Posts Tagged ‘south africa hunting’
Saturday, September 4th, 2010
The following is an email response to a Global Sporting Safaris customer who is considering an Africa Lion Hunting Safari in 2011. The customer’s email request was somewhat vague so Bob’s response was used to get a better idea of what the prospective lion hunter wanted to accomplish.
Response:
Lion hunting in Africa today is a lot like buying a car – different makes and models. In this case, lion hunting is primarily restricted to the following countries (countries where lions can be legally imported back to the US): Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe and the costs for these hunts vary dramatically.
Insofar as the lions are concerned, there are Estate lions in South Africa that have been born and raised in captivity (more on this in a moment) and free-range lions in most of the other destinations. More importantly, success rates will vary with the particular destination as will the mane quality of the lion. There has been an international effort to restrict the taking of lions less than six years of age and most of the professional hunters in the free-range states are very careful to adhere to this policy and, in point of fact, there are penalties in some countries for the taking of a lion less than six years old. The reason for this is that after six, these males are deemed to be no longer dominant and have probably been kicked out of the pride by a younger male, so these males have done their breeding and the taking of an older male does not disrupt the structure of the pride.
Those males that live in the dense thorn of the lowveld in Zimbabwe and Mozambique tend to have scraggly manes as their daily life in the thorn suppresses the luxurious manes typically found on East African lions or seen at the movie theater. There are exceptions of course, but not often.
For the Estate lions in South Africa, you can choose whether you want an “MGM” lion or something a bit less for a lesser amount of money. These lions are behind high fences in very large paddocks and the hunting is still fair chase (spot and stalk or tracking) and is no less exciting than hunting a free range lion. The difference is that it is generally cheaper and you are assured of taking a lion – unlike lion hunting in the other destinations.
So, this is lion 101. In order to start working on a hunt, I need to know your preferences and whether you have a philosophical objection to hunting an estate lion or whether you would prefer to hunt a free range lion over bait in the traditional manner. Aside from the Estate lions in South Africa, there is free range lion hunting in the areas surrounding Kruger National Park, but it is expensive. The next rung up the ladder from a cost standpoint would be Zimbabwe, then Zambia, with Tanzania being the top of the heap from a pricing standpoint. Lion are available in Mozambique, but both quotas and success rates are not as good as my previous suggestions. The other question would be if there is quota available in Zimbabwe, Zambia or Tanzania for 2011 as lion hunting is quite popular, the quotas remain low and there was a fear this past year that seasons would be closed as a result of the CITES COP 15 in Doha. As it turned out, we were able to defeat the proposal to uplist lions once again, but the fear remains – which has affected the availability of lion and driven the cost up (basic supply and demand).
Once you have reviewed the information and given me an idea as to your preferences and preferred budget, then I will start the process of narrowing your choices down and provide pricing and availability.
In the meantime, I hope that you have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!
Sincerely,
Robert M. Anderson
Certified Wildlife Biologist
Africa Program Director
About Global Sporting Safaris, Inc.
Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. is a Full-Service Hunting Booking Agency located in Casper, Wyoming and established in 1991. We have a staff of 7 Hunting Consultants and Fishing Travel Agents with a combined 175 years of experience. We specialize in Africa Hunting Safaris, New Zealand Hunting and Argentina Hunting. Global Sporting Safaris invests time, effort and financial resources in developing our hunting trips with a constant eye on the quality and professional services they offer.
Tags: Africa Lion Hunting, African Lion Hunting, hunt zimbabwe, hunting in mozambique, hunting in tanzania, hunting in zambia, hunting in zimbabwe, Hunting Tanzania, Hunting Zimbabwe, lion hunt, lion hunting, mozambique hunting, mozambique hunting safari, mozambique hunting safaris, mozambique lion hunting, south africa hunting, south africa lion hunting, south african hunting, tanzania hunt, tanzania hunting, tanzania hunting safari, tanzania lion hunting, zambia hunt, zambia hunting, zambia hunting safaris, zambia lion hunting, zimbabwe hunting safari, zimbabwe hunting safaris, zimbabwe lion hunting
Posted in Africa, Hunting, Hunting Destination, International Travel, Lion Hunting, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
A number of sources have reported that rhino poaching in the Republic of South Africa has surged. The cause is reported to be Chinese use of the horn in medicines and as an aphrodisiac, despite scientific proof that horn does not contain such medicinal properties. Scientifically, horn is no more than keratin, which is the protein found in hair and nails. There is no evidence that biting one’s nails improves one’s sexual capacity. Then again, why are there very many nail salons? Ha.
Last year 120 rhino were poached. So far this year, 124 have already been poached for a total of 244 in one and one-half years. This is more than the whole decade before 2009. For instance, only 10 were poached in 2008.
The South African authorities are not idle as they have already made 42 arrests this year. Unfortunately, some of those reported arrests include professional hunters. The poaching is also occurring on private lands by sophisticated means such as helicopters and soundlessly with crossbows. It is crucial that private landholders not lose their incentive to maintain their populations due to the heightened risks. – John J. Jackson, III.
Reprinted with permission from The Conservation Force Bulletin, produced by John J. Jackson, III of Conservation Force and published by The Hunting Report.
Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. is a Full-Service Hunting Consultant Agency located in Casper, Wyoming and established in 1991. We have a staff of 7 Hunting Consultants and Fishing Travel Agents with a combined 175 years of experience. We hold integrity, ethics and honesty in high regard and deal with each client in a one on one basis. Global Sporting Safaris invests time, effort and financial resources in developing our outfitters and guides with a constant eye on the quality and professional services they offer.
Tags: Conservation Force Bulletin, Global Sporting Safaris, GSSafaris, Hunting, hunting consultant, hunting consultants, Poachers, rhino poaching, South Africa, south africa game hunting, south africa hunting, south african hunting, The Hunting Report
Posted in Conservation, Hunting Destination, Miscellaneous, Poaching, South Africa |
Friday, July 9th, 2010
The information below is an answer for a Client requesting a short duration group Leopard Hunting Safari. Our GSS Hunting Consultant Africa Specialist, Bob Anderson, wrote the following response.
Based on your conversation with Rick yesterday concerning a short leopard hunt for three to four hunters, let me give you my perspective on this.
Most, if not all, leopard hunts are a minimum of 14 days in length and are conducted one on one. To have 3 to 4 hunters in one camp that all want leopard at the same time will be virtually impossible – so somebody would go home empty handed. One of my best outfitters has a success on leopard that runs around 85% on 14 day hunts – cut that time in half and the odds of being successful go way down. The outfitters set the length of these safaris based on the amount of time reasonably necessary to take the targeted species.
That is not to say that you couldn’t book a 14 day leopard hunt with the caveat that your group would, by necessity, have to be split up so that your hunts are not competing against one another and if you were all successful in less than 14 days, then you could leave once you had collected your cats. You can also increase your odds of success by pre-baiting where the outfitter sets approximately 15 different baits per hunter in the hopes that one or more baits will be active upon your arrival. Most outfitters will not charge you extra to pre-bait other than the bait fees themselves which run $100/animal for bait impala. I have attached a photo of a leopard that was just taken on the first day of the hunt by using the pre-baiting approach, but this is the exception, not the rule and you are still running the risk that one of you will come home empty handed (when talking four hunters). The outfitters will not even consider a shorter hunt as leopard is in fairly high demand and they can sell the hunt to someone else for the full 14 days and these hunters will likely take trophy plains game species as well.
The best time to hunt baited leopard in April until mid May so you have missed the best time this year and this outfitter has already sold all of his leopard hunts for 2010 anyway, so we would be looking at 2011 at the earliest. I have an enquiry into another one of our outfitters in Zimbabwe to see if he has any openings left for this year, but it is highly unlikely at this late date – particularly for three or four hunters.
Insofar as hunting with dogs, there are very few good houndsmen available, they are typically all booked well in advance, and to try and bay four mature male leopards in five to seven days is also virtually impossible. Hunting must be done very early in the morning while the spoor is still fresh and it becomes increasingly difficult as the morning progresses to find fresh spoor that can be tracked by the dogs – so this is hit or miss, takes time, and is not something that is conducive to a group hunt in a short period of time either. Just being honest!
Now, there is another alternative that fits right into your hunting plans and that is lion hunting in South Africa. These are captive raised lions that are behind fences in pastures that are thousands of acres in size. There is no baiting involved, you are not trying to lure lions to a bait placed outside of a national park - the lions are there, they know how big they are, and it is fair chase hunting in that you will track the lions on foot until the lion is located and a shot presents itself and it can be dangerous. Following is an excerpt I received from my outfitter in South Africa this morning:
“I had 2 clients last year who hunted lion. The 1st client from New Jersey hunted a lioness. The 2nd client from Austria hunted a male lion. We hunted in the North West province near the border of Botswana. The owners have a property of 30,000 acres and the area where the lions are is about 11,000 acres. This was one of the most exiting hunts I have ever done. The PH who went with us was very professional. The area is very sandy. The evening before the day of the hunt, just before dark, they broom the roads. Early in the morning of the hunt we drive on the roads and search for tracks. Once we found the tracks we have to walk from there on. We follow the tracks on foot till we find the lions and then we hunt them. This is a fair chase and very exciting. It is really a fantastic adrenaline rush because the lion can at any time be behind any bush. Our 2 hunts were very successful and the hunters shot well.”
The outfitter advises that he can arrange lion hunting for three to four hunters at the same time. The trophy fee on a male lion would run between $30,000 and $50,000 depending on the size of the mane. I have attached pictures of a male lion in the $35,000 price range. The daily rate of $450/day per hunter is not included in the price and he currently has openings this year as follows: June 1-10, July 5-15, September 2-14, or anytime in October.
If you would prefer to take a lioness (just as exciting, but no “MGM” manes), the trophy fee would be $9,500 and she would be hunted under the same conditions. The normal plains game would also be available on the hunt at the published trophy fee rate.
If you have a group that wants to hunt the big cats and only have a limited amount of time – this will be about the best that I can do.
Let me know if you have any questions or require any additional information in this regard.
Sincerely,
Bob Anderson
Certified Wildlife Biologist
Hunting Consultant & Africa Program Director
Global Sporting Safaris, Inc.
Tags: Africa Lion Hunting, African Lion Hunting, bow hunting south africa, Global Sporting Safaris, GSSafaris, hunting booking agent, hunting consultant, leopard hunt, leopard hunting, plains game hunting, south africa game hunting, south africa hunting, south african hunting
Posted in Africa, Dangerous Game, Hunting, Hunting Destination, Leopard Hunting |
