Although hunting is essentially the trapping and killing of animals, there are differences between animals that are killing. Someone who sets traps and hunts illegal animals (ie those on the verge of extinction) is not a hunter, but a poacher. The art of illegally hunting animals is called poaching. Whilst using a fishing rod and hook to catch fish is also an example of trapping and killing animals, fishing is generally not considered part of hunting.
While the object of hunting is very simple to comprehend (kill the animal you are tracking), there are many ways to do it. In the past, humans used to practice persistence hunting, which is basically chasing the prey (usually antelope) until it gets tired. This requires extreme physical training, as in the past men often had to run between two and five hours to catch a single antelope, and rests were rarely allowed to be taken because then the prey could rest as well. Once the antelope was tired enough, it could be killed by a hunter from close range with a spear or knife. This form of persistence hunting is still practiced in some areas of Africa.
Hunting also has been done with animals; most specifically the dog. Dog is known as “man’s best friend”, before that it was the main reason for man’s source of food as well. Dogs have also been used for fighting in armies before, meaning they were not just useful to the hunter, but to the army general as well. Dogs are extremely good for hunting because they have both a better sense of hearing and a quicker speed than man, meaning they can scent out and chase prey with ease. If trained, dogs can turn savage enough to kill the prey.
Hunting is also practiced as a social activity; however it is not taken as seriously as the above two ways. In modern times, men play golf to compete against other men, in the past a hunter used to practice shooting (usually of birds) to compete against another hunter. Whilst it was mainly only the richest people that did this in ancient times, as only they could afford it, it has become a lot cheaper for the modern hunter and there are outposts (especially in Africa) where people are allowed to practice this.
As hunting is practiced all over the world, there are many variations of how animals are killed and it is called different things in different countries. The most well known activity is the Safari, which mainly takes place in Africa. Whilst in modern times this is a journey just to see the animals, as well as a photo taking opportunity as no animals are killed, in the past it used to be a long hunting trip that tourists could pay (generally a lot of) money to participate in.