We took the first black rhino in history on 3/6/2009. I would like to up load ap ictures but have no idea how!!
Corne Kruger
Omujeve Safaris

Corne,

You can email them to me, I will be appy to post them for you.

saeed@emirates.net.ae

The hunter was Rashid Sardarov from Russia, and this is his third black rhino with me. He has taken two in the RSA.
We walked about 25km tracking this bull for 2 days. He was about 35 years old according to the Park rangers from Waterberg Platau Park.
The bull only took one shot at about 40m from Rashid's 416 Rigby. He ran about 80m.

Corne,

Congrats to Rashid and you. What a beautiful mug on that boy. He is so ugly I could kiss him. Ah! I mean the rhino not Rashid.

Mark

Corne`: Congrats to Rashid on a great trophy, and to you for being there to help him. I did not really like being around them that much, even when in vehicles, and always kept an eye out for them when stalking with you. To track one on foot through brush country would be incredibly exciting.

quote:

Originally posted by corne Omujeve:
We walked about 25km tracking this bull for 2 days. He was about 35 years old according to the Park rangers from Waterberg Platau Park.

That sounds like fun! A real tracking hunt, for the true and proper 5th member of the Big 5!

quote:

The bull only took one shot at about 40m from Rashid's 416 Rigby. He ran about 80m.

What ... no double rifle??? Blasphemy!

Anyone else notice how far back that scope is mounted on his rifle? If I shot that thing, it would wind up imbedded in my forehead! He must have a neck of steel!

Not a criticism, just an interesting observation.

Congratulations Corne!

Wendell you aren't kidding. Yikes! You'd need stitches after shooting that one.

Brett

I wonder how much that cost to do?

I am happy to see the black (and white) rhino paying their way through hunting.

That is their only hope for survival in today's Africa.

didn't know the population of black rhino in namibia was strong enough to support sport hunting?????
whats next on the list?
snow leopard?
java rhino?
siberian tiger?

John like going into a Rolls Royce Dealer and if you have to ask, you cannot afford it...

Mike

That is an outstanding black rhino. Great horn. What a taxidermy mount that'll make! Congratulations. Yes, that scope mount would definitely be problematic for me! How many white rhino has he taken, if you know?

A big congrats to the both of you!

That must've been a thrill to say the least!

It has also been said that the buffalo on the Waterberg Plateau are something to behold. Did you get to see any monsters of the buffalo persuasion?

quote:

Originally posted by ravenr:
didn't know the population of black rhino in namibia was strong enough to support sport hunting?????
whats next on the list?
snow leopard?
java rhino?
siberian tiger?

hopefully, some day all three!!!!!!

Namibia was authorized a CITES quota of black rhino three years ago, but has held back--and several great rhinos died of old age. This truly is a historic event. I have never shot a black rhino and never will--I missed the window! When I hunted on Mt. Kenya in the 70s we spent half our time running from black rhino, but that was a "35-day license animal", above my pay grade. The permits now available in SA and Namibia are FAR above my pay grade! But it is a wonderful thing to see this animal returned to "huntable" status, and for old rhinos like this to pay the way for the preservation of his species. WELL DONE DO TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We did see some nice buffalo in the park but the sable and roan are something out of this world!! Hunting up there is very tuff the brush is thick and high and soft sand makes walking a real B%^&*!!!
Namibia has over 1300 black rhino and more than half are bulls!!!
Etosha park has 850!!!
We have two more available, one in 2010 and onr in 2011.

Just for interest sake why would someone hunt 3 black rhino ?

I'm all up for hunting them no problem but with the limited amount that is able to be shot why would someone shoot 3 of them ?

3 Big seperate trophy rooms maybe ??

A very nice rhino btw.

Because he can!!!!

Congrats to the hunter.

quote:

Originally posted by corne Omujeve:
Because he can!!!!

just an observation, but the number of people that can AFFORD to hunt black rhino, are as scarce as the rhinos themselves

BTW, congrats on a great rhino!

Mad Dog

quote:

Originally posted by ravenr:
didn't know the population of black rhino in namibia was strong enough to support sport hunting?????
whats next on the list?
snow leopard?
java rhino?
siberian tiger?

