# I have a fear



## CaveTroll (May 15, 2012)

Hey there. 
In all honesty I don't really know how to confirm the age of a Gemsbok but I do that the wild varient here lives to an average of 18 years and those in captivity to 20 odd years. Taking that into account I'm sure checking the teeth wear and horns should help with that


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## bbjavelina (Jan 30, 2005)

Thanks, Mr. Troll. I think I need to do a little more reading. Or, maybe just more hunting.


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## CaveTroll (May 15, 2012)

My pleasure. SA is a great place to hunt. And get yourself a warthog! Some fine meat on that as with Kudu, Impala and bushpig


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## woodpecker1 (Sep 6, 2012)

being new tothe archery talk for only a few months.i have not seen this forum. but i have some questions. being that im a bowyer and spend most my time shooting 3d at african targets .ioften wonder if any wild game in africa taste like whitetail deer or turkey. the wild taste of animals is of threre habita. here in pa its stronger tasting than other parts of the state but pretty much is that the same as gemsbock or others? just curios


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## firehuntfish (May 17, 2009)

I'm no expert on African game, but I have shared your curiosity of what criteria th African PH's use to judge animals. I ask alot of questions and some of the answers have been suprising...

African PH's rely heavily on using mass, length, shape, and wear of the animals horns to determine the age/maturity of most game animals. Unlike the whitetails most of us are used to hunting and judging, African animals don't shed their headgear anually and, therefore, the horns tell most of the story. If a whitetail kept it's headgear for life, we might be more apt to use the antlers for age reference. The mass of the animals bases, and the density at the closest point to the skull are the best factors used to determine age in most species. Other factors are horn wear and complete formation(hardening) of the bosses on a cape buffalo for example...The length and shape of the curl are key factors in animals like a kudu,impala, waterbuck.

It greatly suprised and impressed me to learn the things that PH's are tested on to receive their certification....For example, hey are shown photos of dozens different species on a video screen for a few seconds and then asked to determine horn mass and length within fractions of an inch in certain circumstances. The failure rate is very high. 

The PH's can use teeth wear to determine age, but it's not as accurate or consistent as using the horns for trophy field judgement.


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## bbjavelina (Jan 30, 2005)

Excellent point on the shedding of antlers vs horns thing. Surprised someone like me never thought about that --- well --- not really.

On our first trip one of the ladies was questioning the PH's about their schooling. I was interested to learn that they are not so much educated as they are tested. They have to know things like the scientific names of the game, the birds, the trees, and such.

On our first trip we were given list of the various flora and fauna in the area and told we could not leave until we learned them. That was a lie --- they ran us off as soon as we ran out of trophy fee money. Durn the luck!


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## bbjavelina (Jan 30, 2005)

I fear that my previous post may be misunderstood. Nobody "ran us off". We simply had shot what we came after and considered the hunt complete. Sorry -- that was a poor attempt at humor.

Now, I fear my original prognostication will come true soon.


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