Somebody who have hunted the Tuli area in Zim???
God or bad experiences?
What about the elephantpopulation - is it good? Many tuskless animals in this area?
I have an option for two bulls and 4 tuskless elephants next year. I know trophysize is not like Matetsi, around 40 Ibs should be a good bull in the Tuli area as I understand.. But I would like to hear from someone who have actually hunted this area. Also PH`s like Ganyana are more than welcome to post...

Your estimates of 40 lbs are too optimistic for this area. If you went in to the hunt expecting to shoot 15 to 25 pounders it would be more realistic.

Regards,
John Barth

not a good area for eles. the herds live in botswana and cross into the concession periodically. At times you can have 700 ele in the concession but often none. Very few tuskless in the area.

I've never been in Zim's Tuli area, but I have been in Botswana's. There are lots of elephant but I saw no tuskless and nothing over maybe 30 pounds.

Bill Quimby

Tuli Block and surrounding areas in Botswana can produce the odd biggie - last year someone took a single tusker of 70 odd lbs in the tribal area behind the block..... I've never seen a tuskless Elephant there but I'm sure they occur.

I'm afraid I don't know enough about Tuli Circle in Zim to comment.

Thys DeVries had an option to get some bulls from one of the communities in the Tuli on the Bots side, the same area where that supposed single tusker of 70 lbs. that Shakari mentioned came from (to my knowledge this 70 pounder was never verified, the locals all seemed to be guessing, and Debbie Peake could not verify it either). Thys said he was sure it was probably an exaggeration.

The bulls Thys had the option on are selling for something like $17,000 all inclusive for daily rate and trophy fee. The hunts have to be conducted by January 31st, 2008. In Thys's own words, "But as I said earlier, we have to sell them expecting sizes no bigger than 35 pounds with the average being 28 to 30 pounds."

When I spoke to Thys last week there were 10 or 12 of these bulls available, but there is a bit of bad press around them as some people have been trying to sell them and telling potential clients that the expectations are in line with the rest of the Botswana concessions, which they are not.

Regards,
John Barth
safaris@trip.net

I hunted in the Tuli on the Zimbabwe side in the Shashe May of 2003. It was a non trophy elephant bull hunt. I got a 25 pounder which was considered pretty good for that area. I also go on horse safaris with the Limpopo Valley Horse Safari operation in the Mashatu area of the Tuli right across the border in Botswana. I have seen plenty of tuskless elephants there and no big trophy bulls. A big bull in that area would be 30lbs IMO. The Tuli herds have figured out where they are safe and where they are not. In May 2003 when I rode in Botswana for ten days I easily saw 350 elephants while hunting across the border in Zim immediately after for 5 days I saw a total of five elephants - one the bull I shot.


You can borrow money, but you can't borrow time. Go now.

Thanks all. I`ll take it further..

Last time I was in Zim's Tuli area was in 94. Shot a Leopard just off the end of the Tuli runway (dirt strip) and saw quite a few Elephant, but nothing that was huge.