Namibia Elephant Hunter Takes 80-Pounder in Nyae Nyae Conservancy

In Namibia, elephant hunting guide Kai-Uwe Denker sent me word of another 80-pounder taken by one of his clients in the Nyae Nyae Conservancy (former Bushmanland). The tusks were officially weighed at 81 x 74 pounds. (See photo in our Trophy Gallery.) The longer right tusk measures five feet and eight inches (1.75 meters) with a circumference at the lip of 21½ inches (55 centimeters). The big elephant was taken by South African hunter Eben Espach, who reports seeing 41 bulls in six days. On day five, he says they were among 17 bulls for about five hours before picking out the one he eventually shot. Due to wind and the number of bulls together, he says they just couldn't get the right shot, so they pulled out late in the day to let them rest. The next day, he says they were looking for leopard tracks at a water pan quite a distance from where they had left the elephant the previous day and came across two very large tracks. They started tracking the elephants at 11 am and caught up with two bulls about 4 pm. The big one they had picked out the day before was one of the bulls they were following, and with the wind in Espach's favor, he moved in quickly to take the bull. Espach describes the affair as a hard fair chase hunt. He also reports taking a roan after tracking it for six hours.

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