At this date, Hoffman says that Malawi's wildlife has all but disappeared anywhere except in protected areas. Outside of national parks, little land has remained uncultivated or unsettled, so it's up to protected areas to maintain game animals. Huntable species in Malawi are very limited, he says, but are coming back due to these efforts. The main species he hunts is nyala, but there are also some blue wildebeest, zebra and common waterbuck.
Hoffman operates on a controlled conservation area south of Blantyre in the Shire Valley across from Lengwe National Park. The reserve is small, under 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres), and fenced. But, he says it is the only game ranch in Malawi currently offering hunting safaris. He describes it as very thick terrain sustaining over 300 nyala, as well as some other game animals.
Hoffman says they have a quota of 30 nyala this year, and some small quotas for wildebeest, zebra and waterbuck. The season is year-round, but May through August is the best time, as the weather is cooler than September through December and the period of January through April is very wet with........(continued)
