Red Lechwe Hunting in South Africa

• Four subspecies of these antelopes have been identified and include:
  1. The black lechwe is found in the areas of Zambia.
  2. The red lechwe is found in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa.
  3. The Roberts Lechwe was formerly found in Zambia but is now considered extinct.
  4. As well as the Kafue lechwe of Zambia.

• Only Red Lechwe is available in South Africa.

• The lechwe is one of the three antelope species known to form breeding areas with a high population density.

• Inhabiting marshy areas and feeding on mostly aquatic plants, they always utilize knee-deep water for safety and protection against predators.

• Covering the lechwe’s legs is water-repellent substances that allow them to run very fast in knee-deep waters.

• Males have long spiral-structured horns. Lyre-shaped horns are the signature trademark of a Red Lechwe trophy. Red lechwe makes for a magnificent trophy.

• Both sexes have longer hind legs than other antelope species, essential for easing long-distance running in marshy soils.

• Lechwe is a diurnal animal and also lives in large herds comprising up to thousands of individuals. These herds are surprising of one sex but will mix during the mating season.

• Lechwe has greasy and water-repellent coats, and females have tawny to chestnut coats that resemble one another though they can have minor differences in their markings.

• Feeding on aquatic grasses is one of the abundant resources that most other herbivores cannot utilize and they usually graze on grasses that spring up as floodwaters increase.

• Nick Bowker has a dedicated Red Lechwe package.

A medium-sized antelope is reddish-yellow and has a darker back than on the flanks and legs.

They also have white on the underpants, with a white band running up the front of the neck to the jaw and characteristic dark markings on the forelegs.

Although this usually varies depending on the subspecies, the males are darker in color.

Their hindquarters are higher and broader than their forequarters, with long necks and short yet blunt muzzles.

The shoulders are distinctly lower than the rump, and the body slants forward.

In its natural habitat, lechwe is found in or near the water on shallow flood plains, along swamps and rivers, and on well-watered grasses with feet wet.

Lechwe has also adapted well to the open savannah country. Red Lechwe hunting will nearly always be by spot and stalk.

As a result, red lechwe hunting is in savanna or well-wooded areas.

These animals form small herds of 10-30 animals on the savannah.

Bachelor herds, nursing herds, and solitary adult males can be distinguished.

A few males establish small territories during the mating season, which they share with some nursing herds.

Your Red Lechwe trophy should have an average shoulder height of around 39 inches, weigh about 200 pounds, and have a Horn Length of approximately 24 – 26 inches.

The Safari Club International minimum score for a red lechwe is 58. The trophy is measured by adding the length of each horn and the circumference of the bases.

The Lechwe male is usually of trophy quality at around five years.

The Red Lechwe is a magnificent trophy and does not occur in abundance in South Africa. However, numbers are good throughout the Eastern Cape.

The Red lechwe is a medium-sized antelope hunted safari style.

Lechwe is an introduced species on game ranches and is not endemic to the Eastern Cape.

Lechwe has adapted well to open savannah country. Nick Bowker hunting has access to several free-ranging herds of red lechwe in the Bedford area.

Lechwe has done very well in a free-ranging environment where they are less susceptible to the brown tick.

In a free-ranging environment, they can move and find grazing without going deep in the brush. In high-fenced areas during very dry periods, lechwe is forced to go deep into the brush foraging for grazing, where they encounter the brown ear tick.

Only the male carries horns, which sweep backward and then curve forward at the horns’ tips, similar to the waterbuck. The lechwe feeds on dry grasses and drinks regularly.

The herd grazes mainly during the early morning and late afternoon, resting in the day’s heat.

We recommend a .30 caliber or, even better, the flat shooting 7mm magnum.

For those hunters who do not wish to go through the red tape of bringing a rifle into South Africa, Nick Bowker has Sako 300 Magnums fitted with suppressors.

The rifle is mounted with a Swarovski Z8 tactical scope. Also, we have hand-loaded Hornady ELD-X ammunition.

The rifle, including ammunition, is available as part of all hunting packages free of charge.

Red lechwe can be confused with impala to the untrained eye but never the red hartebeest.

The aim point for red lechwe hunting is the standard high heart/lung shot; straight up the foreleg, one-third into the body, and squeeze. Your lechwe should not go far.

When selecting a male to hunt, note the spread of the horns backward and outwards, and tips have opened and hooked forward.

Horns will wear down dramatically with age.