligent an animal for me to shoot, personally...
That was too funny Florida Mike.
I dont think you could find a PH in Africa that would not love for you to shoot everyone that you could. In 20 days of hunting I have yet to get a shot on a big one. They are smart smart smart and can see very very well. You havent seen fast yet until you see these guys move. A big male is high on my list for sure.
Bo-n-aro is spot on, very smart,very fast. NO SHOT in 20 days Bo-n-aro WOW thats hard to beleive. I feel really lucky now. And i even passed up some. You gotta see STEKEWOOD video of his son shooting a baboon. Its awesome..It really pumped me up to shoot one when i went.
