Wheels,
do you know more about Eric Balson ?
Do you have a pic of him ?
Decades ago I red a notice that he shot the biggest buffalo of a long search in Tanzania.
People finally wanted to know just how heavy those mighty buffalo really were. Out of what were likely thousands, the largest one was shot and officially weighed.
975 kg
"Zimmermans sent back a different dik dik that was significantly shorter."
Probably sold to a crazy trophy hunter??....
Bwana Balson was a friend of my fathers when he was the Game Warden for southern Tanzania. Balson would stop by periodically when he was on patrol. We would see him in Mbeya periodically as well. Balson had a large python in a cage outside in front of his office along with guinea pigs. I always wanted to see the python catch one but never did.
I don’t know the story about buffalo you are mentioning. Balson did have a massive cow buffalo in his office with the longest horns I have ever seen on a buffalo. It was an oddity and Balson wouldn’t submit it to Rowland Ward. My memory is probably bad and I was young so everything is bigger when you are young but I would guess that the boss was around 6” and that each horn was over a meter. The horns didn’t go out but swept back over the shoulders. Certainly not a typical buffalo.
President Nyerere used Balson to host political hunters like Prince Bernard and Marshall Tito. After we left Balson was put in charge of antipoaching for the country. Balson arrested the poacher responsible for killing the second largest elephant ever recorded in Iringa in 1970. I will attach a photo of the ivory from Sanchez Arinos book.
Balson was trying to prosecute the Vice President along with members of the Kenyatta family in Kenya for elephant and rhino poaching. He and his families life’s were threatened and he fled Tanzania. He moved to Zambia where he opened the Lower Zambezi National Park for Kenneth Kaunda. After that he did a few things and moved around before settling and retiring outside Calgary.
I was in touch with the Bwana the last few years of his life. I appreciated him because he always had fond things to say about my father. He passed away a few years ago and I will attach the post I made on AH then.
For those that are interested Balson wrote two books published by Safari Press. “On Safari with Bwana Game” and “ More Safaris with Bwana Game”
192/189 shot in what is now Ruaha National Park near Iringa. Balson arrested the poachers and confiscated the ivory. The ivory is supposedly in the hands of the Tanzania Game Department. All attempts I have made to view the ivory have been ignored. In talking to a number of old timers they think the ivory is probably gone and was sold years ago. For those that think all East African ivory is narrow. This photo is from Sanchez Arino’s book. I believe he is 6’4”.
Foxi. Photo of the Bwana. It was easier pulling this photo from his book than trying to find something it my scattered collection.
J,
This connection is taking me to a 402 error page.
Perhaps there is an issue. Perhaps it is my computer?!?!
As a note Ian Manning @iwho is a member here knew Balson well. The last I communicated with Manning he was going to try and get a manuscript from Viva to publish a third book by Balson. I haven’t been in contact with Manning for a couple years and don’t know the status of this venture.
