December 5, 2023
When reminiscing about our childhood days in Namibia, we fondly remember witnessing majestic kudu bulls gracefully leaping across the roads or proudly surveying the hills nearby. However, over the years, these awe-inspiring sightings have become increasingly scarce. The furniture in old farmhouses, crafted from the horns of these magnificent animals, serves as a constant reminder of their grandeur and the prevailing sentiment that “you don’t see them that big these days anymore.”
December 5, 2023
I spent my childhood weekends running wild in a beautiful corner of the Namibian bushland. The bush is more than just a place to me: it's a feeling, a connection to the land that runs deep within my soul. I can still recall the sensation of a Swarthaak thorn catching on my jersey, the warmth of red sand between my toes.
December 5, 2023
Hunting is a gift that is in our blood at birth, but true hunters are not born – they are made. I am of the firm belief that the instinct to hunt is present in every human’s DNA, albeit deeper down and less amplified in some. But I also believe it is something that needs to be nurtured and brought out of a person. The raw instinct to shoot the arrow or fire the rifle might live within you, but the why, the how and the what now? are skills and values that must be carefully taught and passed down through generations. Jackson Engel
February 9, 2024
Explore the vital role of wildlife population management through hunting in Namibia. Discover how sustainable utilisation, habitat conservation, anti-poaching efforts, and community engagement merge to support effective conservation strategies, ensuring both ecological health and economic benefits for local communities.
February 9, 2024
This may not apply to all areas where this species occurs as springbok are distributed over large tracts of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, and the terrain differs considerably, but it certainly applies to the barren open country of southern and western Namibia.
The springbok is my favourite game animal – for a few days of springbok hunting at the edge of the Namib Desert I postpone everything else. So much so, that if I would have to stop hunting except for one species, I would choose springbok. Now, while springbok certainly are not endangered, it has become apparent in a dramatic way to me that springbok country true to my heart’s desire – meaning vistas of endlessly far horizons in unspoiled, unfenced landscape – is disappearing.
February 9, 2024
The issue is ripe with fear in Africa because of the implications such a move would have for conservation on the continent. Currently eight out of the top 10 countries engaged in large mammal conservation use trophy hunting as an important component of their efforts.
It is because of trophy hunting that many governments, landowners and local communities today choose to keep land as wildlife habitat rather than converting it to agricultural land. It is also why they choose to invest in anti-poaching measures and why they tolerate dangerous wildlife on their doorstep. The removal of these three incentive pillars would likely topple conservation in many parts of Africa.
February 13, 2024
I have wanted to hunt the red hartebeest for some time now but I never really had the opportunity, and it was made even more difficult by the severe drought that Namibia was faced with during 2019/2020. Red hartebeest are somewhat of a fragile antelope that require good rainfall and grasslands to survive. Unfortunately, many areas lost a lot of their hartebeest due to the drought. Asking around at a few places about where it might be possible to hunt this species, almost all of the responses were that I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere now. You can imagine my relief when I heard that Jamy would be able to assist with this hunt.
February 13, 2024
The landscape of the Namibian bushveld is like a grand theatre: an expansive, sun-baked stage where dramas of life and survival unfold. My greatest dream as an avid hunter is to one day fell a stately old kudu bull. With weekends frequently spent out in the Namibian wilderness hunting for mostly subsistence, the dream is fuelled by the beauty of nature and being surrounded by the rugged bush. After each successful hunt my subconscious mind is fuelled further and the dream becomes vivid in my slumbers. The pursuit of an elusive old kudu bull known as the Grey Ghost.
March 27, 2024
It was an early start to the day with a roughly six-hour journey heading north-east from Windhoek, to the bushveld region east of Grootfontein. This is an area that I had only been to once before, in search of the same elusive eland. I had no success then and hoped it would turn out differently this time.
March 27, 2024
As hunters we always claim that hunting is conservation and that it is a very important tool to ensure the continuation of conserving wild places. We mainly link this to some form of financial incentive, be it for rural communities, for land owners or for ourselves as hunters. “If it pays, it stays” is the almost over-used credo. “Only if game has value will it be worth protecting”