Trophy Shipping nightmare from Mayo Oldiri in Cameroon

[DLSJR]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but congrats on the LDE. They are truly wonderful animals, and not an easy hunt.

I hunted with Mayo Oldiri for LDE in 2029, and at that time they had a pretty robust anti-poaching program. In my two weeks in there we ran into a group of poachers and sent our trackers to find their camp. Once they found the camp and determined that the group was armed, we called in the special anti-poaching group who went after them. After a brief firefight, some poachers escaped, one was caught and at least one other (and perhaps two) succumbed to their "injuries" due to a lack of "timely medical attention."

This led to a visit by the "BIR" or Cameroon special forces (I believe I have a picture somewhere here) who assisted in scouring the area for the poachers.

As for the LDE, I made a mistake, which you avoided. I thought pictures would be trophy enough, so I left the trophy there. I regret that to this day (it's also the only one of the spiral horns I don't have a mount of).

If you don't mind my asking, who was your PH on the hunt, and was he of any assistance with the issue or was he not involved?

Alan Vincent was my PH. Alan had been taking hunters to Mayo Oldiri for about 8 years before the pandemic and he told me that game populations in 2024 were dramatically lower than when he had last seen in February of 2020, right before everything shut down due to the pandemic.

Alan advocated on my behalf several times from when I first booked till now. He’s an old friend whom I’ve known since the 1980’s, when I used to hunt with his father, Roy. I’ve enjoyed 3 great hunts with Alan in the last 3 years, and am working on putting together another hunt with him right now for 2025. He had nothing at all to do with any of the problems. He’s a superb PH whom I’ll continue hunting with so long as we’re both able.

 

[Jerycmeach]

Yesterday was a good day, as I finally was able to bring home my trophies from my Cameroon Savannah hunt last February. However, the ordeal associated with Mayo Oldiri Safaris, then with U.S. Customs really tested my resolve. Were it not for really wanting my Lord Derby Eland, I’d have told Mayo Oldiri to keep the trophies and I’d have just enjoyed having pictures.

First problem - Mayo Oldiri: my hunt included a customary Dip & Pack fee of around $1,500.; which I was expecting. That was paid up-front as part of the hunt cost. What I did not expect was a bill for an additional $5,460.00 to ship my trophies home! I knew I was going to have air freight on Turkish Airlines, but I’d just gotten a crate home from Tanzania and it was about $2,300.00 total cost to SFO. I objected, telling them this price was outrageous and unacceptable, demanding an itemized cost breakdown. I got an itemized bill and they’d reduced the price by $400, so now it was ‘only’ $5,040.; still too high, IMO. The bill indicated Turkish was $3,000; I don’t know if that was Turkish’s actual charge or if Mayo Oldiri had tacked a premium on top of the actual charge for air freight. So there was an additional $2,040 in various bullshit charges for crap I’ve never been charged for on any other shipment from other African countries. As much as this bothered me, I paid the charge as I really wanted my Lord Derby Eland home. My belief is that some or all of these charges are simply Mayo Oldiri padding their charges.

Second problem - U.S. Customs agent, ‘Inspector Colón, at SFO: When the Customs Agent, a woman who only referred to herself as ‘Inspector Colón’ inspected my shipment, she flagged it for having flesh on one or more of the items that required my shipment be sent directly to a USDA Approved facility. Jeremy Delacruz of Coppersmith (he’s excellent, BTW) gave me the choice of facilities I wanted my shipment to be sent to, so I selected Eva Wildlife Dressing, a tannery in Ceres, CA; which is about 90 minutes from my home. Upon opening and inspecting my shipment, Eva advised that they could not find any traces of flesh on anything and requested further clarification. I also wanted to know, so I called US Customs and asked to speak with whoever the inspector was who’d flagged my shipment. I had to leave a message and the next day I was called by Inspector Colón, and she said there was flesh present on an item so she flagged it. When I asked what item had flesh, she got surly and told me she did not need to tell me which item had failed scrutiny, only that something had flesh. I explained that I was trying to resolve the problem and knowing what she wanted cleaned more thoroughly would be helpful. She reiterated that she didn’t have to tell me what item she flagged and it was my problem to figure out with the tannery. I tried again and she became openly hostile, so I ended the call. EVA Wildlife worked with Jeremy Delacruz of Coppersmith and Dr. Rachel Fisher of USDA APHIS (Animal & Plant Health Inspection Services) and after too much time spent by all working on this issue created by Inspector Colòn, Dr. Fisher released my shipment for pickup without anything being done to the shipment. She determined upon personally inspecting my shipment that it was fine as is.

Yesterday, I went to Eva Wildlife Fur Dressing and picked up my crate. Finally, my Lord Derby Eland was home! It’s nice to have the other animals home, but the LDE was the real reason I went through the expense and hassle.

The ‘Good Guys’ - Jeremy Delacruz of Coppersmith is fantastic when it comes to clearing trophies. He highly responsive and stayed fully engaged clear to the end of this debacle. I’ve always been pleased with his service, but now he’s made me a loyal customer for life also Dr. Rachel Fisher of USDA. She was ‘on it’ in dealing with the issue and personally inspected my trophies to clear them. It’s nice to see a Federal Government employee who gives a damn and works in a timely manner to serve the public. Finally, EVA Wildlife. They were very helpful and only charged a reasonable fee for their part in resolving my problem. I toured their tannery while there and was very impressed. They’ve been tanning capes and skins for the taxidermy industry since 1984 and they’ve earned future business from me.

Inspector Colón cost me nearly $1,000 extra expenses, between bonded warehouse storage, freight to EVA and other costs. She has not heard the last from me as I’m working on a letter of complaint that’s going to the San Francisco US Customs office, US Customs headquarters and my Congressman’s office. His office is only five minutes from my house, so I’ll be delivering it in person.

Mayo Oldiri will never see any future business from me. I was not at all pleased with how they handled several issues ranging from a 2nd licenses to shoot extra animals, to how they’ve neglected anti-poaching that has led to a decline in most of their northern areas, to ripping me off on sending my trophies to me. My opinion is that Mayo Oldiri is 100% about $$$ and everything else is secondary. I’d love to hunt Cameroon again, but if I do it’ll be with a different safari operator. If anyone is considering them and wants further details, feel free to PM me.

Yesterday was a good day, as I finally was able to bring home my trophies from my Cameroon Savannah hunt last February. However, the ordeal associated with Mayo Oldiri Safaris, then with U.S. Customs really tested my resolve. Were it not for really wanting my Lord Derby Eland, I’d have told Mayo Oldiri to keep the trophies and I’d have just enjoyed having pictures.

First problem - Mayo Oldiri: my hunt included a customary Dip & Pack fee of around $1,500.; which I was expecting. That was paid up-front as part of the hunt cost. What I did not expect was a bill for an additional $5,460.00 to ship my trophies home! I knew I was going to have air freight on Turkish Airlines, but I’d just gotten a crate home from Tanzania and it was about $2,300.00 total cost to SFO. I objected, telling them this price was outrageous and unacceptable, demanding an itemized cost breakdown. I got an itemized bill and they’d reduced the price by $400, so now it was ‘only’ $5,040.; still too high, IMO. The bill indicated Turkish was $3,000; I don’t know if that was Turkish’s actual charge or if Mayo Oldiri had tacked a premium on top of the actual charge for air freight. So there was an additional $2,040 in various bullshit charges for crap I’ve never been charged for on any other shipment from other African countries. As much as this bothered me, I paid the charge as I really wanted my Lord Derby Eland home. My belief is that some or all of these charges are simply Mayo Oldiri padding their charges.

Second problem - U.S. Customs agent, ‘Inspector Colón, at SFO: When the Customs Agent, a woman who only referred to herself as ‘Inspector Colón’ inspected my shipment, she flagged it for having flesh on one or more of the items that required my shipment be sent directly to a USDA Approved facility. Jeremy Delacruz of Coppersmith (he’s excellent, BTW) gave me the choice of facilities I wanted my shipment to be sent to, so I selected Eva Wildlife Dressing, a tannery in Ceres, CA; which is about 90 minutes from my home. Upon opening and inspecting my shipment, Eva advised that they could not find any traces of flesh on anything and requested further clarification. I also wanted to know, so I called US Customs and asked to speak with whoever the inspector was who’d flagged my shipment. I had to leave a message and the next day I was called by Inspector Colón, and she said there was flesh present on an item so she flagged it. When I asked what item had flesh, she got surly and told me she did not need to tell me which item had failed scrutiny, only that something had flesh. I explained that I was trying to resolve the problem and knowing what she wanted cleaned more thoroughly would be helpful. She reiterated that she didn’t have to tell me what item she flagged and it was my problem to figure out with the tannery. I tried again and she became openly hostile, so I ended the call. EVA Wildlife worked with Jeremy Delacruz of Coppersmith and Dr. Rachel Fisher of USDA APHIS (Animal & Plant Health Inspection Services) and after too much time spent by all working on this issue created by Inspector Colòn, Dr. Fisher released my shipment for pickup without anything being done to the shipment. She determined upon personally inspecting my shipment that it was fine as is.

Yesterday, I went to Eva Wildlife Fur Dressing and picked up my crate. Finally, my Lord Derby Eland was home! It’s nice to have the other animals home, but the LDE was the real reason I went through the expense and hassle.

The ‘Good Guys’ - Jeremy Delacruz of Coppersmith is fantastic when it comes to clearing trophies. He highly responsive and stayed fully engaged clear to the end of this debacle. I’ve always been pleased with his service, but now he’s made me a loyal customer for life also Dr. Rachel Fisher of USDA. She was ‘on it’ in dealing with the issue and personally inspected my trophies to clear them. It’s nice to see a Federal Government employee who gives a damn and works in a timely manner to serve the public. Finally, EVA Wildlife. They were very helpful and only charged a reasonable fee for their part in resolving my problem. I toured their tannery while there and was very impressed. They’ve been tanning capes and skins for the taxidermy industry since 1984 and they’ve earned future business from me.

Inspector Colón cost me nearly $1,000 extra expenses, between bonded warehouse storage, freight to EVA and other costs. She has not heard the last from me as I’m working on a letter of complaint that’s going to the San Francisco US Customs office, US Customs headquarters and my Congressman’s office. His office is only five minutes from my house, so I’ll be delivering it in person.

Mayo Oldiri will never see any future business from me. I was not at all pleased with how they handled several issues ranging from a 2nd licenses to shoot extra animals, to how they’ve neglected anti-poaching that has led to a decline in most of their northern areas, to ripping me off on sending my trophies to me. My opinion is that Mayo Oldiri is 100% about $$$ and everything else is secondary. I’d love to hunt Cameroon again, but if I do it’ll be with a different safari operator. If anyone is considering them and wants further details, feel free to PM me.

Wow, you surely went total “California Karen” on Mayo Oldiri! That is where your from is it not? I spent thirty days and two safaris with Mayo in the forest this past July! I am busy with thirteen hunters of my own this week and thirteen next week at my outfit in Kansas but after our rifle deer season is over will respond thoroughly with my rebuttal to some of your accusations. I know for a fact you have unjustly disparaged Mayo Oldiri! I have been in contact today with Raquel the owners daughter and the one that runs Mayo Oldiri on a daily basis. She has emails, photos, invoices, and a side of the story that you have conveniently failed to tell our fellow AH members here! I also talked to Herve today who is on his first hunt of the season in the Savannah for Mayo and he remembers you! He has been outfitting for Mayo in he Savannah and the Forest for over 20 seasons and 40 years as a PH in Africa. When I told him of your negative post here in AH he exclaimed; I remember this guy! What is the problem! I’m an outfitter and a guide and have been my entire adult life. When I read your post it screams “red flag”! When a client goes into a tirade exclaiming everything was bad, the sky is falling, I got screwed, nothing was done right! You have to pass on that guy. After all my years of outfitting I recognize a hunting client like you. Your attacks on Mayo are over the top! Just like you proudly offered to have anyone here on AH contact you for more info on MAYO OLDIRI…. I BEG them to contact me where I will set them straight and counter your attacks with honest information about YOUR hunt. DOCUMENTION provided to me by Mayo.

 

[spike.t]

 

[375Fox]

Wow, you surely went total “California Karen” on Mayo Oldiri! That is where your from is it not? I spent thirty days and two safaris with Mayo in the forest this past July! I am busy with thirteen hunters of my own this week and thirteen next week at my outfit in Kansas but after our rifle deer season is over will respond thoroughly with my rebuttal to some of your accusations. I know for a fact you have unjustly disparaged Mayo Oldiri! I have been in contact today with Raquel the owners daughter and the one that runs Mayo Oldiri on a daily basis. She has emails, photos, invoices, and a side of the story that you have conveniently failed to tell our fellow AH members here! I also talked to Herve today who is on his first hunt of the season in the Savannah for Mayo and he remembers you! He has been outfitting for Mayo in he Savannah and the Forest for over 20 seasons and 40 years as a PH in Africa. When I told him of your negative post here in AH he exclaimed; I remember this guy! What is the problem! I’m an outfitter and a guide and have been my entire adult life. When I read your post it screams “red flag”! When a client goes into a tirade exclaiming everything was bad, the sky is falling, I got screwed, nothing was done right! You have to pass on that guy. After all my years of outfitting I recognize a hunting client like you. Your attacks on Mayo are over the top! Just like you proudly offered to have anyone here on AH contact you for more info on MAYO OLDIRI…. I BEG them to contact me where I will set them straight and counter your attacks with honest information about YOUR hunt. DOCUMENTION provided to me by Mayo.View attachment 651535View attachment 651536 View attachment 651540View attachment 651542

You should be very careful with your rebuttal to areas you’ve never hunted. Mayo Oldiri did a lot of things right by me as a client, but I saw some serious issues in their northern Savanna areas that I have not seen elsewhere. Herve manages their premium area along a national park boundary in the Savanna. The others areas are vastly different. If a person wants to hunt there I’d hope they contact recent references who actually hunted those areas and search for references outside the outfitter provided references to understand the full picture. I share my thoughts by PM and phone calls to avoid responses like yours. @DLSJR is one of the individuals I spoke to both before and after his hunt.

