In Namibia, you’ll recall I told you last month that the auction for those trophy hunting concessions managed by the government finally took place in late April just as I was going to print with the May issue of The Hunting Report. For some reason, information on who purchased those concessions has been difficult to obtain from Namibian Parks and Wildlife Management, who have promised to forward a list of those operators but had not done so by press time. I was, however, able to find out who got one of the coveted concessions for black rhino. According to Peter Thormählen of Thormählen and Cochran Safaris Namibia (011-27-13-744-3546; peter@africatrophyhunting.com), his company (which he says is 50 percent Namibian owned) has secured one of these concessions and is currently looking for a client to hunt the first of three black rhino bulls allotted to him.
Thormählen says the concession gives him the right to hunt one black rhino in 2009, 2010 and 2011. These are free-range animals of the desert subspecies (Dicero bicornis bicornis), which is different from the Southern central subspecies (Diceros bicornis minor). Thormählen says the desert subspecies tends to have longer horns, and due to the age class of the bulls available, he is hoping these hunts will produce the new number one black rhino for the record books. Thormählen says there is a real possibility to find a bull with a front horn in the high 20-inch range and a back horn in the high teens. These hunts will be conducted spot-and-stalk, and a hunter should plan on 14 to 21 days to take the right bull. The Namibian professional hunter to guide these hunts will be Volker Grellman.
These hunts are not cheap, as Thormählen is pricing them upwards of $250,000. He is quick to note, however, that this is a very special opportunity for a hunting connoisseur, meaning a very experienced hunter who truly understands the unique nature of this hunt and the species. He is looking for someone with a strong conservation orientation who will take the time to fully appreciate what is a historic event – namely, the comeback of black rhino in Namibia and the ability to hunt this species once again.
Thormählen has experience operating hunts for black rhino, as he was the first operator to do so in South Africa as well. He continues to operate there too, and currently has an opening for a South African black rhino priced at $185,000, plus the license of $1,000 and a daily rate for 10 days of $1,000 per day….
Still in Namibia, Kai-Uwe Denker continues to produce big jumbo for his clients in the Nyae Nyae Conservancy (former Bushmanland). Continuing subscribers know Denker has a history of consistently putting clients on large elephant. Last year, he put 18-year-old Jordan Fields, daughter of former Congressman Jack Fields, on a bull that weighed in at 89.3 x 82.5 pounds. (See Article ID 2109 for the full account.) Denker is an old-fashioned, hard-core elephant hunter, and he reports kicking off the 2009 season by putting German client Norman Kron- seder on a jumbo that has officially weighed in at 81 x 69 pounds. The longer left tusk is six feet and 9.88 inches long (2,08 meters) and has a circumference at the lip of 18.89 inches (48 centimeters). I hope to have a photo of Kronseder and his trophy posted to the Trophy Gallery section of our web site soon. (If elephant hunting is your passion or something you hope to do one day, check out Denker’s book Along The Hunters Path for some breathtaking accounts about hunting this magnificent species. You can read the review in the Online Store on our web site.)
Also in the Nyae Nyae Conservancy, subscriber Dwight Van Brunt reports taking some monster Cape buffalo there last July. He took a bull measuring 51 3/8 inches wide with a 15-inch boss, and his son, Ross, took a buff measuring 48½ inches wide with a 14-inch boss. (See photos in the Trophy Gallery section of our web site.) They hunted in what’s called the Buffalo Quarantine Area, a fenced area within the Conservancy consisting of 34 square miles. The area is restricted, but Park Warden Dries Alberts is among the few with access to it. A licensed PH, Dries operates a limited number of hunts for old bulls that are long past breeding age. The meat and trophy fees go to the people in the surrounding villages.....
