History In The Making?

            Africa has an assortment of animals, many of which we don't have in the States making them even more fascinating to Americans. And if we do have them in the States, they are probably pacing around their small cages in a zoo somewhere while thousands of people look on. Africa is anything but a zoo setting, at least for most of its animals. Africa is known for having the Big 5, which includes the African elephant, rhino, leopard, lion, and buffalo.

            Living in Africa has afforded me many life experiences that I never would have thought possible such as seeing the Big 5 in their natural habitat. One of the most amazing experiences I have had since moving here is going on a safari. As an animal lover, I dreamed of seeing beautiful animals roaming freely with nothing but the land and the air between us. I can now say that I’ve witnessed African elephants, the largest land animals in the world, playing together in the grass. I’ve seen the African rhino take charge at mealtime. I’ve looked on as the African leopard caught a few rays while relaxing in the sun. I’ve observed the Cape buffalo grazing on grass. And I've had my heart melted by a couple of African lions that used their large tongues to bathe each other.

            It makes me sad to think that those same elephants that were playing together are now considered a threatened species. And the rhino population that ruled the lunch table has dropped 97.6% since 1960. The sunbathing leopard is now listed as a vulnerable species. And the gorgeous lions that enjoy grooming each other are already extinct in seven different African countries. It is devastating to watch as the populations of some of the world’s more beautiful creatures decline at a rapid pace, but even more depressing when realizing that it is mostly due to the human race. Whether it is for the elephant’s ivory tusk, the rhino’s medicinal horn, the leopard’s soft coat, or just an ego boost from a Facebook or Instagram photo of hunters next to the lion they just shot, none of these reasons warrant the hunting and killing of some of our most precious animals. Not to mention that many of these wild and crazy African hunting trips that many people claim to go on aren’t really all that wild and crazy after all thanks to the newer version of the sport, canned hunting.

            Canned hunting is a sport in Africa made very popular by foreigners. The saying ‘shooting fish in a barrel’ is the best way to describe canned hunting. Hunting companies spend years raising animals on private reserves. They often start the rearing process when cubs are only a few days old. The bottle-feeding and constant human contact help build a bond with the animals that will later aid in the hunting process. An animal that is not threatened by or isn’t fearful of humans is much easier to kill. Individuals then pay a lot of money to travel to Africa and obtain the proper licenses necessary. A guide takes a hunter to his or her prey, which is kept in a confined area that offers no escape for the unsuspecting animal. After the kill is completed, the guide helps the hunter stage the scene to look as if the hunter shot the animal in its natural habitat.

            Canned hunting isn’t for the experienced hunter who hopes to feed his or her family. Instead, it is for the inexperienced hunters who have enough funds in their bank account to help aid in the early extinction of Earth’s beautiful creatures all for a good story and a fancy picture to run home and brag about.

            On my most recent safari adventure with my family, the reserve had an African leopard that had been rescued from a canned hunting farm. Although the leopard had narrowly escaped a certain death, it still had a long way to go in the recovery process before it could survive on its own in the reserve due to several man-made obstacles. The hunting reserve declawed the leopard making it nearly impossible for the leopard to catch and kill its prey. But the lack of claws wasn’t the only thing interfering with this leopard’s ability to hunt. It had been extremely overfed at the canned hunting farm in order to increase the size of its skin; the larger the skin, the more impressive the kill. The leopard’s saggy stomach, a far cry from the usual long, slender and powerful body, nearly touched the ground making it impossible for the leopard to climb high in the trees where it would normally stalk and often eat its prey. A leopard that can’t catch and kill its own prey is a leopard that can’t survive in the wild.

            But canned hunting game reserves can’t be that bad, right? The hunters claim to be helping poor African villages by providing meat from their kill and money from their license fees. And maybe it is helping a few of these poor villages, but what happens when the animals are extinct? Will tourists who fly to Africa for weeklong hunting trips still care about the starving people and poor villages? If hunters are really that concerned about the impoverished villages in Africa, there are many ways that they can help. They can donate money, food, water, or even shelter to aid those in need instead of killing Africa’s gorgeous wild life through a fence and then using the ‘helping villages’ excuse to make themselves feel better about their effortless and cruel kill.

            I love being able to see animals in their natural environments and am so thankful for organizations such as the African Wildlife Foundation for doing their best to offset the damage that the canned hunting industry has done and ensuring that future generations to come will be able to enjoy the beauty that is Africa. I can only hope that canned hunting is banned so that my future children and grandchildren will one day have the opportunity to go on a safari and see the Big 5.

If you have any interest in learning more about the Big 5, African Wildlife Foundation, or how you can help, check out the their website at www.awf.org.