Hello from Tanzania

Jambo Fulvio and karibu sana!

I've sent you a PM.
 
Hi Jerome, I bumped into an old employee of yours several days ago ... Dullah sends his regards.
I'm sorry but you have me confused with Jérôme Latrive who used to operate in Tanzania under JML Safaris with his father Jean-Michel Latrive.
 
So how about you start at age 18 and tell us about your 1st Elephant.
There you go:

My very first elephant was downed somewhere in the tall grass of the Ruvu flood plain, just an hour's drive from Dar es Salaam where I and a band of merry men taken from a nearby village to act as trackers sought out a legal bull from the numerous groups that literally infested the area and often played havoc in the local maize shambas; a legal bull back in those days was classified as having no less than 11 lbs of ivory per side.

Thus my first elephant, taken solo if you wish, was an affair that other than the silent stalk into an almost non-existent wisp of an early morning breeze towards a group of 3 bulls spotted from a distance that were peacefully browsing and moving slowly towards the forested area along the edge of the flood plain where they would spend the rest of the day protected from the heat beneath the pockets of heavy canopy and dense undergrowth, the approach and shot at the one which had the most appealing pair of tusks, was quite straightforward and uneventful.

My 375 did not disappoint after I discharged the first shot broadside to the shoulder and surprisingly ejected and chambered a fresh round which was promptly dispatched to a fast retreating rear-end and needless to say that the first round had found its mark as the elephant ran several hundred yards before keeling over on its side where a 3rd round to the brain put it out of its misery.

The traditional rite of severing tail and tip of the trunk was performed and the ivory was hacked from the skull without much ado and within a couple of hours were on our way back to the village. I noticed that some members of the party were leaving marks on trees, cutting saplings, tying tufts of grass into a knot, etc. The purpose of the exercise I later discovered was for the villagers to be able to back-track their way to the carcass where they would later in the morning recover the meat.

And so it was that upon arriving back at the village, almost every able-bodied member of the community was anticipating our arrival looking for signs of success and once they saw the leading tracker (kiongozi) waving the elephant's tail which would herald the dismembering process of the carcass and the meat-eating orgy that would follow that night, the entire village would follow the signs back to the downed elephant.

The tusks were carefully removed from their sockets without nicking any of the ivory and the respective nerve pulps twisted and removed. I was back home by 4pm of the same day wearing a grin from ear to ear proudly displaying my booty to the old man who while congratulating me also made it a point of boxing my ears for going at it alone. At the Game Dept weigh-station several days later for registration, they tipped the scales at 31/29 lbs.
 
Welcome, May I ask about what year did the first ele hunt take place?
 
Fulvio, Thank you, somehow the older the stories are always the best! I am sure you would love to turn back the clock (unless you were driving a Land Rover).
 
Fulvio, Thank you, somehow the older the stories are always the best! I am sure you would love to turn back the clock (unless you were driving a Land Rover).
I was indeed driving a Land Rover SWB (88) which I later sold and replaced with a 109 Series 3 ... I needed more room ... and later still went for the Cruiser BJ45 with the mule of a 3B engine ... I sold that after many years and bought the more advanced 1HZ which I still have to-date, problem and almost maintenance-free compared to the Land Rover. My only recrimination against LR was the never-ending maintenance - spanners in one hand and open wallet in the other. On a more positive note, the Cruiser would like to go where the Land Rover went.
 
Thankyou for the report. Welcome to AH.
 
Loaded with elephant in 1970. 2 bulls on 21 day license in Selous and easy to get them.
Yes indeed, it was during the heyday of the Selous during the days of Brian Nicholson as Project Manager and Alan Rogers when the conservative number for elephants in Tanzania were about 180,000 of which around 80,000 were at home in the Selous.
Sadly, poaching of elephant throughout Tanzania began in earnest during the hunting ban (1973 to 1979) where poachers had total freedom of movement and went on a rampage or killing spree and it goes without saying that the Selous was among the hardest hit as it is an area without human activity and the Game posts are only at the borders of the 4 sectors being North, East, South & West.
 
Welcome to AH.

Dear Fulvio,

Whom or which outfitter would you recommend for Gerenuk;Grants';Roberts' and Thomsons' hunting.
Enjoy your retirement.
 
Welcome to AH.

Dear Fulvio,

Whom or which outfitter would you recommend for Gerenuk;Grants';Roberts' and Thomsons' hunting.
Enjoy your retirement.
Hi, Nejatuner,

The species mentioned are Northern species, of which several fall into the 21 day licensing scheme and which, if you are interested in these species, should possibly include Lesser Kudu and Fringe Eared Oryx.

The recommended outfitter would be Michel Mantheakis who would be in a better position to answer any of your questions.

Regards,
Fulvio
 

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