Auction Hunts

[Mike70560]

Did anybody hear if the auction for the hunts in Zimbabwe were successful?

I heard rumors of over $10,000USD for 10 days, a buffalo, some PG. That did not include the PH or outfitting the camp.

Just curious about the sale, one year I may participate for trophy elephant.

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Zim auctions elephants, leopards

Mike, Not heard anything yet, though curious as well...

Here is some info.

Zim auctions elephants, leopards
by Tobias Manyuchi

HARARE – Zimbabwean wildlife authorities will today (March 04, 2011) auction hunting packages for big game including elephants, lions and leopards with dozens of local and foreign hunters expected to take part in the auction.

The packages known as hunting camps consist of animal species packaged into bags to be hunted over a 10 to 14-day period in the Nyakasanga area of Hurungwe Safari and Sapi Safari in north-western Zimbabwe.

"The animals on offer include elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo, hippopotamus and plains game such as kudu, impala, waterbuck and birds," the National Parks and Wildlife Authority said in a statement.

"A cash participation deposit of 10,000 USD for hunting camps and 500 for fishing camps will be required in order to obtain a buyer's licence number which is refundable if all sale conditions are met," it said.

The last auction in 2009 saw bidders coming from Austria, Germany, Russia, Spain and the United States. The country earned $1.5 million from the auction.

The wildlife department has sanctioned several hunts over the past decade especially as way to cull excess animals.

But illegal hunting has also been rife in Zimbabwe over the same period and mostly blamed on black villagers who have since 2000 invaded – and with tacit approval from President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party -- white-owned farms and game conservancies where they have been accused of poaching animals for food.

The situation has not been helped by reports of illegal and uncontrolled trophy hunting on former white-owned conservancies now controlled by powerful government officials and members of ZANU PF, although the government denies politicians are illegally hunting game and insists it still has poaching under control.


Source: ZimOnline

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Find as attached pdf documents from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority information about the various auctions that took place...

 

[Mike70560]

Jerome,

Thanks for posting.

 

[Rastaman]

Zimbabwe national parks auction results

So the national parks auction for hunting camps in the zambezi auction was just held in Harare and it was a very unusual event. At first someone was collaborating to run up the camp prices and the first too camps went for crazy amounts. Then all of the buyers caught on and threatened a walk out. The silliness stopped and bidding returned to normal rates.
The odd result of this, or maybe just a result of the economy, is that a great deal of camps and extra animals were not purchased and are still available. The following camps have not been sold: N32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37. Extra animals on Nyakasanga not sold are: Lion, Lioness, Buff x 5, Hippo x 2, Bushbuck x 2, Warthog and Hyaena. Sapi area: S8, 9, 10, 16. Extra animals on Sapi: Trophy Elephant x 5, Buff (m) x 3, Crocodile x 1, Zebra x 3, Hyaena. These camps will be sold during the year by parks at a negotiated rate.

It is a rare year that the trophy elephant (5 no less!!) and the one lion is not sold, ecspecially since this is the same area that Boddington said would produce the best lion in the next few years! If any of you have the funds, this may be a great opportunity. I have said I am not going this year but that lion is calling my name!! I can only assume the rest of the industry is feeling this same level of retraction.

 

[Rastaman]

With all of the camps still available I bet you could pick up a camp for $9,000 and a bull elephant for $12,000, but that is just a guess.

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Thanks for that Rastaman!

 

[tap]

Sorry for being clueless here but what would the additional cost be if you were to pick up a lion camp for around 10 grand? Can anyone purchase these or do you have to be a zim ph. Would it also be advisable to hunt in zimbabwe? My friends purchased a zim lion and elephant package 2 years ago and when they showed up the blacks informed them they never did have a lion tag. I've heard lots of bad things about zim. I would love to hunt there since I've heard its much cheaper but am very sceptical of the zim situation.

 

[Mike70560]

tap,

Rastaman can answer the questions in regards to the auction hunts as he has experience. Good lions in other areas are running 35-50K or more.

In regards to hunting in Zimbabwe I always highly recommend hunting there as long as it is with a reputable operator. There are plenty of good Zimbabwean outfits. Do not book with some outfit from another country that will hand you off to somebody you do not know. With a good outfit Zim is not that much cheaper than other areas. The really cheap hunts are the ones your friends went on with no quota. Actually those are really expensive.

Do your due diligence and check references. The internet is a great tool. If it does not seem "right" well it probably is not. "PAC", "ration quotas", "management hunts" always raise a flag.

This is a list of operators from SOAZ

Hunting Safari Operators List

This is not to say all of the operators on the list are great and it also does not mean if an operator is not on the list he is bad. It is certainly a good starting point.

You must have a licensed Zim PH with you at all times while hunting. No exceptions. No BS about the licensed PH is in camp so an unlicensed PH can guide you.

I am leaving in 6 weeks for my third Zim hunt in the last year and a half. Trophies from my September hunt arrived at the tannery in the states last month.

While Zim has its problems my wife and I love the country and its people.

 

[Rastaman]

Tap,

First of all, dont be concerned about hunting in Zim. It still has great hunting and right now offers a great value. Like Mike said, check out your PH and outfitter and do your homework, but that rule really applies anywhere. There are few qualified outfitters that work in the Valley and organize hunts that are bought at auction.
The Zambezi Valley hunts are unique as everyone must buy from parks at the auction. The two lions are left over this year but you cant get them for $10k, more like $20K. To buy one you have to buy a "camp" which will run about 9k but includes a buffalo and some other animals. The deal would be if you had a friend who wanted a buffalo and you add the lion.
The answer to your other question is that anybody can bid at the auction, but of course you cant really outfit the camp or hunt dangerous game without a PH so it doesnt make much sense to do so. If you look at BABWE SAFARIS you will see a typical arrangement which involves adding a camp and ph fee to the auction price.
THe end result is that if you are interested in multiple of the big five this is a great area and could work out better financially for you than other options. However, the drawbacks are the short hunt time (10 or 14 days) and the fact that you pay for the animals up front, leaving you with the risk of not getting one. This happened to me this year as I left without a buffalo because I passed on a few small ones looking for grandaddy.
HOpe this answers your questions and good luck.