Sitatunga Hunting

Expect to get wet and muddy when sitatunga hunting in a swamp. Sitatunga are excellent swimmers and when threatened, often run into and submerge in deep water.


Sitatunga Trophy Minimums

Tragelaphus spekii gratus (Western Sitatunga)
RW Minimum RW Record RW Measurement Method SCI Minimum SCI Record SCI Measurement Method
26" 33" 8 N/A 502/8" 2
Tragelaphus spekii selousi (Zambezi Sitatunga)
RW Minimum RW Record RW Measurement Method SCI Minimum SCI Record SCI Measurement Method
271/8" 321/2" 8 N/A N/A 2
Tragelaphus spekii spekii (Northern/East African Sitatunga)
RW Minimum RW Record RW Measurement Method SCI Minimum SCI Record SCI Measurement Method
27" 273/8" 8 N/A N/A 2

Sitatunga Facts

Habitat and Requirements

  • This antelope lives in thickly vegetated, muddy swamps, and marshes.

Social Structure

  • Essentially solitary animals, pairs associate for short periods of time for mating and small mixed groups are occasionally formed.

Gestation Period

  • After a gestation period of around 7 months, one offspring is born.

Sitatunga Gender Identification

  • Only males have horns.
  • The males are grayish-brown and the females are a reddish brown, with six to eight vertical white stripes on the body.
  • Males are also considerably larger than females.

Sitatunga Hunting Methods

  • As sitatungas use regular, tunneled pathways through the tall reeds and papyrus of swamps, they are often hunted from blinds, high seats or boats.

A Good Sitatunga Trophy

  • Good horn length with thick bases will make a good trophy. Look for horns that flare out at the tips.

Sitatunga Hunting Shot Placement

Sitatunga Pictures

(Place cursor over photographs to enlarge)


Recommended Reading

Search For The Spiral Horn

Search For The Spiral Horn is by Craig Boddington who is one of the few hunters who has successfully hunted each of the major varieties and most of the subspecies of the nine spiral-horned antelope of Africa.


Spiral Horn Dreams

Spiral Horn Dreams by Terry Wieland is about a subject that arouses as much excitement and emotion as any big game. Kudu, bongo, Lord Derby eland, sitatunga, mountain nyala and bushbuck. These animals cause any big game hunter both pain and joy - sometimes simultaneously. If you're not 'mad keen' about hunting these animals before reading this book, you will be afterwards.


Recommended Viewing

Bongo & Sitatunga With The Pygmies DVD

Bongo & Sitatunga With The Pygmies DVD. Hunts for western bongo, western sitatunga and the duikers of the rain forest with hired hunters of the Pandjele Pygmy tribe as trackers. 60 mins.


Zambia Safari - The Bangweulu Swamps DVD

Zambia Safari - The Bangweulu Swamps DVD by Ken Wilson. The black lechwe is only found in the Bangweulu Swamps and this hunt ends with a 26" animal. Then the hunt begins for one of Africa's greatest trophies, the Zambezi sitatunga. 55 minutes. DVD.


More African Game Animals

Cape Buffalo | Lion | Leopard | Elephant | Rhino
Hippo | Crocodile
Bushbuck | Kudu | Nyala | Eland | Sitatunga | Bongo
Sable | Roan
Waterbuck | Kob | Lechwe | Oryx | Wildebeest | Hartebeest | Tsessebe/Topi
Blesbok | Reedbuck | Impala | Gerenuk | Springbok | Rhebok | Puku
Gazelle | Duiker | Dik-Dik | Steinbok | Grysbok | Oribi | Suni | Klipspringer | Bate's Pygmy Antelope
Baboon | Warthog | Bushpig | Forest Hogs | Cheetah | African Small Cats | Civet/Genet/Ratel | Hyena | Jackal | Ostrich | Porcupine/Fox/Hyrax | Monkey
Giraffe | Zebra