Its a sure bet that if you can't afford to get to an area that you aren't going to hunt there. When the laws require that you be outfitted and guided you can either pay them or stay home debating the sourness of grapes. Hunting is 90% location; and it doesn't matter whether its a big whitetail on posted land or a 100 pounder on the other side of the world. If you can't get to him, you can't get him.
Society of Misguided Adventurers
- Thread starter Ardent
- Start date
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
No way the Mule deer bests the Roosevelt Elk, or any Elk really. 
Wood Bison is unique to the continent, the largest thing on it, and a true living Pleistocene creature that must be included as well.
Wood Bison is unique to the continent, the largest thing on it, and a true living Pleistocene creature that must be included as well.sorry, but the Mule Deer is a unique North American animal, and a big one is very hard to find. though not as large as an elk, i believe that a large muley buck is a more impressive animal. scratch the polar bear if you want to add the wood bison.
Scratching the polar bear would be like scratching the Elephant from Africa's big five, just can't be done old sport..........
Polar bear
Grizzly
Bison
For sure the top 3..........after them it's open for discussion.
Polar bear
Grizzly
Bison
For sure the top 3..........after them it's open for discussion.
the Polar Bear is food for Inuit more than a big game animal. the Wolf is more a furbearer/vermin. the Alligator lives in the water, therefore it is a fish.
the Grizzly - Ursus Arctos Horribilis - the horrible bear, need more be said
Alaska Yukon moose - the largest antlered game on the planet
Mule Deer - unique to North America, a BIG one is very impressive and very hard to find
Sheep - nothing more needs to be said
Bison - huge animal
the Grizzly - Ursus Arctos Horribilis - the horrible bear, need more be said
Alaska Yukon moose - the largest antlered game on the planet
Mule Deer - unique to North America, a BIG one is very impressive and very hard to find
Sheep - nothing more needs to be said
Bison - huge animal
The alligator is an amphibian....
and, while plentiful, not easy to kill... Mule deer are a dime a dozen and while a big one is impressive the species is either in the top 5 or it isn't... these lists are not dependant on size.... Wolves are a very difficult hunt as well....I'd buy in on sheep though... but you need to specify....
There is a size component, a 2 year old grizzly doesn't make muster, nor a bighorn ewe. Both of which can be legal.
Size is what keeps the Mountain Goat off the list, it is unique to this continent, and a beautiful animal, but its horns are small and the seasons are for "either ###, any age".
Any animal that has no closed season (wolf) can't be on the list IMO.
Size is what keeps the Mountain Goat off the list, it is unique to this continent, and a beautiful animal, but its horns are small and the seasons are for "either ###, any age".
Any animal that has no closed season (wolf) can't be on the list IMO.
I'm not sure any ungulates rate being on a Big Whatever list, if one looks at the African model there is only the buffalo (and he rates inclusion because he can and will kill the hunters who make less than optimum shots) in their Big Five even though they have some of the most impressive ungulates on the planet, Lord Derby Eland as example or Giant Sable both of these could well have replaced the leopard. While big and beautiful and extremely difficult to obtain they are none-the-less not part of the big Five because they pose no danger to man........And I know, a good case could be made that leopard doesn't really either, nor does the cape buff if left alone without some sport putting holes in his hide. However in the days of old both these critters did do in a fair number of sports and so earned their inclusion in the Big Five of Africa.
Now if this is to be carried across the pond to NA then it only follows that our most dangerous animals are the only ones who qualify..........Polar bear, Grizzly, Bison, Wolf and cougar are really the only animals we have that could be considered a threat or at least were at one time. Not sure about the cougar, which through out history has probably only accounted for 1 or 2 kids, and I would have a lot of difficulty including it in a list of NA Dangerous big five. The wolf in days of old did a fair bit of preying on man and still occasionally gets credit for the odd kill. So he has, shall we say, earned his place as a people killer and therefore somewhat dangerous game. I would be open to a different animal than the cougar, but not moose or sheep (like I said before sheep already have their own club...The Grand Slam) or elk, as none of these animals are considered dangerous to man at all under normal circumstances, or normal hunting circumstances. I rate black bear the same, however a case could be made for him as he does hold the record for the number of kills, but then so do crocs and hippos and they aren't included in the African count, so..........
And Mig is right where as it isn't just a species either, it must be a fully mature male to qualify..........lioness do not make Africas list the same as a 2 year old grizzly sow won't make NA list, or cow buffalo either side of the pond, don't count.........now leopard and wolf don't seem to matter, males and females are equally dangerous and must be included if they are fully mature. Some say cow elephant don't count either, even though they are by far the more dangerous ### of that species, if it ain't a bull it ain't big five, now rhino again doesn't matter either cow or bull makes the list, and I think probably polar bear would be treated the same as long as fully mature.
There is just too much to consider.........I'm getting a headache.........
