An opportunity arose to hunt a trophy lion in the Torra Conservancy in north- western Namibia. For the past years the lion population had grown in this area and the human-wildlife conflict increased as a result. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism invited professional hunters to the opportunity to hunt
Royston Wright, a devoted conservationist and stalwart of sustainable hunting, passed away unexpectedly on 4 February 2024, leaving behind a legacy of education, passion and commitment to Namibia’s wildlife. For over 20 years, Royston made an indelible mark on the conservation and hunting community through his work with SCI International,
Sitting together on the low veranda wall in front of my wife’s office at Ameib Guesthouse in uncomplicated fashion so typical for Felix, dangling our legs and gossiping, of course talking about hunting, Felix mentioning that this time he would hunt a Bongo in Cameroon for himself as well, none
Having grown up in Namibia, surrounded by its rugged landscapes and abundant wildlife, I have always been a nature lover and conservation enthusiast. This love is what guided my life toward the path of storytelling, with a focus on travel, tourism, conservation and, of course, hunting. As the editor of
On a hunt earlier in the season we had witnessed from a distance how a leopard (we had four leopard sightings in broad daylight on that safari) had tried to snatch a young baboon on the granite ridge on which we were sitting now. When the rest of the baboons
Another Namibian conservation success story is that of the Black Rhino Custodianship Program. This initiative has achieved unparalleled success, resulting in significant population growth and allowing for regulated trophy hunting of older bulls. Kirsty Watermeyer
Many times it doesn’t end this well for clients. Animals are wounded and lost or never seen. The professional hunter receives, and often accepts, the blame despite bearing none of its responsibility. The teamwork needed for success is the result of the PH and client giving one hundred percent. Hailing
There is a sense of sovereignty that comes from atop a mountain, a perception of privacy and isolation, even of dominion. I love the painful cold of the morning, the brittle new frost beneath my boots, the breathless clarity of the sky. Put both of these together, combine space and
In Namibia, the struggle for the survival of the African wild dog unfolds in what the program coordinator at the Kalahari African Wild Dog Conservation Project describes as a “war zone”. Local farmers, fearing for their livestock, often resort to killing these endangered animals. Nadja le Roux reports that the
My son, Chris, had the 30-06 Ruger Hawkeye rifle steady on the sticks, with Robin giving extra support with his left shoulder, his well-worn floppy hat shading his eyes from the slanting sun rays. It was just after 10h00 and we had been following different groups of springbok since early
A decade ago, my mother Isabelle and I embarked on a journey that started with a simple realisation. A classmate of mine boldly declared that the source of meat was the grocery store. It struck me – not just because it seemed comically naive, but because I was fortunate enough
With my gun case and rucksack I set off to Namibia on my own at the end of May 2024. I was looking forward to my second attempt to bag a mature old kudu bull according to the rules of the Erongo Verzeichnis. Like the previous year, my destination is
In the vast untamed landscapes of Namibia, hunting is more than just a sport. It is a tradition, a way of life that connects us deeply with the land. The Young Hunters Committee of Namibia carries the responsibility and honour of safeguarding this legacy for future generations.
I like old things. In my house I’ve got a wooden carving from a Flemish church dating from the 1800s, some pewter tankards from the mid-1600s, and a smoking pipe of New Zealand origin from around the last war. My usual hunting rifle is an early 1970s Heckler and Koch
Robust, collaborative and driven by science. This is how you can describe the process that the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) has adopted to set quotas in communal conservancies. Richard Fryer, the Control Warden for Human-Wildlife Conflict and Conservation Hunting at MEFT, who manages this process, explains that
