hunters ” from Butambala and Gomba in Uganda arrived in Kyankwanzi along with their spears , pangas , dogs , nets and baskets of food , and bedding . On arrival , they hurried into the nearby bush to start hunting . These intruders were arrested around 5pm , but not before they killed over seventy animals including wild pig , bushbuck , and one python . Seventy-seven spears , sixty-six hunting nets , twenty-nine dogs , fifty pangas and several sacks of food were confiscated . A spokesman for the mercenaries said they had been told that people of Kyankwanzi were being haunted by pythons and wild pigs and had invited them to come and solve the problem . They had asked for 27,000 Ugandan shillings - around US $ 10 - per person for both transport and upkeep for this four-day expedition .
In neighboring Kenya , the government has just approved18.4 million Kenyan shillings - around US $ 215,000 - for compensation to families of people killed or injured by wildlife across the country . In one related incident , a lioness was speared to death in a retaliatory attack by communities at Lemong ' o area near Amboseli National Park in Kajiado County , after she attacked and killed three goats in a boma in the village . In another retaliatory attack , an estimated three hundred warriors killed a lioness after a pride of five lions was believed to have invaded their village .
What ties these two stories together is the fact that the single biggest threat to wildlife anywhere on the planet is competition with man for habitat and natural resources . Man usually comes out on top . And in Africa , rural villagers aren ’ t overly interested in “ the bigger picture ” because it has no relevance to their lives . The elephant vanishing off the face of the earth is preferable to the elephant raiding their crops , because their definition of the global village is usually limited to a few kilometres either side of wherever . So , in the case of Uganda , the best way to ensure the survival of its wildlife would be to encourage the locals to look after it , not pay to have it knocked off , and if they were receiving revenue from a well-established hunting industry that would probably happen . And Kenya , well , Kenya ’ s pretty much a lost cause blindly following the lead of activists trying to impose First World values on a Third World culture , but just think how much money could be saved and re-directed into conservation efforts if the local populations themselves had a reason to oppose poaching .
Recently , one of the round-robin e-mail discussions I ’ m linked into has been discussing the various merits of using drone technology to combat poaching . Drones are currently being used in a limited way in Africa , but the two biggest objections seem to be that they are not advanced enough to be of much practical use , and as they are expensive to acquire and operate they divert finite resources away from more proven core operations such as anti-poaching patrols . And with these two points , I agree . But - and there ’ s always a but - civilian drone technology is developing in leaps and bounds and sooner rather than later I predict they will be a formidable tool in anti-poaching operations . As for the financing , why not get it from a sector that would otherwise not contribute anything to conservation efforts ? I ’ m thinking here of the big PMCs - they have a use for the technology and also need a proving ground for R & D , so everybody wins .
I J Larivers
On Target
Dear Editor Congratulations on both your excellent magazines . You have kept the standard up high even in the difficult times in Zimbabwe . Your “ Umzingele ” has written two very good pieces in the African Hunter on the subject of Dhlulamithi . I am sure that yourself , Umzingele and others would like to know the true facts of the hunt that I headed up in the Gonarezhou with Colonel Verster and Brigadier Henning to clear up some of the speculation and bulldust written about it , so I have the full story which is presently being edited by Veronica Chapman who will send it to you if you would like it . Tim Braybrooke Victoria Falls
Thanks you very much for your kind words , and we welcome the whole story , and look forward to publishing it in this issue ! - Editor .
Dear Editor I am a professional hunter and outfitter in Africa and ran a series of reloading tests with the . 458Win Mag using the Hornady DGS and DGX in 480 grain on elephant and buffalo . These tests were written up in Man Magnum magazine in 2011 and 2012 January . The 480 DGS and DGX allows the . 458 to come into its own . They are awesome bullets and the best in the above weight in the 458 at 2215fps . Paul Phelan South Africa
Dear Editor My story starts going to Africa with a friend as an observer at the age of 71 . They let me bring my . 458 ; the PH was Rodon Tourle with Southern Safari Atlas . I observed shooting an elephant and putting down a burned elephant . I was hooked and stayed in Africa three more weeks after the hunter went home . I then booked a hunt with Juan Pace with Shangwari Safaris . The PH put me on an old tusker at twenty yards . A side shot , and I had read extensively on shot placement . When he hollered “ shoot ” I brought the scope up the elephant ’ s leg to the bottom of his mouth and shot . The front leg was hit in the bone , going through his heart and lung . The PH fired , I think hitting him in the shoulder . The assistant PH fired hitting him about in the same place ( I believe he was close to death as he wheeled to come at us .) Another shot was fired , I think missing the elephant . I brained him at 17 yards with my last bullet . A dream come true , I wondered if I could stand and hold my ground . I did , There was no thought of fear - just shooting straight . The excess of 200 rounds I had previously put through the rifle paid off . Dave Thomas USA
Dear Editor I read your article on the mystery case in African Hunter Vol . 18 , No . 4 and may be able to add some more information . It almost certainly is a . 505 Gibbs case made from . 577 BASIC brass . After Kynoch ammunition and brass was no longer available this was about the only way to make both . 505 Gibbs and . 500 Jeffery cases and was fairly common practice in Australia during the eighties . The procedure was to set the case in a lathe and turn the rim off flush with the case body . This cylinder was then pushed through a series of swaging dies to bring the body and solid head
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