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PLAINS GAME QUOTAS IN
THE ZAMBEZI VALLEY
BY
DAVE FULSON & TIM DANKLEF
The
lower Zambezi River Valley has long been considered
one of Africa’s premier dangerous game destinations,
and for good reason. Five of Africa’s “Big
Six”, lion, leopard, cape buffalo, elephant
and hippo are found in exceptional numbers in all
of Chifuti Safaris hunting concessions.
In
addition to the dangerous game species, the valley
has a healthy population of popular plains game species.
The quotas on the plains game trophies are set by
Zimbabwe National Parks Department and are firm and
fairly limited, quota wise.
While
premier species such as buffalo, lion, leopard, hippo
and croc are on a guaranteed quota at the point a
deposit is made and the contract is issued, plains
game species, with the exception of Sable, are on
a first come – first serve basis, and cannot
be held in advance for a client.
Here
is an example: Our Dande North concession has a quota
of 70 buffalo bulls, but only 12 Kudu bulls. Obviously
not everyone who hunts buffalo will be able to tag
a Kudu.
Upon
arrival in camp, the client will meet with the Professional
Hunter assigned to the safari and the P.H. will go
over, in detail, the species that are available on
quota at the time your safari starts.
Each
evening of the safari season, the P.H.’s radio
in their harvest reports, which are then updated
on the quota sheet. When the last Kudu, Zebra, Waterbuck
etc… on the quota is accounted for, that species,
for that area, is now off limits for harvest.
Since
the Zimbabwe governments land distribution scheme
eliminated most of the premier plains game areas
in the country, the areas that have hunting, such
as the Zambezi Valley, have had more restrictive
harvest quotas put into place by Zimbabwe Parks.
These
tighter quotas are felt by every operator in the
country, including Chifuti Safaris. The days of the
seven day buffalo hunt that includes unlimited plains
game are a thing of the past in Zimbabwe.
With
that said, most all of our clients will pick up some
excellent plains game trophies on their buffalo hunt,
and clients with longer safaris for species such
as lion, leopard and elephant may take a couple more
due to their extra days in the bush.
Obviously
the earlier in the season one books, the larger the
quota availability may be. However, the prime time
to hunt that species may be later in the season,
so hunting luck will have to be taken into account.
This
system assures that Chifuti will be able to harvest
our allotted quota, and is a fair system for our
client.
For
many of our clients who have hunted South Africa
or Namibia where your plains game bag is only limited
by your wallet, the Zim system may seem unusual,
but it simply is what it is.
Our
advice to our clients is, and always has been, to
concentrate on your primary trophies and spend the
majority of your hunting time dedicated to shooting
a mature buffalo, leopard etc…
However,
if a client or group absolutely has a desire to shoot
a large bag of plains game while in Africa, Safari
Classics could set up a second hunt in an area where
that is possible. This will, of course, require a
change of area, as well as additional days, but we
can readily arrange this type of hunt prior to or
after your Zambezi Valley Safari.
