First Indigenous Big Game Professional Hunter - by Staff Reporter

From The New Era
April 28, 2009


WINDHOEK – History in the making. It’s groundbreaking. That is Abiliu Hihuilepo. Being the first indigenous Namibian registering as a big game professional hunter, he is now set to plough back into his homeland.

Abiliu succeeded where none of his peers have. He fits the profile of a professional hunter like a glove, being multi-skilled – a tracker, marksman, mechanic, chef, expert on fauna and flora and multilingual. Personal traits such as endless patience, high integrity, being steadfast in the face of danger and never losing sense of humour add to his expertise as a big game professional hunter.

Abiliu’s breakthrough came when he tied the knot with Savannah Safaris Namibia as an economic partner. As director and shareholder in Savannah Safaris Namibia, he is a prime example of how – when provided with the opportunity – a combination of natural talent and hard work leads to success.

Hands on Knowledge Paves the Way to the Top
From herding cattle in Owamboland to mingling with sophisticated guests from all over the world, he makes it look so easy. Born in Ombalantu in 1953, the fourth of 11 children, he grew up hunting with the traditional bow and arrow, acquiring his skills in tracking and knowledge of the veldt.

Col. Bill Williamson from Austin, Texas, wrote: “I have hunted with guides and professional hunters throughout north America, Africa and Asia. None is more knowledgeable about the flora in their area than Abiliu. He has an uncanny knack of thinking like the quarry and predicting its every mood. He is as good as they come – a real professional. I am proud to call him my friend.”

As a young man, Abiliu worked mostly on farms in Angola and Namibia, before teaming up with Bryan Connock. They were together for 30 years as friends and partners, catching birds for export, doing commercial fishing and later hunting. Together they offered hunting safaris all over Southern Africa. He describes Abiliu as a natural marksman and a better tracker than the San –“he can track a mouse over a tennis court”.

He remembers failing his first attempt at passing the stringent examinations set by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET).

Through perseverance he passed his theoretical and practical examinations to register as a professional hunter 10 years ago. Ben Beytel, currently Director: Scientific Services at the MET was the examiner. “He complained that I knew too much!” chuckles Abiliu.

This was a historic breakthrough for a indigenous Namibian who only attended school up to Grade 6.

Savannah Safaris acquired one of the first trophy hunting concessions in a Namibian Conservancy area. Since 1998 they have been involved in a highly successful joint venture with the Torra Conservancy in Damaraland, north-western Namibia, where trophy hunting, eco-tourism, conservation projects and the local community’s farming activities have managed to thrive together. The Torra Conservancy has received numerous awards and international recognition for successfully managing this complex balancing act.

Trophy Hunting and Conservation in Harmony
Whereas it often seems incongruous to uninformed outsiders that trophy hunting can harmonise with conservation, Abiliu regards it as most logical and natural. He believes most trophy hunters are passionate about conservation, and the beauty is that mostly older animals are removed without disturbing reproduction.

Game has now become a valuable asset and his personal experience is supported by scientific surveys that game numbers in Namibia has increased significantly since his younger days. He observes a rigorous growth, not only in common plains game like oryx and springbok, but also the more fragile species like cheetah, lion and elephant. Damaraland also has a thriving population of black rhino.

Abiliu is proud and feels fortunate to be involved in the trophy hunting and tourism industry. This is a career with opportunities, where competency is more important than luck, race or politics. Apart from his own passion for the veldt and the positive effect it has on conservation, he sees hunting as benefiting Namibia as a whole. Increasing numbers of influential guests are visiting the country, creating jobs, spending money and leaving impressed and as good ambassadors. He regards Namibia as the best place in the world, although he is keen to travel more extensively.

His roots are still in Ombalantu where he has land, but he also owns a house in Swakopmund where he spends the off-season break with his family. Apart from his own partnership with Henk Fourie and Willem Annandale in Savannah Safaris, it has also become a family affair. His wife Johanna is the camp manager, while his eldest son Ambrosius (26) is also a PH and working for the company. The other son Ludwig (24) is a tour guide, while Beatrice (22) recently completed her IT studies in South Africa. Rosalia (20) is currently studying in Wellington, South Africa.

More indigenous Africans getting involved in the hunting industry is good news. If sport hunting were to remain the exclusive bastion of white Africans, there would be much less social and economic incentive to preserve and nurture it.

Don't know if Abiliu is one of them, but Jan Oelofse -- one of the pioneers in Namibian trophy hunting -- has had two "indigenous" professional hunters working for him for some time.

Bill Quimby

I guess there may be many indigenous PHs, but in Namibia, you have to go one step further for "big game PH." can't remember the specifics, but seemed like a lot of hoops to get there.

quote:

I guess there may be many indigenous PHs, but in Namibia, you have to go one step further for "big game PH." can't remember the specifics, but seemed like a lot of hoops to get there.

That is correct, Futrdoc, one of the reasons we are only about 43 guys qualified for Big Game (elephant, buffalo, lion, hippo, croc, rhino).

There are plenty of "indigenous" hunters out there. Some are good some are not. Tanzania is full of indigenous folks milking the system. Not good for anyone. When you say indigenous are you meaning black or do you mean folks that were either born or raised in their various countries??

Karl,

Do you have to be big game qualified to hunt leopard in namibia? or just the others?

square shooter:

By "indigenous" we mean "of the bush, or someone who was born into the world as a native or villager." Yes, in Africa, it usually refers to someone who is Black, but not all Black Africans are indigenous. Your post made reference to "indigenous hunters...milking the system." We're not talking about that, this is a Professional Hunter qualified to guide and assist you in Big Game i.e. elephant, buffalo, lion, croc, rhino and hippo.

Moja

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
Abiliu succeeded where none of his peers have. He fits the profile of a professional hunter like a glove, being multi-skilled – a tracker, marksman, mechanic, chef, expert on fauna and flora and multilingual. Personal traits such as endless patience, high integrity, being steadfast in the face of danger and never losing sense of humour add to his expertise as a big game professional hunter.

The Africans indigenous to the areas I have hunted, including Herero, Maasai, San bushmen and others, have generally been exceptional trackers and hunters. Knowledge of the game and experience at tracking have come to them from wide experience and have been second nature to them. They have always been far better hunters than I can lay claim to being.

It seems that Abiliu has aquired the additional skills that are needed for success in the hunting business, including language and business skills, familiarity and skill with firearms, people skills, etc. That is a difficult thing for an indigenous African to accomplish. He also seems to have the right combination of ambition and connections to put his skills to work.

Good for him - and much success to him and his company.