Karl,

You have convinced me: Trophy judging - actually age judging - of eland is very difficult.

Just as at 63 I've still got most of my hair, while my son in law was a total egghead since just past schooldays. I'm now beginning to get seriously gray, while I know guys who are pure white at half my age. My face is beginning to look wrinkled, and some look like parchment at much younger age. Beer belly is another sign of old age in man, yet the biggest bellies are on youngsters. Getting bent legs is another sign of age, as is a shuffling gait when walking. In man lack of interest in sex is probably a good indicator of being 'past breedinbg age'!

But just as attributes these in isolation does not give an accurate estimation of age in man, your photos convinced me that length, size of tufft or darkness of foread tufft of hair, nor "blueness in neck and shoulder area", nor horn size or even horn wear alone give a good indication of age in an eland.

Yet if an eland has most of these he is probably older than normal breeding age.

Thanks Karl for taking the time to put all those nice photos on the posting. Now I'm convinced that it is not easy at all!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren