[Blue93]

2:12pm UK, Thursday May 07, 2009

An American woman has slaughtered an elephant with a bow and arrow... to win a bet.


The Texas-born hunter killed the elephant with a single shot

Teressa Groenewald-Hagerman was so proud, she posted pictures on the internet showing her beaming beside her kill in Zimbabwe.

The 39-year-old huntress said she crept into a herd of 37 elephants, knelt down, and shot the grand creature from just 12 yards.
It staggered 500 yards before it collapsed, then she left it to die overnight.

Ms Groenewald-Hagerman is the first woman known to have killed an elephant with a bow and arrow.
The Kansas born woman slaughtered the animal to win a bet with a male friend who said she would be unable to pull the heavy bow required.
For eight months she worked out for four hours a day so she could pull a £450 PSE X Force bow.
The lethal weapon has a 'draw weight' of 90lb - more than twice the amount pulled by female olympic archers.

Teressa Groenewald-Hagerman


On the hunting website Hunts of a Lifetime Ms Groenewald-Hagerman wrote: "A man by the name of Larry, who is a videographer for Orion Multi Media, bet me I couldn't shoot a buffalo or elephant with a bow.
"He indicated only one or two women had completed the buffalo with a bow and no woman had ever taken an elephant with a bow. Of course, I couldn't turn down the challenge."

The blonde has received praise from other hunters in online posts.
One blogger on texasbowhunter.com described her as: "Stunning looking, and a (sic) avid hunter.
"Her shot was made at 12 yards and the Bull traveled (sic) 500 yards before going down. 500 African Villagers were fed with the meat from the Bull. (sic)", Africanbowhunter said.
Another called BO-N-ARO wrote: "12 yards!!! I bet they had a great blood trail because of the low entry!! She had to have been shooting UP! That has to be one of the best examples of setting a goal and working hard to achieve it!"

The last person known to have killed an elephant with a bow was a man called Howard Hill, 60 years ago. It has rarely been attempted since.
Hunting elephants for sport is not illegal in some parts of Africa and many tour companies allow tourists to join organised hunting trips.

[jbug]

I'm sorry but that is just wrong. I'm all for improving yourself but not like that.

Jan

At least the meat was used to feed the villagers. I don't really mind hunting as long as the animal is being used for something like food, clothing, etc... and not just as a trophy (Just my opinion)

Originally Posted by Blue93

Teressa Groenewald-Hagerman was so proud, she posted pictures on the internet showing her beaming beside her kill in Zimbabwe.

The 39-year-old huntress said she crept into a herd of 37 elephants, knelt down, and shot the grand creature from just 12 yards.
It staggered 500 yards before it collapsed, then she left it to die overnight.

not only did she kill an elephant for no good reason (her own entertainment? to settle a bet? sick reasoning) she shot it and let it bleed to death? she didn't even kill it quickly. she left the innocent thing to cling to its life and die slowly. this makes me sick.

and she's beaming with PRIDE? she killed an animal in a cruel way that maximized its suffering. if you're going to kill an elephant at least let it die with some dignity and don't leave it to bleed to death in the night.

[Blue93]

i never heard what she did with the elephant after she went on a photo with it.
After she let it BLEED to death
Also, elephants are ENDANGERED
it's just plain wrong

even if it hadn't been endangered, the cruelty involved in the killing is sickening.

Yeah I agree that letting it bleed to death was a horrible thing but I was referring to "500 African Villagers were fed with the meat from the Bull." which in the end, makes it a heck of a lot better then she just shot it so she could prove herself, it bled to death, and then just left the carcass there. It's bad, but not nearly as bad a poachers who kill and elephant just to saw off it's tusks and then just leave it there. Which is why I'm not horribly offended by this.

[Blue93]

She did it because of a ****ing BET. At least the poachers do it for money. Not a good reason, still, but the fact that she gave the meat to the villagers does not make it any better in my eyes. she did it for the bet....

[SeptemberMorn]

Texas has the biggest of everything they say. In this case, it has the biggest fool on earth!

I'm with Kaika, though. At least it didn't die in vain. His meat fed quite a few hungry people.

[Blue93]

hmmmm i guess we're disagreeing about that point..

[wanttoheal]

And it's okay to disagree respectfully.

[SeptemberMorn]

Originally Posted by Blue93

hmmmm i guess we're disagreeing about that point..

That's okay, Blue. You're entitled to your own opinions. I think it was horrible of her to do what she did. It's stupid and self-centered. But the deed is done. You can't undo it. Might as well feed some hungry people.

My first thought when I read is "now who's gonna take HER down for the hell of it?? "

[Brian37]

unfortunately the herds in Africa have to thinned because their habitat is dwindling and whats left can only support a certain number of animals....it also helps to prevent poaching as well...

[radio_flyer]

So sad that someone would kill an animal on a bet. And she is soo proud of herself.. Is just soooo wrong...Even tho the elephant was fed to hungry people, it is just sooooo wrong....

[GrayNess]

I'd be more impressed if she shot it and the elephant died sooner rather than having it bleed out (not an honourable kill). However, it is rather impressive that she was able to fire such a strong crossbow. The bet part doesn't bother me for a simple reason: hunters kill for money, she killed for money too. She got something and the villagers got something.

[Blue93]

But Brian since when is killing an elephant for a bet better then for poaching...
Their habitat IS dwindling... That is part of the reason why they are slowly going extinct. There are many projects to prevent elephants from going extinct so how exactly is this a good thing that she kills one?

If there are to many elephants they bring them to another part of Africa where they need more. Also it is up to rangers (or however they are called there) to be concerned about the number of animals and what to do about it, NOT stupid tourists who go to Africa so they can kill an endangered animal...

She didn't do it for the money. She did it because a guy said she couldn't. So she felt she had to prove herself.

On another note. She could also have spent the time she used on training with the crossbow and working out to raise funds to support poor people in Africa. She could have spent the money she spent on this trip, on poor people in Africa. Or closer to home, the Red Cross or something.

In my opinion it's just plain wrong. The fact the villagers got the meat to eat doesn't make it right in my eyes, not even a little bit.

I don't understand poaching or hunting, or why people like to kill animals. I guess that's a little hypocritic cause i'm not a vegetarian. But I still don't understand it.
The hunting forestrangers do (like deer and wild swine and such) is different cause it is to protect the balance of wildlife and nature.

But to kill an animal like an elephant? No. That's just... wrong.

[Christina86]

Hello everyone.

I know this is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people. I can see that it is, and for a lot of good reasons.

However, please be mindful of what you write here. I don't wish to see this turning into a debate and I don't want this conversation to become a heated argument where other people get hurt.

I know we all care passionately about this issue - but PLEASE take a step back and breathe before you post further to this thread.

Just a friendly reminder - thanks everyone!