Genuinely difficult
Ask a group of professional hunters which common African animal is hardest to take deliberately, and a surprising number will say bushpig. Not because they are rare — they are abundant across much of their range and farmers regard them as serious pests — but because they are almost entirely nocturnal, extremely wary, and live in cover so thick that daylight hunting is close to impossible.
Most clients who take a bushpig do so after several nights of sitting, and a good many go home without one.
The animal
Bushpig are larger and heavier than warthog, weighing 60 to 90 kilograms, with a long coarse coat that varies from reddish-brown to near-black and a pale crest of hair along the spine that stands up when they are agitated. The face carries distinctive white whiskers and a pale mask.
Unlike warthog they do not use burrows and do not run with the tail up. They live in family groups called sounders in dense riverine bush, forest and thicket, and they emerge after dark to feed, frequently raiding crops.
They are also genuinely aggressive. A cornered or wounded boar will charge, and their tusks — while shorter than a warthog’s — are backed by considerably more weight. Follow-up in thick cover at night is not undertaken casually.
Judging a boar
Boars are noticeably larger than sows, heavier through the head and shoulders, with a more pronounced facial mask and a heavier crest. The tusks show only two to three inches above the lip, so they are not the obvious trophy feature that a warthog’s are.
What you are judging is overall size and head structure, frequently in artificial light and in a few seconds. Your professional hunter will make the call.
How the hunt works
Where the concession and the law permit night hunting, bushpig are hunted over bait. Maize, pumpkin or offal is put out in a likely spot in riverine cover, and then checked daily for sign. Once pigs are feeding consistently, a blind goes up and you sit after dark.
They come in silently and they come in late — frequently after midnight. Sitting for a bushpig means several long, cold, quiet nights, and it is not a hunt for anyone who needs constant action.
Where night hunting is not permitted, they are occasionally taken by chance during the day in very thick cover, or with dogs where that is legal and appropriate. We will tell you plainly which methods are available on the concession you are hunting.
Rifle
A .30-06 or larger with premium bullets. Bushpig carry a heavy shield of gristle over the shoulders and are considerably tougher than their size suggests. Shots at a bait are close, usually inside fifty metres, so a low-magnification scope with good light-gathering matters more than magnification.
Worth doing
For a hunter who has taken most of the common species and wants something genuinely difficult, bushpig is an excellent choice. It is also, unlike some of the trophies on this list, an animal your professional hunter will be pleased about.
