Kenya Hunting Brochure 1976!

And the kids of today that have zero interest in hunting Africa
There are some interested in it, I deal with a lot of youth and they constantly ask me about it; several have asked to see my “elephant gun” and one 5th grader asked me what powder I was using when he didn’t recognize Jamison brass while looking at my .470 brass.

Sadly enough, I fear that only the ones born into wealth will ever have the opportunity to do it as I have; if prices/purchasing power continues to widen.
 
There are some interested in it, I deal with a lot of youth and they constantly ask me about it; several have asked to see my “elephant gun” and one 5th grader asked me what powder I was using when he didn’t recognize Jamison brass while looking at my .470 brass.

Sadly enough, I fear that only the ones born into wealth will ever have the opportunity to do it as I have; if prices/purchasing power continues to widen.
You are absolutely right! Prices are so out of control now, it will soon become a thing only the wealthy can afford. It already is in places like Tanzania, Cameroon, Ethiopia, etc
 
Maybe because they didn’t have trail cameras and it took more effort to get one?…. Or they still considered Lions a pest?

What ever the reason it caught my eye too and wish we could know.

@Wheels - Am I mistaken or doesn’t your family have connections/History in Kenya?

Can you shed a light on game densities or other details that may give context to the prices?
I bet that you are right. I would assume too that this is before PHs became specialized in leopard hunting, and it was more of a stroke of luck to see one when our hunting someone else
 
You are absolutely right! Prices are so out of control now, it will soon become a thing only the wealthy can afford. It already is in places like Tanzania, Cameroon, Ethiopia, etc
I heard at SCI that South Sudan was going to open. I was told those places will look like a bargain priced hunts.
 
You are absolutely right! Prices are so out of control now, it will soon become a thing only the wealthy can afford. It already is in places like Tanzania, Cameroon, Ethiopia, etc
Those places have always been places only the wealthy can afford when looking at the endemic species or Big 5. There are definitely ways a more middle class person can experience them it’ll have to be Plains Game, and they’ll likely be saving and avoiding South African Safaris.
 
.

Only seeing this now .....

I was born in Nairobi & my uncle was a warden with Parks. I have a number of old books - East African Game Animals - with Kenya shilling prices for game written in them (by him by hand). Love to get it out & read it from time to time. Sable, roan & dassie (!!) were off limits - classed as "Royal Game". I still today have a Grevy's zebra flat skin that my father took in Kenya in the early 1970s along with a kongoni flat skin both on the floor in my study.

Can still remember weekends spent in the bush - three white canvas tents, a campfire, laundry drying on thorn bushes & the back of a Landy as my bedroom along with my two cousins with the spare tire for a pillow & smelly grey army blankets!

Memories!

.
 
By that time 1976, there were concessions or blocks in Kenya, but still a new concept to the business. They would be held by safari companies not much different than some systems today.

I am No expert obviously! But I did just finish Brian Herne’s “white hunters”.
And it is littered with amazing first hand information you can’t read anywhere else.
Super book for the African nerd.
Wolfgang Schenck, the former chief taxidermist at Zimmermann (the largest taxidermy firm in East Africa ) wrote in his book that, as a resident, he could hunt without any problems in the blocks designated by the government where a professional hunter (PH) was staying with their clients. The blocks were also accessible to other safari companies. Under certain circumstances, they stepped on each other’s toes. The safari companies did not have leased hunting grounds.
But this was never widely publicized. The country was vast, and the guests were still successful and brought a lot of money into the country.
At that time, Kenya had 7 million inhabitants; today, 59 million, plus millions more who are unregistered.
As a resident, one could bag 10 elephants a year back then—6 throughout Kenya and an additional four in the Abadares (until the end in 1977). What times those were. Not so long ago.
Sigh.
 
I had a friend, Dr. William Pritchard of the University of California at Davis, who hunted Africa very extensively after World War Two ended. Bill was the Dean of UC Davis’s veterinary medicine school, widely regarded as the top veterinary medicine school in the USA, and that afforded him some unique opportunities across Africa.

Bill would travel to Africa when college was out for the summer and work with the Kenya Wildlife Service and other game departments on veterinary medicine and when he was finished he would stay for up to 35 days to go on safari. I remember Bill telling me how a Kenya license included everything endemic to Kenya, including 2 elephants and black rhino. Bill told me that when they’d hunt in SE Kenya in the Tana River & Tsavo region that Black Rhinos were so common that they were a nuisance that would often interfere with stalks on other game. He was fortunate to hunt across much of Africa during the golden age when very few ventured there and safaris were very long by modern standards.

Bill was like many from his generation, modest despite being very accomplished. I remember sitting in his study one time, talking about Africa after a wonderful lunch his wife had prepared for us. I asked Bill how many times he’d hunted Africa and he simply said “more than 60”. Imagine living a life that enabled one to do that.
 
Wolfgang Schenck, the former chief taxidermist at Zimmermann (the largest taxidermy firm in East Africa ) wrote in his book that, as a resident, he could hunt without any problems in the blocks designated by the government where a professional hunter (PH) was staying with their clients. The blocks were also accessible to other safari companies. Under certain circumstances, they stepped on each other’s toes. The safari companies did not have leased hunting grounds.
But this was never widely publicized. The country was vast, and the guests were still successful and brought a lot of money into the country.
At that time, Kenya had 7 million inhabitants; today, 59 million, plus millions more who are unregistered.
As a resident, one could bag 10 elephants a year back then—6 throughout Kenya and an additional four in the Abadares (until the end in 1977). What times those were. Not so long ago.
Sigh.

