January 2023

Contents

Editorial by Richard Lendrum (Scroll down to read)
Wildlife Column by Dr John Ledger
Book Review: Hunter by Ken Bailey
Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Ch 13 by Neil Harmse
Giant Sable Conservation in Angola by Pedro Vaz Pinto
Hunting the Big Little Buck by Daryl Crimp
The Dugga Boy by Ken Moody
Mayo Oldiri trophies
Game Trackers Africa at DSC '23
Zambeze Delta Safaris is all about buffalo
African Dawn outfitters

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Editorial

Scramble from Africa

Dallas is where the marketing season kicks off for outfitters from Africa.

And it appears to have done just that! I’m not sure of the number of outfitters and PHs that descend on the USA, but it would be an interesting statistic. If there is a gap between shows in Dallas, Houston, Reno, Salt Lake, Denver, to Nashville where the SCI show is held this year, there is also a show to attend in Mexico. There are private house parties, chapter functions – you name it - it’s a scramble from Africa! And I have not even mentioned the western and eastern European shows, Scandinavian, Russian and the Middle East that are all spread out over the year.

These shows cost a fortune. Time is precious. There are so many people to see and there is so much potential, and so it really is a challenge.

We have to make the effort to go, to make sure we peddle our wares. And wares we have in abundance on the African continent.

Right off the bat from month one, AHG Monthly is starting off the year by bringing you information, pics and trophy news from Africa. As I draft this note, we’re starting in Cameroon, where the mother of all antelopes, the Lord Derby eland, is being hunted. Mayo Oldiri’s trophies show you what I mean.

While you have plenty of choices out there – please do your homework. These next few months are when the majority of the bookings are made, and you need to be aware of how you spend your precious time and money.

Our African Dawn Outfitters have everything you need from the north to the south of Africa. You need to carefully research to select that next safari destination and outfitter.

I leave you to enjoy this first month’s edition.

Best wishes for the year ahead.

Richard Lendrum

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Wildlife Column

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was opened for signature in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and entered into force in December 1993. The CBD is an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources.

With 196 Parties, the CBD has near universal participation among countries. The Convention seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services. The ‘Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety’ and the ‘Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing’ are supplementary agreements to the CBD.

The Cartagena Protocol, which entered into force on 11 September 2003, seeks to protect biodiversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. To date, 173 Parties have ratified the Cartagena Protocol.

Classic and Contemporary African Hunting Literature:

Hunter

At times we have a tendency to ignore or belittle the common in favor of whatever shiny new penny comes along; judging by all the love given the new 6.5, .27 and .28 rounds on the market, this is certainly true when it comes to hunting cartridges. Having just reread Hunter, I suspect it’s also true for African hunting literature.

For many, in North America at least, with the possible exception of Capstick’s Death in the Long Grass, Hunter was the first African hunting book many of us read.

Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Ch 14

When it comes to ‘outdoors men’ (sorry, ladies, this is a man thing!), have you ever wondered what it is that sets us apart from one another? I am particularly referring to the older generation of hunters, fishermen, bird-watchers and general outdoors guys. What is it that gives each of us a characteristic, individual look?

Well, I have discovered the reason: over the years, we have become attached to a dirty, smelly old friend from which we simply cannot tear ourselves away.

Giant Sable Conservation in Angola

This past year finally allowed us to move forward with routine activities and reach a quasi-normality state after two years of facing all sorts of constraints derived from Covid-19 related restrictions. And on the ground, the year of 2022 did also feel different from the kick-off, if nothing else because in the two previous years, we faced a severe drought in the giant sable areas. But the seasonal rains which started in the last quarter of 2021 intensified significantly throughout the first quarter of 2022 and extended well into May.

It’s a pity that we don’t have a functional weather station, but I felt that this was probably one of the wettest rainy seasons for the giant sable areas in the last two decades.

Hunting the Big Little Buck

“He’s an absolute monster,” said PH Pete matter-of-factly, “and he lives on this big plateau.”
‘Big’ was an understatement. Even ‘huge’ didn’t cut it. The landscape in Eastern Cape is steroid- expansive, and Pete’s ‘plateau’ was the size of Switzerland. The ‘he’ Pete was referring to was a steenbok and, paradoxically, the ‘monster’ was a bit bigger than a hare but smaller than a large puppy. One of South Africa’s ‘tiny ten’ antelope, it is a fascinating animal...

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