 

[DLSJR]

Wow, you surely went total “California Karen” on Mayo Oldiri! That is where your from is it not? I spent thirty days and two safaris with Mayo in the forest this past July! I am busy with thirteen hunters of my own this week and thirteen next week at my outfit in Kansas but after our rifle deer season is over will respond thoroughly with my rebuttal to some of your accusations. I know for a fact you have unjustly disparaged Mayo Oldiri! I have been in contact today with Raquel the owners daughter and the one that runs Mayo Oldiri on a daily basis. She has emails, photos, invoices, and a side of the story that you have conveniently failed to tell our fellow AH members here! I also talked to Herve today who is on his first hunt of the season in the Savannah for Mayo and he remembers you! He has been outfitting for Mayo in he Savannah and the Forest for over 20 seasons and 40 years as a PH in Africa. When I told him of your negative post here in AH he exclaimed; I remember this guy! What is the problem! I’m an outfitter and a guide and have been my entire adult life. When I read your post it screams “red flag”! When a client goes into a tirade exclaiming everything was bad, the sky is falling, I got screwed, nothing was done right! You have to pass on that guy. After all my years of outfitting I recognize a hunting client like you. Your attacks on Mayo are over the top! Just like you proudly offered to have anyone here on AH contact you for more info on MAYO OLDIRI…. I BEG them to contact me where I will set them straight and counter your attacks with honest information about YOUR hunt. DOCUMENTION provided to me by Mayo.View attachment 651535View attachment 651536 View attachment 651540View attachment 651542

@Jerycmeach You’ve obviously enjoyed some excellent hunts with Hervé, operated through Mayo Oldiri, as have most of their hunters. Hell, you were even fortunate to take a forest elephant, something very few forest hunters have an opportunity to do. I’m truly glad that you’ve enjoyed great success with M.O., just as have the vast majority of their hunters…. In the past.

Hervé is an excellent and widely respected PH who also seems like a great guy. He’s enjoyed great success on M.O.’s areas through the years and he’s fortunate to do the bulk of his Savannah hunting on their one premier area. I only had interaction with him in Garoua but immediately liked him and his hunter enjoyed a superb hunt on Djibao, IIRC he took 11 or 12 animals. Hervé is one of the reasons M.O. has enjoyed a stellar reputation over the years.

The problems I’ve mentioned and why I wouldn’t hunt with them again are, I believe, worth passing along to others and worthy of mention to anyone contemplating a Savannah hunt that’s currently going to cost north of $75,000.00, all-in (thankfully, it was less when I booked mine) and for Djibao, probably north of $100,000 by the time they’re done.

I’ve spoken directly with more than a couple other recent M.O. hunters who’ve privately told me they had various concerns about their hunts and wouldn’t go back due to the current state of affairs. The most common complaint being game populations and densities that were not as expected, but also other concerns.

Jerry, I spoke in fairly broad terms about my dissatisfaction, but I could get a lot more specific if you think it’d be appropriate. I don’t think it’d be beneficial to M.O. though. I wish them no harm, but they need to do a better job managing most of their areas. I think other hunters going there should have current information to enable them to make fully informed decisions for their own hunts. Most who go will have successful hunts despite the current state of affairs. Some won’t.

I know of several other hunters who only got an eland by going to Djibao at the very end of their hunt and not all of them shot eland that were larger than low 40’s. A hunter last year went home without an eland and he was a guy who walked his ass off, logging heavy miles in the heat. I shot the first eland bull I saw and was fortunate to take a wonderful, very old bull on the 2nd day. Then, we only saw 1 more eland over the remainder of my hunt and that was on one of my last days. He was a big bull in his prime but I never saw a single other eland except the herd containing my bull on day 2. My understanding from other hunters I spoke with who’d hunted prior to the pandemic was that game populations were much more robust prior to the pandemic. Some of the other species seemed heavily depleted where I hunted, buffalo, bushbuck & reedbuck in particular based on my limited time there.

M.O. does a lot of things right. The food was very good. The crews are good, hard working people. My trackers, Ngumna in particular, were very good and enjoyable to be around. They’ve got very good P.H.’s who’ve earned their reputations through many years of great hunts and satisfied clients. Accommodations were fairly comfortable, except for no air conditioners which sucked in the high heat. My trophies were well prepared, despite what a customs agent said. But they’re currently experiencing some problems which others contemplating such a hunt should be aware of before they go. Most of them will have good hunts, especially if they know what to expect going in.

Jerry, it might be more appropriate to discuss your & my thoughts privately, if you’re so inclined. I’m open to sharing other observations privately that I don’t think are necessary to post publicly. Your choice, which I’ll respect. Good luck with your whitetail season. Sorry you don’t care for hunters from California.

 

[meigsbucks]

Sorry you had to deal with all of this BS and expense. Sounds like you are doing everything to gain some retribution. Between spreading the word on the outfitter’s dubious business practices, to reporting Inspector Colon to all possible entities. They pissed off the wrong guy.
At least you got your LDE home and he’s a real trophy. Congratulations!

 

[Jerycmeach]

Yesterday was a good day, as I finally was able to bring home my trophies from my Cameroon Savannah hunt last February. However, the ordeal associated with Mayo Oldiri Safaris, then with U.S. Customs really tested my resolve. Were it not for really wanting my Lord Derby Eland, I’d have told Mayo Oldiri to keep the trophies and I’d have just enjoyed having pictures.

