Shallom
AH enthusiast
Hunting Tanzania... Success Story
Fresh back from another outing to the Kilombero Valley. Operations have settled down and everyone is back in the groove of things. As with riding a bike, the skill never leaves you, but you can expect a few wobbles after a long spell away. The first safari had it's few moments where staff and hunters showed a few rusty joints, but everything is oiled and functioning perfectly again.
Wild Footprints was host to a couple from the USA and the fine character of the guests showed in the hunting results. In hunting wild lands, nothing pays off like an open mind, optimistic attitude, willingness to work and enjoyment of nature and the hunting opportunity at hand. Dreams were realized and friends were made. The hunt could not have gone any better than it did. Photos of the bag attached. We got everything on license except a bushpig, which we did not hunt. Remove the concept of fenced and man-managed areas when you are dealing with Tanzanian Hunting. These are animals in wild places and with a daily role in the theater of life and death as dictated by mother nature.
With the hunt going so well, we got a chance to hang out some leopard baits and of the three baits set-up, all three were hit. Signs of two good Toms & we are yet to bait our five other locations which should have at least another two big Toms in them. The lion situation is not so great but we are yet to carry-out an in depth investigation in preparation for our October lion safari. Lion numbers are down in the Kilombero due to encroachment and poisoning by Cattle Herders, but we hope the government will make a stand and evict all offenders from the area, so that the Kilombero can slowly return to its' former glory as the densest lion populated area in the world.
Elephants are definitely finding refuge in the Kilombero and it seems that the Riverside Forest has been established as a permanent home now. They usually pass through on their migratory movements, but this time they have decided to stay and we look forward to being able to show you a few good bulls in the near future. The buffalo are as always - thriving! Puku are at an al-time low, but that only means they are down from 60,000 to 15,000 which is still sustainable for an area of 4,000 square kilometers. With the new stand by the government and continued efforts by Wild Footprints, we hope to secure the Kilombero Valley for the long term and maintain it as one of the finest dangerous game hunting grounds in Tanzania.
Interesting sightings on the last safari include; red/blue/bush duikers who all decided to cross the road out of camp and announce their presence at different times during the safari. Bushbuck, elephant, waterbuck, reedbuck, blue & vervet monkeys. Hartebeest, impala, buffalo, puku, zebra, warthog, baboon and mongoose are abundant. All the signs are positive and with a long break until the next safari, we are working hard on all the negative signs. Thanks to the hunters who are still supporting our efforts to keep wild places wild. Reports on all on-going field projects will be shared soon.
That's the summary for now, but more will follow. I hope you are all having a great hunting season wherever you are. Enjoy the privilege. Cheers Folks.
Fresh back from another outing to the Kilombero Valley. Operations have settled down and everyone is back in the groove of things. As with riding a bike, the skill never leaves you, but you can expect a few wobbles after a long spell away. The first safari had it's few moments where staff and hunters showed a few rusty joints, but everything is oiled and functioning perfectly again.
Wild Footprints was host to a couple from the USA and the fine character of the guests showed in the hunting results. In hunting wild lands, nothing pays off like an open mind, optimistic attitude, willingness to work and enjoyment of nature and the hunting opportunity at hand. Dreams were realized and friends were made. The hunt could not have gone any better than it did. Photos of the bag attached. We got everything on license except a bushpig, which we did not hunt. Remove the concept of fenced and man-managed areas when you are dealing with Tanzanian Hunting. These are animals in wild places and with a daily role in the theater of life and death as dictated by mother nature.
With the hunt going so well, we got a chance to hang out some leopard baits and of the three baits set-up, all three were hit. Signs of two good Toms & we are yet to bait our five other locations which should have at least another two big Toms in them. The lion situation is not so great but we are yet to carry-out an in depth investigation in preparation for our October lion safari. Lion numbers are down in the Kilombero due to encroachment and poisoning by Cattle Herders, but we hope the government will make a stand and evict all offenders from the area, so that the Kilombero can slowly return to its' former glory as the densest lion populated area in the world.
Elephants are definitely finding refuge in the Kilombero and it seems that the Riverside Forest has been established as a permanent home now. They usually pass through on their migratory movements, but this time they have decided to stay and we look forward to being able to show you a few good bulls in the near future. The buffalo are as always - thriving! Puku are at an al-time low, but that only means they are down from 60,000 to 15,000 which is still sustainable for an area of 4,000 square kilometers. With the new stand by the government and continued efforts by Wild Footprints, we hope to secure the Kilombero Valley for the long term and maintain it as one of the finest dangerous game hunting grounds in Tanzania.
Interesting sightings on the last safari include; red/blue/bush duikers who all decided to cross the road out of camp and announce their presence at different times during the safari. Bushbuck, elephant, waterbuck, reedbuck, blue & vervet monkeys. Hartebeest, impala, buffalo, puku, zebra, warthog, baboon and mongoose are abundant. All the signs are positive and with a long break until the next safari, we are working hard on all the negative signs. Thanks to the hunters who are still supporting our efforts to keep wild places wild. Reports on all on-going field projects will be shared soon.
That's the summary for now, but more will follow. I hope you are all having a great hunting season wherever you are. Enjoy the privilege. Cheers Folks.
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