That would be great!! If in fact hunting was authorized, I presume that would mean those animals would have grown in population to now include hunting of older non breeding animals as part of their management. That'd be a testimate to some wildlife department!

i guess i will be the fly in the ointment on this one and have suited up for the shit storm i know will follow.
i can't help but think this is a black eye for hunters and those who consider themselves conservationists.
my understanding is the black rhino is critically endangered in nearly all of its traditional ranges and even thou the population in namibia warrents a cites permit,
i wonder if these surplus animals should be transplanted to restablish those missing herds and mix genitics.
i understand and concur that these species have to pay for themselves and the monies generated thru sport hunting go along way in cash strapped countries.
just because namibia has huntable pops(one per yr for the next 2 yrs) of black rhino, yet the pops in other countries are crashing or teetering on the verge of collapse,that
something else should't be done with this "seed".
i may have this all wrong and i'm sure there will be a line of folks waiting to enlighten me.
but i've got to say out loud that upon reading this post my first feeling was one of disbelief.
i just feel that so many more noble uses of this rhino could of been thought out, instead of satifying "one" person. (x 3 ????? wtf)

What a great old animal, thank you for the post/pictures!

quote:

i just feel that so many more noble uses of this rhino could of been thought out

I cannot think of any, considering that this old boy was past breeding age (edit: "post reproductive!"). "Young" bulls, yes, I agree, but as pointed out above having them die of natural causes is perhaps a fitting end (and if you think about it, a success story), but selectively [and I dare to use the word but if appropriate in any context this is it] - harvesting - the old bulls is sound, IMO.

Per a quick Google: "Typical lifespan in the wild is between 30 and 35 years, with little expectation of exceeding 35 years. In captivity, black rhinos can live over 45 years, with the record being 49 years."

The assumption is that the vast majority of the monies paid went back into black rhino conservation.

This bull was an old post productive bull and would do no good in other populations. And any way why should Namibia give rhino's to countries like Kenya or Zimbabwe just to have the rhino's poached again????
US$ 180 000 goes back to conservation of the rhino. we only hunt 0,4% of the toalt population per year!!!

ravenr, yes you are completely wrong, nuff said.

Could the hunter who has shot this rhino wanted to get into the SCI record book

RavenR

The country has considerably more old bulls that are past breeding age than the one you mention. That number is the number of CITES permits that have been granted.

The bulls that are shot are (as has been said) past breeding age, so translocating them would be pointless. Therefore the best thing you can do is shoot them simply because although they don't/can't further the species themselves, they try to kill the younger bulls who can still breed.

All the while someone out there is willing to pay obscene amounts of money to hunt them, the better it is for the species as a whole.

Considering the other countries records on Rhino, no, they should not be sent there. (Unless poachers and the "conservators" of Kenya, etc were put on the license as well...)

the line of corrections wasn't as long as i thought it would be and the responses civil.
i admit to not considering that the animal was past breeding age and its only use would be to generate income to further the rest of the populations.
thanks for the enlightment
they are magnificent animals and perhaps that stirred my heart before i got my brain in gear.

quote:

Originally posted by ravenr:
i guess i will be the fly in the ointment on this one and have suited up for the shit storm i know will follow.
i can't help but think this is a black eye for hunters and those who consider themselves conservationists.
my understanding is the black rhino is critically endangered in nearly all of its traditional ranges and even thou the population in namibia warrents a cites permit,
i wonder if these surplus animals should be transplanted to restablish those missing herds and mix genitics.
i understand and concur that these species have to pay for themselves and the monies generated thru sport hunting go along way in cash strapped countries.
just because namibia has huntable pops(one per yr for the next 2 yrs) of black rhino, yet the pops in other countries are crashing or teetering on the verge of collapse,that
something else should't be done with this "seed".
i may have this all wrong and i'm sure there will be a line of folks waiting to enlighten me.
but i've got to say out loud that upon reading this post my first feeling was one of disbelief.
i just feel that so many more noble uses of this rhino could of been thought out, instead of satifying "one" person. (x 3 ????? wtf)

White Rhino was in the same place (population wise) when they opened hunting for them, and now look at there numbers. Everyone wants one because of the money they can make off it from white hunters.

Also the rhino's hunted are typically the old bulls that are past breeding age but still more then willing to maintain a territory and prevent other lesser males from getting some dearly needed action. By removing them you are allowing others to step up and screw. And we all know that means more little Rhino babies for all.

The so called environmentalists try there best to pretend these economics dont exist. As hunters of Africa we must tell people this truth loudly and often.

Nevertheless, I am very interested in shooting distance, bullet and bullet placement.
And is a 416 Riby normally enough gun

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
RavenR

The country has considerably more old bulls that are past breeding age than the one you mention. That number is the number of CITES permits that have been granted.

The bulls that are shot are (as has been said) past breeding age, so translocating them would be pointless. Therefore the best thing you can do is shoot them simply because although they don't/can't further the species themselves, they try to kill the younger bulls who can still breed.

All the while someone out there is willing to pay obscene amounts of money to hunt them, the better it is for the species as a whole.

Steve, great post and the person who raised the question learned from it.

People can learn a lot from this type of answer, we don't have to flame on someone we disagree with. A civilized intelligent discussion can turn antagonists into allies.

The shot was taken at 40m quatering towards us he shot him trough the hart and we found the solid in the stomach. He ran 70m and was dead when we got to him.The 416 worked well. Not my choice but it worked.

