In January 2006, Hunting Report subscriber Jack Brittingham took over what was TAWICO, known now solely as Tanzania Wildlife Company Limited, and he is operating it independently of Usangu. The concessions controlled by Tanzania Wildlife Company (www.tanzania quest.com) include three areas in the Selous Game Reserve (U3, MA1 and LU4), plus Rungwa Game Reserve, Rungwa Ikili and Lake Natron Game Control Area.
Brittingham, we are told, has made a huge investment in these areas, putting six million dollars into completely new camps, generators and vehicles. He has also invested in trail cameras and other equipment to assess populations of lions and leopards. Although he retained many of the camp staff, Brittingham has brought in a new camp manager and new PH's.
Leon Lamprecht, whom you may recognize as the PH who produced big jumbo in Mozambique, has come on as managing director. In an e-mail to us about Brittingham's plans for the company, he says the man has made a long-term commitment to Tanzania and the conservation of game there, particularly lion and elephant. At this point, after spending more than two months in the field assessing game quality, he says everyone was pleasantly surprised to find out how good the overall game quality was. This past season, because they did not know the exact condition of game populations in the concessions, Lamprecht says they were very conservative in their bookings, selling only 40 percent of their overall quota.
It's worth noting that in several hunting areas he says they spotted a few shootable lions and several that will be mature enough to hunt in two to three years. Although they are not currently selling lion hunts, Lamprecht says they will allow a client to take a lion if he and his PH happen upon a mature one. The........(continued)
