See List of Exotic Ranches and Outfitters with Affordable Prices and Hunting Packages for Watusi Trophy Hunts.

Cost and Trophy Fee for a Watusi hunt

A record trophy hunt in Texas is generally between $3,000 and $6,000. If you’d just like to hunt for meat, though, it will be about half of that. Prices depend on the animals and the length of the hunt.

Hunting Season

All Year

Watusi Trophy Hunts

The Watusi is an incredible animal with hulking horns that are sometimes bigger around than a man’s arm. This insane circumference has drawn comparisons to a Texas Longhorn, but these cattle often dwarf the longhorn. In fact, the horns on some have reached a jaw-dropping eight feet from tip-to-tip. The horns make an impressive trophy for any room.

Physical Characteristics

It’s not just the horns that are big, though; the Watsui, often referred to as an Ankole, will weight between 900 and 1,600 pounds. Though larger cattle can be found, this is far larger than many exotic game animals, like sheep and goats. Bulls tend to be 1,200 pounds at minimum. The coloring tends to be mostly dark or light brown, though they can have spots of white and white bellies. The lower legs also trend toward white. The hair stays very short for the most part, though long tufts can be found.

Origins

The Watusi originally came from Africa, where they’ve been incredibly important for about 6,000 years as a major food source. They originally descended from Aurochs, which have been extinct since the 17th century. The Watusi were first brought from Africa to Europe, and then Walter Schultz took the first one from Europe to the United States back in the 1960s. They have thrived and grown in number ever since.

Ecology/Social Characteristics

As with other cattle, the Watusi live in herds. This is part of their defense mechanism, especially for the calves. These calves are drastically smaller than the bulls, sometimes weighing only 50 pounds, and so they group up and stay near an adult for protection. They sleep this way during the day, when the group is spread out.

At night, though, the entire herd comes back together. They form a roughly circular grouping, with all of the calves gathered together in the middle. The horns are excellent weapons for fending off predators.

Native Habitat and Countries

The Watusi are native to Africa, then moved to Europe, and they’ve now been transported all around the world. They are very tough creatures, able to live in most climates, in large part due to the fact that they can live off of almost any water source and meager food supplies. This makes it easy for them to adapt to whatever is at their disposal, no matter how poor it may be. They have robust digestive systems and high survivability rates.

The Watusi also have blood-vesseled honeycombs in their horns, which they use to help cool off in hot, dry climates.

Contact us for free-range Watusi hunts in South Africa or high-fence hunts in Texas.