Sunset in Africa through the trees

This Safari is Just the Beginning

There’s More to Every View

In the current societal view informed by either/or media, the future of conservation is not looking good.

In the Context of Habitat

It’s not hunting or even poaching that are the biggest threats to the Big Five or Africa’s most recognized animals, such as wild dogs. It’s the loss habitat. For an animal to succeed, they must have sufficient space to live as nature intended. For example, wild dogs require extensive space to thrive.

Farming

Take a look at this as we drive the fenceline and look at the Khamab reserve habitat compared to a neighbor’s private game reserve.

The land on the other side of our fence is essentially the same. The same foliage, ground, and habitat options. The same would be true of a traditional, extensive farm. Farmers are able to make a living by allowing limited, controlled hunting on their land to supplement the farming income. Without this ability, African farmers will be forced to raze the existing habitat for livestock or crops to compete with the intensive farming structure in America.

The result is that in order to appease the public’s perception that all hunting is bad, the habitat of all the native animals is removed and they are forced out of their territory. This includes pangolins and anteaters, but also the grazers and prey of the natural ecosystem. No one wants a gemsbok or elephant eating either the livestock’s food source or the farm’s crop, such as citrus.

(Until I learn more, I am deliberately leaving pangolins out of this; their traffic numbers are terrible and little is actually known of their numbers or their footprint in the wild.)

So About Hunting

Let’s be abundantly clear. No one, including me, is justifying canned hunting (where animals are raised as petting subjects then released to be killed) or look up other stuff.

But controlled hunting, where the hunter can only hunt a specific animal that is older or ill, is another matter. Essentially, the hunter is filling the natural role of a predator, such as a lion, removing an animal that should not procreate and would not survive in nature. The benefit, however hard this may sound, is that the reserve or farm owner is paid handsomely for the privilege of removing that animal: on the low end 9000 US for a lioness up to

Hunting Africa’s Big Five (elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, buffalo) is an exclusive, high-end experience typically costing between $50,000 and over $200,000+ for a complete, multi-week safari. Costs vary heavily based on location (South Africa vs. Zimbabwe), trophy size, and species, with rhinos often costing upwards of $100,000+ alone. 

Estimated Trophy Fees (Per Animal):

Key Cost Factors:

  • Daily Rates: Professional hunter (PH) services, lodging, and meals often cost $400–$1,200 per day for dangerous game.
  • Package vs. Custom: Comprehensive, multi-animal packages may offer better value than hunting each animal individually.
  • Additional Fees: CITES permits ($200-$1,500+ per animal), taxidermy, shipping, and pre-baiting for leopards add significant costs.
  • Location: South Africa often offers more affordable, fenced-area hunting, while Zimbabwe, Tanzania, or Zambia offer higher-priced, free-range, and wilderness hunts. 

Note: Prices are highly variable and subject to change based on specific outfitter, trophy size, and currency fluctuations.

Hunting is strictly limited by a system of quotas and international agreements for trophy importation, in order to protect populations of these iconic species.

Usually, a specific rhino is targeted, one that is old and past its breeding years. These types of animals do not serve any purpose as they are done breeding, and typically, old bulls will dominate an area where they restrict younger fertile bulls from breeding with cows. The only option is to remove these older males from the system, and the most effective and successful fundraising method is through game hunting. As for all trophy game hunting, old bulls are targeted. This means that the system that controls the responsible hunting of all rhinos is undeniably effective in both raising necessary conservation funds and managing the species’ population, which directly promotes population growth that is essential for bringing all rhinos back from near extinction.