First problem - Mayo Oldiri: my hunt included a customary Dip & Pack fee of around $1,500.; which I was expecting. That was paid up-front as part of the hunt cost. What I did not expect was a bill for an additional $5,460.00 to ship my trophies home! I knew I was going to have air freight on Turkish Airlines, but I’d just gotten a crate home from Tanzania and it was about $2,300.00 total cost to SFO. I objected, telling them this price was outrageous and unacceptable, demanding an itemized cost breakdown. I got an itemized bill and they’d reduced the price by $400, so now it was ‘only’ $5,040.; still too high, IMO. The bill indicated Turkish was $3,000; I don’t know if that was Turkish’s actual charge or if Mayo Oldiri had tacked a premium on top of the actual charge for air freight. So there was an additional $2,040 in various bullshit charges for crap I’ve never been charged for on any other shipment from other African countries. As much as this bothered me, I paid the charge as I really wanted my Lord Derby Eland home. My belief is that some or all of these charges are simply Mayo Oldiri padding their charges.

Second problem - U.S. Customs agent, ‘Inspector Colón, at SFO: When the Customs Agent, a woman who only referred to herself as ‘Inspector Colón’ inspected my shipment, she flagged it for having flesh on one or more of the items that required my shipment be sent directly to a USDA Approved facility. Jeremy Delacruz of Coppersmith (he’s excellent, BTW) gave me the choice of facilities I wanted my shipment to be sent to, so I selected Eva Wildlife Dressing, a tannery in Ceres, CA; which is about 90 minutes from my home. Upon opening and inspecting my shipment, Eva advised that they could not find any traces of flesh on anything and requested further clarification. I also wanted to know, so I called US Customs and asked to speak with whoever the inspector was who’d flagged my shipment. I had to leave a message and the next day I was called by Inspector Colón, and she said there was flesh present on an item so she flagged it. When I asked what item had flesh, she got surly and told me she did not need to tell me which item had failed scrutiny, only that something had flesh. I explained that I was trying to resolve the problem and knowing what she wanted cleaned more thoroughly would be helpful. She reiterated that she didn’t have to tell me what item she flagged and it was my problem to figure out with the tannery. I tried again and she became openly hostile, so I ended the call. EVA Wildlife worked with Jeremy Delacruz of Coppersmith and Dr. Rachel Fisher of USDA APHIS (Animal & Plant Health Inspection Services) and after too much time spent by all working on this issue created by Inspector Colòn, Dr. Fisher released my shipment for pickup without anything being done to the shipment. She determined upon personally inspecting my shipment that it was fine as is.

Yesterday, I went to Eva Wildlife Fur Dressing and picked up my crate. Finally, my Lord Derby Eland was home! It’s nice to have the other animals home, but the LDE was the real reason I went through the expense and hassle.

The ‘Good Guys’ - Jeremy Delacruz of Coppersmith is fantastic when it comes to clearing trophies. He highly responsive and stayed fully engaged clear to the end of this debacle. I’ve always been pleased with his service, but now he’s made me a loyal customer for life also Dr. Rachel Fisher of USDA. She was ‘on it’ in dealing with the issue and personally inspected my trophies to clear them. It’s nice to see a Federal Government employee who gives a damn and works in a timely manner to serve the public. Finally, EVA Wildlife. They were very helpful and only charged a reasonable fee for their part in resolving my problem. I toured their tannery while there and was very impressed. They’ve been tanning capes and skins for the taxidermy industry since 1984 and they’ve earned future business from me.

Inspector Colón cost me nearly $1,000 extra expenses, between bonded warehouse storage, freight to EVA and other costs. She has not heard the last from me as I’m working on a letter of complaint that’s going to the San Francisco US Customs office, US Customs headquarters and my Congressman’s office. His office is only five minutes from my house, so I’ll be delivering it in person.

Mayo Oldiri will never see any future business from me. I was not at all pleased with how they handled several issues ranging from a 2nd licenses to shoot extra animals, to how they’ve neglected anti-poaching that has led to a decline in most of their northern areas, to ripping me off on sending my trophies to me. My opinion is that Mayo Oldiri is 100% about $$$ and everything else is secondary. I’d love to hunt Cameroon again, but if I do it’ll be with a different safari operator. If anyone is considering them and wants further details, feel free to PM me.

You should be very careful with your rebuttal to areas you’ve never hunted. Mayo Oldiri did a lot of things right by me as a client, but I saw some serious issues in their northern Savanna areas that I have not seen elsewhere. Herve manages their premium area along a national park boundary in the Savanna. The others areas are vastly different. If a person wants to hunt there I’d hope they contact recent references who actually hunted those areas and search for references outside the outfitter provided references to understand the full picture. I share my thoughts by PM and phone calls to avoid responses like yours. @DLSJR is one of the individuals I spoke to both before and after his hunt.

