TOPIC:

Hello everyone,
I've been wondering if anyone knows how the war affected the animals in S. Africa. Were many hunted and eaten by the British and Commonwealth troops? Did the Boers have a staple diet of gazelle, zebra, giraffes etc.? Were elephants, wildebeests etc in danger? I have seen in some threads that there were casualties due to lion attacks, and some from snake bites, but in general, what was the impact on the local wildlife? I would imagine they would have stayed clear of the larger groups of troops. Sorry for my ignorance about this, but I've yet to run across anything in my readings that have mentioned this.
Thanks very much in advance.
ATB, John

I suspect the war may have had a slightly beneficial effect on Africa's "big game" - (a) whilst the war was in progress British officers and others would have less time/opportunity to indulge in the pastime (b) after the war there would have less big game hunters about. An example, from the Sporting Gazette 14 April 1900:

Many British officers set off for the front armed with an array of shotguns and hunting rifles.

The first photograph shows the quarters of 2nd Lieutenant George S. Morley, 2nd Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment. Amongst his belongings can be seen two shotguns (at the back), a Cape gun (on the left), and a number of shotgun cartridges. Cape guns resemble shotguns, but have one shotgun and one large-calibre rifle barrel with rear folding leaf sight, the former for small, the latter for big game.

The second photograph depicts Captain George Whitmore, V.A.S.C., Suffolk Regiment, with his ABW hunting trophies.
















Silver-mounted antelope hoof. Lid engraved with the regimental badge of the Army Service Corps and the inscription: "Presented to / SUPTD E.G. HAWKINS. / HANTS CONSTABULARY / 1899 1902 / BY LIEUT JAS. GOURLAY, ARMY SERVICE CORPS / as a momento of the Mobilization of the 1ST ARMY CORPS for South Africa".





Wildebeest hoof, one half inscribed with names of members of the "SOUTH NOTTS HUSSARS IMPERIAL YEOMANRY"; the other with names of "PRISONERS OF WAR" captured at Stormberg.

Side one: "BOER WAR 1899-1900 SOUTH NOTTS HUSSARS IMPERIAL YEOMANRY" "A. NAYLOR F.C. BAILEY C.F. PRATT J.F. ASHTON S. HOWITT".

Side two: "PRISONERS OF WAR" "A. SKEVINGTON L. SLANEY A. HUNT J. WILDON O. ROBINSON S. BURROWS W. SMITH A. PEET E. TYLER R. SPOWAGE".

The latter group of POWs includes: 2260 Cpl. Samuel Burrows, 2580 Pte. Albert Hunt, 1969 Pte. Arthur Peet, 1954 Pte. Oliver Robinson, 2246 Lance-Cpl. Arthur Skevington, 3089 Pte. Louis Slaney, ? W. Smith, 2322 Sgt. Robert Henry Spowage, 2734 Lance-Cpl. Edwin Tyler and ? J. Wildon. These were all members of the 2nd Bn. Northumberland Fusiliers who had transferred from the 4th (Nottinghamshire) Volunteer Bn. Derbyshire Regiment.




..

Almost every memoir and diary, and many letters written home by British and British Imperial soldiers (which I have looked at), demonstrate how the men interacted with the local environment. Sometimes they do this to make sense of where they are and what they are doing, sometimes to entertain their families and friends back home. This interaction begins on board the troopship with sightings of flying fish, porpoises and whales, and often does not end until they get home. From the scorpion and the locust to the South African pony and big game, soldiers jot down many comments. Officers acting in certain parts of the country, especially later in the war, regularly talk about hunting. Some of the most vivid descriptions I have seen detail sightings of animal life on the journey from Lourenço Marques (Maputo) to Bulawayo and around Komatiport and the Crocodile River.

Great book project if you pursue it!

Thanks to all who have responded. Both big and small game in Africa are truly wonderful and amazing and I wondered how they fared in the war. From the photos and trophies, some took advantage of being there and hunting. There is mention in Hero of the Empire that Boers would go off to fight with a sac full of food their wives packed for them and in which were portions of zebra and giraffe meat. I wonder how often British and Commonwealth troops hunted and ate the local wildlife?
Thanks again!
John

Hello John,

In my research of the Wiltshire Regiment I have seen photographs of officers with big game kills including one of an officer stood next to two native men holding up a Leopard or Cheetah which he had just killed. I got the impression that in quieter times officers would obtain permission to go hunting.

The diary of 4352 Serjeant William Blencoe reveals that when first in South Africa during their initial journey from Port Elizabeth to Naauwpoort the men amused themselves by throwing pieces of Army biscuit out of the carriages and open trucks so that Ostriches would run along next to the train.

Unfortunately, another account mentions using them for target practice from the moving train.