Elephant African

A founder-member of the 'Big Five' for the most obvious of reasons, Elephants (family: Elephantidae) are large land mammals of the order Proboscidea. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, the Mammoths being the best-known of these. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata but for the purposes of Trophy Hunting, we are only concerned with African Elephant where the biggest examples are found in Namibia!

Elephants are the largest land animals and live between 50 and 70 years. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120kgs (264lb). The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed approximately 11,000kgs (24,200lbs), with a shoulder height of 3.96 metres (13ft), a metre taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch.

Healthy adult elephants have no natural predators although lions may take calves or weak individuals. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled and elephant is now a protected species worldwide with very few Trophy Permits being allocated. Occasionally 'Problem Elephants' can become available although you would be best dealing through a reputable company such as The Hunting Agency in the UK (www.TheHuntingAgency.com) as there is some doubt regarding the legality of some hunting opportunities. There are generally restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory although CITES permits can be obtained for Trophy Hunting purposes.