I will provide the facts. They are coming forthwith !

 

[375Fox]

I will provide the facts. They are coming forthwith !

Again be very careful with your “facts.” I purposely chose to write my hunt report a certain way and you’re welcome to read it. Your “facts” conveyed as a middle man may do more damage than good at the response they receive rather than letting this thread slowly fade away. You hunted the forest areas with one of their longest standing PHs that’s the only fact you can give if you haven’t been to the savanna areas.

 

[Jerycmeach]

@Jerycmeach You’ve obviously enjoyed some excellent hunts with Hervé, operated through Mayo Oldiri, as have most of their hunters. Hell, you were even fortunate to take a forest elephant, something very few forest hunters have an opportunity to do. I’m truly glad that you’ve enjoyed great success with M.O., just as have the vast majority of their hunters…. In the past.

Hervé is an excellent and widely respected PH who also seems like a great guy. He’s enjoyed great success on M.O.’s areas through the years and he’s fortunate to do the bulk of his Savannah hunting on their one premier area. I only had interaction with him in Garoua but immediately liked him and his hunter enjoyed a superb hunt on Djibao, IIRC he took 11 or 12 animals. Hervé is one of the reasons M.O. has enjoyed a stellar reputation over the years.

The problems I’ve mentioned and why I wouldn’t hunt with them again are, I believe, worth passing along to others and worthy of mention to anyone contemplating a Savannah hunt that’s currently going to cost north of $75,000.00, all-in (thankfully, it was less when I booked mine) and for Djibao, probably north of $100,000 by the time they’re done.

I’ve spoken directly with more than a couple other recent M.O. hunters who’ve privately told me they had various concerns about their hunts and wouldn’t go back due to the current state of affairs. The most common complaint being game populations and densities that were not as expected, but also other concerns.

Jerry, I spoke in fairly broad terms about my dissatisfaction, but I could get a lot more specific if you think it’d be appropriate. I don’t think it’d be beneficial to M.O. though. I wish them no harm, but they need to do a better job managing most of their areas. I think other hunters going there should have current information to enable them to make fully informed decisions for their own hunts. Most who go will have successful hunts despite the current state of affairs. Some won’t.

I know of several other hunters who only got an eland by going to Djibao at the very end of their hunt and not all of them shot eland that were larger than low 40’s. A hunter last year went home without an eland and he was a guy who walked his ass off, logging heavy miles in the heat. I shot the first eland bull I saw and was fortunate to take a wonderful, very old bull on the 2nd day. Then, we only saw 1 more eland over the remainder of my hunt and that was on one of my last days. He was a big bull in his prime but I never saw a single other eland except the herd containing my bull on day 2. My understanding from other hunters I spoke with who’d hunted prior to the pandemic was that game populations were much more robust prior to the pandemic. Some of the other species seemed heavily depleted where I hunted, buffalo, bushbuck & reedbuck in particular based on my limited time there.

M.O. does a lot of things right. The food was very good. The crews are good, hard working people. My trackers, Ngumna in particular, were very good and enjoyable to be around. They’ve got very good P.H.’s who’ve earned their reputations through many years of great hunts and satisfied clients. Accommodations were fairly comfortable, except for no air conditioners which sucked in the high heat. My trophies were well prepared, despite what a customs agent said. But they’re currently experiencing some problems which others contemplating such a hunt should be aware of before they go. Most of them will have good hunts, especially if they know what to expect going in.

Jerry, it might be more appropriate to discuss your & my thoughts privately, if you’re so inclined. I’m open to sharing other observations privately that I don’t think are necessary to post publicly. Your choice, which I’ll respect. Good luck with your whitetail season. Sorry you don’t care for hunters from California.

 

[Jerycmeach]

Again be very careful with your “facts.” I purposely chose to write my hunt report a certain way and you’re welcome to read it. Your “facts” conveyed as a middle man may do more damage than good at the response they receive rather than letting this thread slowly fade away. You hunted the forest areas with one of their longest standing PHs that’s the only fact you can give if you haven’t been to the savanna areas.

 

[Jerycmeach]

Mayo does little in the way of anti-poaching”

My dad never used “cuss words” around us kids when I was growing up but he had a vast vocabulary in “substitute profanity”! My indiscretions once discovered often drew out phrases such as that “chaps my ass” or “frosts my ass”!

