I had seen this bull before, and heard he died. I think he's #1 bull, #2 overall.

In case it doesn't work:
http://www.safaripress.com/shop/media/capebuffalo.jpg

hhmag,



Do they have Texas Longhorns in Africa? A little cross-breeding maybe?



Boy what a span. I don't know if that conformation is desirable among those "in the know" but looks like it would certainly attract attention back in camp.



Good Luck and Good Hunting,

EKM

Courtesy of www.safaripress.com

This incredible picture is the only known life shot of the new world record bull Cape buffalo. The photo was taken by German hunter in 2000 in Tanzania.

At the time the photo was taken, it was judged to be already an old animal, based upon the protruding hip bones. The bull was killed and eaten by lions in the Manyara National Park, Tanzania, sometime last year.

The horns were found by game department personnel, and the spread measures an INCREDIBLE 64� inches (165 centimeters).

We hope to place a photo of the horns and skull on this site shortly to give our Web visitors a better perspective on how incredibly big this animal really was.

The claim of a new �world record� is being bandied about with frequency in the hunting world. But this animal truly outscores anything listed in SCI and Rowland Ward. The Safari Club Record book does not measure widest spread, but it is clear that their current Number 1 does not hold a candle to this bull, which was shot in 1998 in Botswana.

The Rowland Ward Records of Big Game lists several incredible monster buffalo. The biggest of them all is a cow with deformed horns (also from Lake Manyara!) that was killed in 1946. Its widest spread is 64 inches. The next biggest head, killed in 1972 and thought to be a cow, has a spread of 593/8 inches. The third head listed is, for sure, a bull, and it has a spread of 58 inches. It was killed by a professional hunter in 1951. Incredibly, all three top heads from Rowland Ward come from Tanzania!

This new world record is a doubly incredible in that it not only outscores the biggest heads ever recorded, but it is also a bull Cape buffalo while the former Number 1 and 2 in Rowland Ward were both cows.

Postscript: we have received various e mails and sometimes conflicting claims as to the exact measurements of this animal. It would appear that measurements taken this spring (after the skull and horns had dried for more than 6 months) show a widest spread of 62 6/8. This would still retain this head the number one spot in Rowland Ward for a bull Cape buffalo but would place it number 2 over all in Rowland Ward, after the cow with deformed horns.

Wow! Hope he sired many offspring.

The story I heard was that Barry van Heerdon of Zim picked up the horns after it had been killed bu lions. Barry sent me a pic of him and the horns.

Where they are now I do not know.

As stated before, this buffalo was found dead in Manyara National Park, killed by lions. It was measured by SCI master measurer Ernst Scholz and measurements were:
62 6/8 spread
11 6/8 and 11 7/8 boss
tip to tip 104 6/8

Don't have copies of RW or SCI records so don't know where it stands in these books. The skull and skin is reportedly with alocal taxidermist in Tz being prepared for a full mount to be displayed at the National Parks HQ's. The Taxidermist that was originally commissioned for the work had to leave Tz under suspicious circumstances so it will be a while before the full mount will be displayed.

There are still buffalos in Tz that IMO will outscore any of the record books but unfortunately most of these are in National Parks where hunitng is not allowed. Here is a photo of one in Ngorongoro that is still alive and some PH's recon could threaten the top 3 positions....

From Causey's The Hunting Report





Species: Cape Buffalo
Measurement: 127 3/8 SCI
Where Taken: Tanzania
Hunter: Matt Norman
Story:


You may have heard rumors about this "new world record buffalo" in Tanzania with an "incredible 64�-inch outside spread," but be aware that the animal in question does not appear to be that big after all. We are indebted to subscriber Matt Norman for the clarifying details on this one.

Seems the brouhaha began when Safari Press, the book publishing firm, uploaded a German hunting client's photograph of a huge buffalo that was reported to have been killed and eaten sometime late last year by lions in Tanzania's Manyara National Park. The buffalo was still alive when the photograph was taken, incidentally, and the image is absolutely mind-boggling. At any rate, the horns and skull were subsequently found by game department personnel, who turned them over to a taxidermist in Arusha, who showed them to Matt Norman.

Norman says the taxidermist is selling replicas of the horns for $1,000 each, and is repeating the claim that is being made at this writing on the Safari Press web site - namely, that the horns are a "new world record." Trouble is, Norman was taken to see the horns by PH Ernst Scholz, who happens to be an SCI Master Measurer, and who happened to have a tape with him during the visit. He promptly measured the horns and filled out an SCI score sheet, a copy of which we have now seen. It indicates the buffalo measures 104 0/8, tip to tip. The boss measures 11 6/8 x 11 7/8. The outside spread is 62 6/8. The total SCI score is 127 3/8, which places it roughly 24th in the SCI Record Book. As regards the Rowland & Ward Record Book, which measures outside spread only, the buffalo is apparently No. 2, as the No. 1 buffalo in Rowland Ward is listed as having a spread of 64 inches.

Imagine if these animals were auctioned to game ranches in RSA! I know that they count as diseased buffalo though so wouldn't be allowed in.
I am sure people would pay big bucks to hunt one of them, even if they are semi-tame.

Is this the same Matt Norman that posts on AR?

Yes, that is me holding the horns. NO, I DID NOT SHOOT IT. I was with my PH friend Ernst Scholz in Arusha in November 2000, and we stopped at the taxidermist shop that possessed these horns. At the time the taxidermist was having replicas of the horns made and selling them.

Ernst is a master scorer (is that the right term? maybe master measurer). I watched him score the horns and took photos while he was doing so. I have a copy of the score sheet.

The critter was apparently killed by lions and the horns picked up. Somehow the taxidermist ended up "owning" them. The horns seemed to be growing after awhile as the legend grew. At one point they were up to 64 1/2 inches in some reports. I happened to talk with Don Causey about the time the legend was at it's peak and gave him the straight skinny.

It was indeed one helluva buffalo spread-wise, but didn't have enough mass to score at the top.

Matt,



This photo of Fred Rademeyer was taken at the taxidermists' shop. It was supposedly the same set you saw. Definitely an awesome set of horns, but Fred confirmed that they were not as large as reported at the time.



Jim

Fred Rademeyer. Wow there's a Blast from the Past.