I don't know if this will interest anyone, but I thought I'd post some pictures. I was given this trap as a wedding present from a friend whose family owned a safari business in Mozambique. The natives over there are poor, and poaching game and timber is an extreme temptation for them. I'm told that they can earn more building and selling a trap than they can working two weeks. They will strip spring steel, often leaf springs from a vehicle, and go off in the bush and set up a primitive forge to heat and shape the steel.
The traps are set in game trails without any particular target as any bush meat has value. I'm told that upon discovery by a game warden, they will sometimes move the trap and attempt to catch the poachers with it, and the poachers will also attempt to catch the warden if they find he's discovered their operation. The trap takes three men to set, one one either side of a log pressing on the spring, and one to set the jaws. I've not set this trap but I suppose the jaw spread would be around 12 inches. The pan assembly is made to fall off after a catch to keep it from being damaged, so the pans often don't match the trap perfectly. The trap has a chain, but it seems that they usually don't anchor the trap, they simply follow the trail of the now impaired animal.
Anyway, I hope some of you enjoy the pictures.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2025/07/full-27459-263084-kimg3113.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2025/07/full-27459-263085-kimg3114.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2025/07/full-27459-263086-kimg3115.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2025/07/full-27459-263087-kimg3116.jpg)