Now if this is to be carried across the pond to NA then it only follows that our most dangerous animals are the only ones who qualify..........Polar bear, Grizzly, Bison, Wolf and cougar are really the only animals we have that could be considered a threat or at least were at one time. Not sure about the cougar, which through out history has probably only accounted for 1 or 2 kids, and I would have a lot of difficulty including it in a list of NA Dangerous big five. The wolf in days of old did a fair bit of preying on man and still occasionally gets credit for the odd kill. So he has, shall we say, earned his place as a people killer and therefore somewhat dangerous game. I would be open to a different animal than the cougar, but not moose or sheep (like I said before sheep already have their own club...The Grand Slam) or elk, as none of these animals are considered dangerous to man at all under normal circumstances, or normal hunting circumstances. I rate black bear the same, however a case could be made for him as he does hold the record for the number of kills, but then so do crocs and hippos and they aren't included in the African count, so..........
And Mig is right where as it isn't just a species either, it must be a fully mature male to qualify..........lioness do not make Africas list the same as a 2 year old grizzly sow won't make NA list, or cow buffalo either side of the pond, don't count.........now leopard and wolf don't seem to matter, males and females are equally dangerous and must be included if they are fully mature. Some say cow elephant don't count either, even though they are by far the more dangerous ### of that species, if it ain't a bull it ain't big five, now rhino again doesn't matter either cow or bull makes the list, and I think probably polar bear would be treated the same as long as fully mature.
There is just too much to consider.........I'm getting a headache.........
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bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
Not really, you just have to dish out the coin for a hunt on desert mulie in New Mexico or one of Ted Turners properties around Bozeman, MT. Not many under 180 get shot, not many hunts cost under $10,000.
Pretty much falls in line with the spirit of this thread though.
there are a lot more than those 4 that are unique to NA, bison, elk, blacktail deer, coues deer, 4 species of sheep...........I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.
Bison are found in Europe and (formerly) Asia, Elk (and their close relatives) are found from north Africa clear across Asia. Coues' Deer is just one of many subspecies of Whitetail found from 60 degrees north down to south of the equator in South America. Sheep are found from the Mediterranean clear across Asia, and the thinhorns have very close relatives in Kamchatcha. Blacktails are too close to Muleys to warrant an inclusion on my list.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Pretty fair though I'd put Cougar in place or Wolf, it's our only real big cat, I see the Wolf as very parallel to a Hyena- just weaker. You know I was guilty of looking at this from far too Canadian of a perspective and Alligator should likely not be missed.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I thought it was a brilliant stroke we well missed. I'm wrapping up an article in which I discuss Black Caiman hunting at night in a canoe in the flooded forest in the Amazon, Black Caiman reach Nile Croc proportions but with longer and heavier skulls. One of the stranger and creepier experiences I've been coaxed into, any crocodilian has my attention.
Mig25, the trouble with including deer etc is it really gets away from the Big Five model, and into just plain game animals. Few would follow a wounded Bison or Grizzly into thick alders without at least a little trepidation, nobody would get their pulse up following a deer in. You have excellent points on prime species for the continent, but if Africa's Big Five were to have been based around trophy quality it would look a lot more like a plains game list. Kudu, Gemsbok, Sable, etc instead of the dangerous animals.
I'd vote, with the collective consideration here taken into account,
Polar Bear
Grizzly Bear
Wood Bison (as to differentiate from the huntable Plains Bison, whole different temperament)
Cougar
Alligator
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Well Mig if we are including relatives then we have no unique animals as there are bear species all over the northern hemisphere and South America which although are not identical are similar and closely related to the blackie, mountain goat is actually closely related to chamois and tahr and they are all over Europe's alps and NZ, likewise our pronghorn are very closely related to the Indian blackbuck and the chamois family as well. You split mule deer out as a specialty species of deer and yet you include the NA wapiti as just another elk like animal like red deer, European stag etc. In reality it is just another subspecies of the deer family no different than Axis deer, Rusa deer, Sika deer or WT for that matter. If Dall sheep aren't any different from the other 28 or so species of wild sheep then how can mule deer be different than the 50 or so other species of deer worldwide. And in actuality the Kamchatka sheep species are classed as a bighorn not a thinhorn at all.
Australia really is the only continent with truly unique and unrelated fauna in the world, if you want to get right down to REAL uniqueness.
It is also unfounded that a class of animal be unique to a given continent, to be included in a class like The Big Five of Africa..........elephants are indigenous to at least 2 continents and some say 3, lions roamed 3 continents once upon a time, leopards are almost world wide except NA, SA, (which does in fact have their own leopard, the jaguar,) and Oz. Rhinoceros likewise have 2 or 3 continents to call home, as does the several species of true buffalo. So uniqueness to a region or even a continent isn't necessary as a criteria for inclusion in a regions Big Five or Ten or whatever, big game or dangerous game list.
Australia really is the only continent with truly unique and unrelated fauna in the world, if you want to get right down to REAL uniqueness.
It is also unfounded that a class of animal be unique to a given continent, to be included in a class like The Big Five of Africa..........elephants are indigenous to at least 2 continents and some say 3, lions roamed 3 continents once upon a time, leopards are almost world wide except NA, SA, (which does in fact have their own leopard, the jaguar,) and Oz. Rhinoceros likewise have 2 or 3 continents to call home, as does the several species of true buffalo. So uniqueness to a region or even a continent isn't necessary as a criteria for inclusion in a regions Big Five or Ten or whatever, big game or dangerous game list.
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