Safari ( Swahili safari - travel) - originally hunting trips in East Africa . Later, the concept of safari began to be applied in other parts of Africa and the world, and its meaning has changed significantly. Today, the word "safari" often means quite peaceful and relatively inexpensive excursions into the wild, on which animals are photographed. In some countries, an entire safari industry has developed with experienced escorts.
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Hunting Safaris
But the original meaning of the word safari and at the present time has not lost its meaning. Now hunting is a thriving and even developing branch of the tourist business, bringing a lot of money to the budget of many African countries. The most popular among fans of African hunting are South Africa , Namibia , Botswana , Tanzania , Mozambique , Zambia , Zimbabwe , Cameroon , the CAR . In other countries where hunting business is allowed, it is developed much weaker due to the general underdevelopment of tourist infrastructure, unfavorable conditions for tourists, and often due to poor preservation of wildlife. Hunting in such countries does not constitute a separate industry and is sporadic.
Safari Cost
High-quality African hunting in our days, as before, very little can afford. The cost of trophies, although it varies greatly, is still very significant (starts at $ 150–200 for such prey as a baboon or small antelope and reaches tens of thousands of dollars for an elephant , rhino or lion ). The cost of servicing and living in a hunting camp is comparable to living in a 4-5-star hotel (an average of $ 250–300 per day, although it strongly depends on many factors). Accordingly, the total cost of a safari package is rarely less than 6-7 thousand dollars, not counting air tickets. Usually, the client informs the organizing company in advance about his preferences regarding trophies.
Organization of hunting in Africa
As a rule, the client is not allowed to hunt alone - he is accompanied by a professional hunter, whose duties include delivering the guest directly to the hunting place, ensuring that he has the correct approach to the prey and indicating which animal should be shot at. The latter is important, because not every visiting hunter can, for example, distinguish a male from a female from a long distance. In addition, it is important to choose the most valuable trophy among the herds. If a hunter is experienced and does not need such instructions, a professional still accompanies him - formally, he must control every shot of the client. It helps, in some cases, to avoid poaching .
When hunting for a dangerous prey, a professional hunter is obliged to insure a client by covering him with his weapon’s fire in case of an attack of a wounded beast. Such assistance is often required - according to statistics, approximately every fourth shot at an elephant leads to the attack of pachyderm. Run away from the attacking elephant is almost impossible.
In addition to a professional hunter, the group usually includes 2-3 support staff - usually from the local population - guides, porters, etc. The most honorable trophies are representatives of the so-called Big Five ( African Big Five) - elephant, lion, leopard and rhino. These are animals, the hunt for which is fraught with the greatest danger. Paradoxically, the most dangerous in the “five” are not a lion or an elephant, but a buffalo and a leopard. These two animals account for most of the accidents. About the hunter, who mined at least one representative of all the types of the "five", he is said to have assembled a "big helmet".
Safari weapons
The client chooses the safari weapon himself, while he can carry his own weapon or rent it on the spot. The cost of rent is usually small, $ 20-50 per day, but often there is no guarantee that the type of weapon that the hunter is aiming for will be available. When hunting for small and medium game carbines of medium caliber are used - 6.5-8 mm ( .243 , .270 , .308 , .30-06 , etc.). Extraction of large ungulates, such as zebras , wildebeest , kudu, or cannes , requires an already more powerful weapon, although often 7.62 mm cartridges are enough. Where the game is frightened, it does not allow the hunter closer than 100 meters, so the weapon has high accuracy requirements. Often, shooting is conducted from 200 and even from 300 meters. Another thing - the "big five". Shooting at large thick-skinned or very dangerous animals is conducted from a closer distance, but requires an extremely powerful weapon, with a high stopping power of the bullet. In almost all countries where hunting for such game is permitted, the minimum caliber of weapons for this is prescribed by law - most often it is .375 caliber or its German equivalent 9.3 × 64 mm . But often (and usually for hunting for an elephant) heavier calibers are used, such as .416 , .458 , .470 , .505 , .577 and sometimes larger. Their bullet weight often exceeds 40 or even 50 g, and the recoil when shooting is enormous - the hunter receives a deafening blow, from which a man of average constitution can not even stand on his feet.
There is even a special category of weapons for hunting large African game - so-called. African fittings . Usually it is a very expensive weapon, performed by masters of well-known firms for individual orders, richly decorated with carving and engraving. The price of a good new African fitting is comparable to the cost of a luxury car. Such a weapon sometimes weighs 6-7 kg and its long carrying turns into a serious physical test. Therefore, often the special squire, following the command, walks behind the hunter. Large-caliber cartridges are also distinguished by a high price - up to 30-40 dollars apiece and often more.
From an environmental point of view, a safari, in the case of a responsible organization, may even be a useful form of tourism, as for conducting hunting safaris, the terrain must remain virgin and untouched.
See also
- International Safari Club
Links
- International Safari Club (eng.)
- Safari Adventures: My Safari Information Resource