Just because many of us are "past breeding age" that doesn't mean that animals suffer the same fate. There is no evidence to indicate that Black Rhino bulls ever get "past breeding age". So take that "talking point" and put it where the sun don't shine before someone from the animal rights movement calls your undefensable hand on it.

However, there is also no significant impact on the Black Rhino population by the offtake of a single bull, assuming that adequtate other bulls are present in the area to breed the females.

There is no question that animals valued as hunting trophies tend to be better treated, protected, and nutured than animals not valued as hunting trophies. Had passenger pigeons been regarded as game birds rather than groceries, they would still be around.

Hunting of specie of limited population is often justified by the circumstances and helps support the preservation of that species. It weakens the case for the preservsational aspects of hunting to present it in fairy tale fashion as weeding out only old geezers with erectile disfunction.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
There is no evidence to indicate that Black Rhino bulls ever get "past breeding age".

Personally, I've never got that close to an old horny rhino, but there's an awful lot of game dept scientists, vets and other staff who would disagree with that statement. I'm not a vet, but to the best of my knowledge, fertility levels fall in most species as the individual approaches old age and it's the premise that the entire rescue and hunting programmes are built on.

There's also the factor that these very aggressive old bulls do fight and often kill younger bulls to prevent them breeding with the females........

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:There is no evidence to indicate that Black Rhino bulls ever get "past breeding age". So take that "talking point" and put it where the sun don't shine...

Hey nice comment! But....NOT according to "African Rhino, Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan", by Richard Emslie and the IUCN (World Conservation Union) African Rhino Specialist Group, where he speaks of "post reproductive males" (a better and perhaps more comprehensive term then "past breeding age"...but the same intended meaning) in relation to sustainable use options (specifically..."trophy hunting").

Here is a very good article by the same individual: http://www.savetherhino.org/et...ite/740/default.aspx

NOTE, this is on the "Save the Rhino" website...

Somewhat related to my previous post, keep an eye out on The Science Channel for a 3-part series called "Planet Earth: The Future" (2007), where "experts" including many from organizations and institutions (WWF, universities, etc) typically thought of a anti-hunting speak about the new realities when it comes to not only conservation but species extinction. Multiple times "hunting" is mentioned as a viable means to protect a species. It is an excellent and informative mini-series, that should provide a dose of reality and some intelligent food for thought for any reasonable "anti".

http://store.discovery.com/detail.php?p=85329 ($22 on DVD)

quote:

Originally posted by Bill C:

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:There is no evidence to indicate that Black Rhino bulls ever get "past breeding age". So take that "talking point" and put it where the sun don't shine...

Hey nice comment! But....NOT according to "African Rhino, Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan", by Richard Emslie and the IUCN (World Conservation Union) African Rhino Specialist Group, where he speaks of "post reproductive males" (a better and perhaps more comprehensive term then "past breeding age"...but the same intended meaning) in relation to sustainable use options (specifically..."trophy hunting").

Here is a very good article by the same individual: http://www.savetherhino.org/et...ite/740/default.aspx

NOTE, this is on the "Save the Rhino" website...

No wonder the chinks are so keen on rhino horn

Bill C: Thanks for posting the link to the excellent article by Richard Emslie. I hope everyone will take the time to read it.

Here's perhaps the most significant statement in the article: It is also known that specific rhino males can dominate the breeding and sire a large proportion of the calves in smaller populations. The removal of such animals after a period of say 10–15 years may therefore reduce the risk of father–daughter matings and contribute positively to the genetic management of such populations, in the same way that a cattle farmer is unlikely to keep the same breeding bull for an extended period. In addition, the hunting of an old post-reproductive male that has been pushed out of his territory will not affect his contribution to the gene pool of that population.

According to Emslie, it is (1) better to take actual breeding bulls out of the population in order to increase genetic diversity, and (2) that older "post productive" males neither killing younger males nor suffering from erectile disfunction, rather they are not breeding because they are no longer strong enough to fight the younger males.

Now let's think again about the issue of being "past breeding age". Yes, there are males that no longer breed, but it is not because the can't, but rather because the competition is too strong. In such a population, the offtake of either the breeder or the non-breeder male does no harm to the reproductive capacity of the herd. In fact, according to Emslie, it can enhance the reproductive capacity by making room for more cows and calves.

Biologically, the phenomenon of being "past breeding age" is much more applicable to females than to males. Females of all mammalian species eventually undergo what is in human equavalency terms menopause. If hunting is to be targeted at "post productive" individuals, then it would be better targeted to aged females than to males. However, the problem is simply that any number of factors have resulted in a surplus of males, with an artifically high >50% of the population of Black Rhinos being male.

The answer is simple: Hunt an appropriate number of males in areas where there is breeding surplus of males. This does nothing to limit the breeding success of the population and enhances the survival of calves by making more forage available to the cows and their offspring. Forget "past breeding age" and just shoot mature bulls. It would also be fine to shoot aged females, but reliably determining their status and identifying them individually is simply too difficult and undependable.