Always appreciate your knowledge and input Foxi!

The mention of Zimmermans brings back some memories. Attached is a photo of their storefront. We could get tanning done in Arusha but Tanzania didn’t have any good taxidermist back in the day so we used Zimmermans on the few things my parents mounted. When I was around eight I shot the co-world record Kirks Dik Dik. Eric Balson officially measured it as he was our game warden. My parents sent it to Zimmermans to get it mounted for me. Zimmermans sent back a different dik dik that was significantly shorter. Attached is a photo of the dik dik they sent back. We got no satisfaction in our communications with them. I held a grudge for a couple years. Hard to believe how many years ago that was. Thankfully there are always the memories!


1778613034490.jpeg


1778613890073.jpeg
 
.

Only seeing this now .....

I was born in Nairobi & my uncle was a warden with Parks. I have a number of old books - East African Game Animals - with Kenya shilling prices for game written in them (by him by hand). Love to get it out & read it from time to time. Sable, roan & dassie (!!) were off limits - classed as "Royal Game". I still today have a Grevy's zebra flat skin that my father took in Kenya in the early 1970s along with a kongoni flat skin both on the floor in my study.

Can still remember weekends spent in the bush - three white canvas tents, a campfire, laundry drying on thorn bushes & the back of a Landy as my bedroom along with my two cousins with the spare tire for a pillow & smelly grey army blankets!

Memories!

.

Charlie

Do you mind mentioning the areas of Kenya where your uncle was stationed as a warden.

A Grevy flat skin is certainly a rare trophy these days, and one to be proud of. I was always amazed how big they were compared to our zebras. If you could post a photo of the skin, I am sure all of us on this thread would appreciate it.
 
And that’s with Bert as the broker/hunt booker charging his prices! I’m sure he charged a premium.

I bet if you could get a hold of the actual Kenyan outfitter price sheet in EA shillings it would be even cheaper!

There is some old Ker and Downey price sheets from Tanganyika that are just crazy cheap.

Tanzania had a nonresident license in the 60’s. It was probably a holdover from pre independence days. It cost 50 EAS/TZS which was around $4-7 at the time and included maybe ten species and probably less than 20 total animals. We had friends from Malawi who would come once or twice a year and fill up their landrover and trailer with meat. I don’t remember what was on the license but I do remember them shooting impala, topi, zebra, warthog, buffalo and some small stuff like duiker oribi and dik dik. They hunted with us. However I’m not sure if it was a requirement to hunt with a Tanzania resident or not. We were not professional hunters though so that wasn’t a requirement.

We also had a couple friends from the states that used the license. I do remember a lady who shot an impala a couple days before she returned home. We never boiled horns back then. Just salted them, threw them on the roof and left them in the sun to cure. The skull cap along with the skin to go over the skull cap was definitely not cured. She carried it in her handbag with the horns sticking out as she bordered the plane in Mbeya. In talking to her later she had no problem on any of her flights back to America but I do remember they still stank as she boarded the plane. Try doing that now.
 
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??....
1778617858570.png

Zimmermanns workshop
An interesting figure mr. Zimmermann.
I cant find a lot about him.
 
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Maybe because they didn’t have trail cameras and it took more effort to get one?…. Or they still considered Lions a pest?

What ever the reason it caught my eye too and wish we could know.

@Wheels - Am I mistaken or doesn’t your family have connections/History in Kenya?

Can you shed a light on game densities or other details that may give context to the prices?

No connection to Kenya but to the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. We did travel on holiday to Kenya.

My most vivid memory of Nairobi in the 60’s was going to the drive in theater. I think the show was War Wagon. We hardly ever saw a show so it was a neat experience. There was a commotion as some men started getting out of their vehicles and pointing at the night sky. Soon all the men were out pointing up at an object moving across the sky. The general consensus was it had to be a satellite. I think it was the first satellite anyone there had ever seen.
 
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”

1778620175607.jpeg


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”.

1778620591783.jpeg

Foxi. Photo of the Bwana. It was easier pulling this photo from his book than trying to find something it my scattered collection.


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.
 
Wheels,


"Zimmermans sent back a different dik dik that was significantly shorter."
Probably sold to a crazy trophy hunter??....

I have always thought that. Someone that had forty shoulder and full mounts done by Zimmermans probably doesn’t know what he has.

I have presumed Zimmerman was a German. Do you know anything more about him like where he was from and how he made it to Nairobi?
 
.

Wheels, I'll happily post a picture in the next few days. It is indeed a big skin - my father had it hanging on the wall in the one of my parents homes. Was the only home with a wall big enough to hang the skin. Rest of the years it was mothballed in a cupboard until I laid it out on our study floor.

It's a wonderful flat skin !

.
 
Regarding Zimmermans. These are photos from an add in 1971. Pretty good job of building up muscle in the lions shoulder prior to forms.
 

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By that time 1976, there were concessions or blocks in Kenya, but still a new concept to the business. They would be held by safari companies not much different than some systems today.

I am No expert obviously! But I did just finish Brian Herne’s “white hunters”.
And it is littered with amazing first hand information you can’t read anywhere else.
Super book for the African nerd.
Hernes’s book is incredible…
 

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