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Some of this is repeated from what earlier posters have written.

The Northern Territory was first attempted to be settled by the British on the Cobourg Peninsula at the "Victoria" Settlement in 1838. This settlement was abandoned in 1849.

The British named the peninsula, Cobourg. In more recent years the Aboriginal name was recognised with the park which occupies a lot of the peninsula being named, Gurig Banuk Barlu. I use the word Cobourg because I do not remember the local traditional owner name well. And visitors probably remember Cobourg more easily.

When the settlement was abandoned stock brought over from Indonesia and elsewhere such as the Timor and Javan Water Buffalo and Banteng and wild pigs were released. Other game originated from this time? Maybe Sambar I don't know.

The only game in the Northern Territory with a declared season and bag limits are waterfowl, ducks and geese.

However the Top End, the Northern part of the Northern Territory is in the tropics, and so has a dry season and a Wet (rainy monsoon season). Generally the Wet is from late November or December to April to May. Give or take. It is also quite a bit hotter from October to November and humidity increasing in November without the rains to ease the humidity.

So it becomes more difficult to hunt or travel during the Wet. Unless one is in situ like the local residents! Some areas are probably accessible, but most outfitters start in June or July and finish August to October. May and June is greener, more water around. July and August are choice months.

Back to the animals.

Many of the very large Northern and Central cattle stations (ranches) in the Northern Territory, Far North Queensland, Northern Western Australia and Central Australia have areas which are not really managed or worked at all. I know of one property where really only ten percent of the property is actively managed. So there can be cattle that have never been mustered or handled. Bulls as one knows can be aggressive and property owners or managers often do not mind the feral scrub bulls being shot.

Alan Moon - "4seventy" - has mentioned he has found scrub bulls charge more than other bovines in his experience. They do seem quite aggressive.

Aussies hunt them with everything from deer calibres to big bores. For a visiting client probably a 9.3 or .375 and up is recommended. If charged dropping the animal well is a good idea.

Scrub bulls also exist in other parts of Australia. For example Kangaroo Island is or was said to have wild cattle in the Western parts of the island. Plus wild pigs for other two hundred years. However I personally could not vouch for these wild cattle reports but have seen it claimed in stories.

Banteng are very rare internationally but the Top End's herds are the largest most viable wild herds. Hunting of them free range is not possible anywhere else legally. They are "tolerated" by National Parks, but not necessarily liked and could face a sudden order to be exterminated one day. Merely because they are introduced.

The two principal places banteng are hunted by clients are Cobourg and behind wire at Mary River. As was said in another post, they are reported to exist outside the Gurig Banuk Barlu Park as well on other Aboriginal lands in Arnhemland. I do not believe these are offered for 'safari' hunting, but more if permission is given by the traditional owners in those areas.

There are two outfitters whom have rights to operate on the peninsula. However several other outfitters work with these outfitters providing hunts. For example, a sponsor of NitroExpress.com, "Hunt Australia" sells a good number of hunts and works well for their clients.

Bookings can be made with such outfitters according to how many animals have been made available for hunting.

Hope all that helps!

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John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

Edited by NitroX (31/03/10 12:18 AM)