I have a few minutes of some time between our morning and evening whitetails hunts today; so it’s time for my next chapter in refuting this post’s misinformation about Mayo Okdiri. And yes; my ass is BOTH FROSTED and CHAPPED; especially about the comment about Mayo not doing “ENOUGH” in the way of anti-poaching! Here is the quote, “how they’ve neglected anti-poaching that has led to a decline in most of their northern areas”! How much do you know about what they have done in the way of anti-poaching in the North to make that accusation? I am incredibly disgusted by that attack because I went on this safari and all my other safaris with only two goals in mind. Adventure and Conservation! Those were my goals; not collecting trophies or specimens! I contacted and did an hour long phone interview with Dr. Mike Arnold, Author of the book; “bringing back the lions” prior to booking with Mayo. I asked in depth questions about his hunt with Mayo and his research into what they were doing in the way of anti-poaching in the North and community improvement…such as the hospital. He told me wonderful things about all they are investing in and doing in the way of anti-poaching. I spent thirty days with Herve in he longest tenured PH for Mayo. He had been a PH in the North for Twenty years. During my safari I quizzed him constantly about the challenges and what he and M.O. were doing in the way of anti-poaching in the North. I learned a lot and I was impressed with their efforts! I met two hunters here on AH that hunted the Savanah with MO in the recent past. They are serious, international, adventure hunters. Because I was interested in conservation primarily and wanted to understand what Mayo had done in the way of anti-poaching in the North I visited with them in great length. They told me all about their experiences with MO on their Savannah hunt and what they experienced: They were so motivated about how hard MO and Guave Johnson in particular was doing in the way of anti poaching that they came home and got a sizable donation together to provide motorbikes to Guav to expand the anti poaching efforts that were already in place! I have been with these PH’s for a month in the forest. I know there hear and there passion for anti poaching and protecting what remains of the wildlife and habitat. In my safari we recovered hundreds and hundreds of snares! I had the Pygmies take me out and show me the way the snares are set! I had them take me to the “bush meat markets” so that I could see and understand all the challenges. We chased poachers, we destroyed snares, we destroyed patchers camps. I saw the teams that they finance year round and the work they were doing! Yes, with my own eyes I was seeing this only in the forest, BUT, it is the same company and the same PHs with few exceptions that operate in the North!



Here is the most crucial part of what i want to communicate about the author of this post saying the MO does not enough in the way of anti patching. We all know that there is no future for these animals long term in these areas! There is not!The challenges are simply too great! What is doing enough anti-poaching? Where would that kind of manpower and finances come from? But, what I know for sure is this…Mayo has more concessions than any other company. Each year more and more companies fail and concessions are lost. When the hunting companies leave and the concessions go away then you know what happens! That is the end of the wildlife and the habitat! So what does this author do? He does his best to have hunters dollars not go to Mayo by disparaging them, telling them he will never spend another dollar with Mayo and offering anyone that will to contact him so that he can convince them not to spend a dollar with Mayo. So then what? The force that was fighting very hard against the onslaught of cattle and poaching that is relentless and unceasing is removed because the hunters quit coming. It’s akin to defunding the police? Oh yeah… wait a minute! I think that was popular in some parts of California.. was it not?
Here are some photos of Mayo doing as you say “very little in the way of anti poaching”. I paid for two safaris just so I could participate in anti poaching with mayo so to be told I need to be careful with my facts kind of stings. I did it!

PS. When My buddies on AH went to the Savannah and they saw the challenges they came home put some funding together and sent MO some motorbikes to help fight the battle against poaching and illegal grazing. The author of this post saw the challenges and said, “Mayo didn’t do enough and don’t go hunt with them so they can lose the concession and the fight; and then the animals and the habitat will be gone forever and sooner than it could have been.

 

[DLSJR]

I will provide the facts. They are coming forthwith !

Jerry, you seem unusually ‘invested’ in arguing and defending MO. I’m wondering why. I described conditions that were mostly good, with a few glaring exceptions that I found unacceptable. The issues I found unacceptable are such that if I hunt Cameroon again, and I’d like to, it’ll be with a different company. No big deal there.

I know nothing of their Forest hunts other than they’re very successful on bongo and other major game is tougher. My understanding is that is pretty much the situation with all operators in the forest. Your hunt was highly successful, more so than most. Congratulations, you were very fortunate.

You seem to miss the point that the majority of my report detailed problems associated with a rogue customs inspector derailing my shipment and I’m warning others about that. I’m aware of several other shipments that were also dealt with improperly by Customs inspectors at SFO and am trying to find out if it was the same person in each case. That is separate from my displeasure with how MO conducts business with their clients.

You’re actually giving my concerns much greater visibility than they’d have otherwise generated. So be it.

Edit: Jerry I just read your most recent post after making this post but not with this edit. Here’s a bit more information for you to ponder should you choose to engage in mental exercise. My comments are based on my own observations as well as comments from others hunters who’ve been in the Savannah areas have told me either verbally or in print. Some of those were before I went on my hunt, but more have been people reaching out privately after my hunt. If you’d like me to be more specific, I will but it won’t reflect well on the current situation across the majority of their northern areas.

As you can imagine, most people don’t care to publicly post about their negative views, especially regarding such a renowned and respected company. Without exercising my feeble Californian brain too much I can recall 3 other hunters who’ve told me directly they feel the same as me, and at least one other who said he’d have to think hard before going again with them. They actually appreciated me being willing to say what they haven’t come forward to publicly say themselves. Perhaps, since I’m one of those disgusting Californians you despise, I’m simply not as considerate as them. Perhaps your view, based solely on a forest area ( I believe Lognia - their #1 forest concession) and comments from a great PH who hunts Djibao (their #1 Savannah area by a long way) mostly don’t reflect the reality of the experiences of others.

If you’d like more specific observations I made, I’d prefer we discuss privately, but that’s up to you.

 

[Jerycmeach]

Ok: I’ll stop. I have a lot of information I was going to post concerning your other accusations against Mayo Oldiri but you seem contrite and I think deep down you know what you did was wrong. You should not have disparaged a company the way you did. Words have consequences! You say I’m unusually invested and I agree! Remember what general Norman Schwarzkopf used to talk about? Unit Cohesiveness! He said that when your fox hole and things look really bad you don’t fight for your country or the flag or whatever! He said you fight for those around you! The ones in the Fox hole with you! I have no relationship with MO. But I did a deep dive into what they are doing in the forest and in the Savannah; I was in camaroon for a month this past July trying to understand what the challenges were to the habitat and the animals and whether or not hunters dollars were having an impact in preventing or rather “slowing” loss of the habitat and the animals. Mayo is doing there best and they are good people. I was in the Fox hole with them for a moth this year! I’m done!

 

[Hrsx671]

I have not hunted with Mayo Oldiri so i cannot comment on them nor the service they provide.

However i have hunted the Cameroon savannah twice with Patrick Dahlan who owns & operates Faro East (for the last +/-20 years). Patrick runs an excellent operation and i was happy with both trips. The “dip & pack” cost were as expected as were all aspects of the trip(s)

Poaching is a problem throughout Africa however Faro East have an active anti poaching program, with permanent teams which are now tracked by satellite. I saw good numbers of buffalo and LD eland which indicate the efforts are effective.

There are probably other good operators in Cameroon however I strongly recommend Faro East.

 

[Rem280]

Thank you for posting YOUR experience. Glad you got your trophies home.

 

[Hank2211]

Ok: I’ll stop. I have a lot of information I was going to post concerning your other accusations against Mayo Oldiri but you seem contrite and I think deep down you know what you did was wrong. You should not have disparaged a company the way you did. Words have consequences! You say I’m unusually invested and I agree! Remember what general Norman Schwarzkopf used to talk about? Unit Cohesiveness! He said that when your fox hole and things look really bad you don’t fight for your country or the flag or whatever! He said you fight for those around you! The ones in the Fox hole with you! I have no relationship with MO. But I did a deep dive into what they are doing in the forest and in the Savannah; I was in camaroon for a month this past July trying to understand what the challenges were to the habitat and the animals and whether or not hunters dollars were having an impact in preventing or rather “slowing” loss of the habitat and the animals. Mayo is doing there best and they are good people. I was in the Fox hole with them for a moth this year! I’m done!

I for one don't think that what DLSJR posted "was wrong." On the contrary, I think he posted his perspective on what he saw in his hunt, and the basis for that perspective. I think all hunters should be encouraged to do the same. Open up the discussion. Get the different perspectives out there. Hunters - and outfitters - will be better for "free speech" rather than "constrained speech." (This is not the same as some reports I've read which are nothing more than hatchet jobs and an abuse of the right to speak your mind - and I think we tend to know those when we see them).

I've hunted with Mayo Older twice, both times with Guav Johnson, who I believe is one of the best PHs in Africa today. Once in the jungle and once in the savannah. Got my animals both times. But as you will see from the hunt reports I prepared, not everything was perfect and it would be childish to pretend it was. On my first hunt, to the jungle, I was bumped from my camp at the last minute by an "important" hunter who was quite famous. I was sent to another camp which I was told was "new" and would be teeming with game since it hadn't been hunted for years. We found no game there at all, only evidence of poachers everywhere we looked. We were hampered by a lack of rain, but even when it did rain, we saw no animals, and calling produced not a single duiker. Guav finally got someone higher up to allow us to go to our original camp once the famous Mexican got his animals. We got our bongo there. I was pissed by the way I was treated for someone "more important."

On the second hunt in the savannah I was using a rented rifle and MO supplied ammo. The rifle was fine. The ammo was not. I almost lost the LDE and a buffalo because of the faulty ammo (read the hunt report). I don't go to Africa for the food or the accommodations, but those were average at best and did not compare to the accommodations provided in the French camps.

I went with MO because of Guav and his team. I would also say that Hervé is top notch and works hard for his clients. I dont' know the other PHs so won't comment.

So Mayo Olidiri isn't perfect, and anyone choosing to hunt with them or any other outfitter should have all available information so they can ask the right questions.

I also believe in conservation, but if that's my prime concern, I'd rather donate money to conservation efforts than go on a sub-par hunt. So keep the information coming, and it will help hunters make better decisions and hopefully it will also incentivize outfitters to up their game, or at the very least, better promote the efforts they are making towards conservation.