I am very excited to be leaving this weekend for Kazakhstan! We will be hunting Maral stag mainly. Maral are Asian Elk but since they live in very remote areas and the hunting pressure is quite low. There are very good chances of coming back with a real monster! Fingers crossed.

It is a 10 day horse back hunt in pure wilderness bordering Russia, China and Mongolia in a far off corner of Eastern Kazakshtan. Once we get on our horse basically we head off into the wilderness in the Altai mountains. Other game that we may run into are Brown bear, Ibex, Roe deer and wolf. Anyway my 300 RUM is all ready to shoot out to 800 yards using the Zeiss Rapid Z reticle. Wind will be another game altogether! Hope for a closer shot.

Full report when I return.

Dear Friends,

I have some terribly sad news to convey from Africa. PH Tim Rudman's wife Maryna Rudman passed away week before last. She was cooking dinner for their clients, when she was bitten in the jugular vein by an African killer bee. Despite desperate attempts and antedotes adminstered by her husband and staff they were unable to do anything for her and she passed away within five minutes. I don't know the exact facts but I believe that she might have been very allergic to certain insect bites, like some people are allergic to shellfish or peanuts!

It is a terrible tragedy, Maryna was a wonderful person who worked in the safari industry along with her husband and handled all their safari marketing, organisation and administration. I had the pleasure of knowing her personally and worked with her to send our clients to South Africa. She leaves behind Tim her husband and daughter Jo Ann.

May God give them the strength to bear with this greal loss and carry on.

Sincerely,

Arjun

Hello Everyone.

We are facing a problem with missing messages and are aware of the problem. We are working to fix it as soon as possible and hope to have it resolved very soon.

Thank you for your understanding. If you would like to contact us please email admin@huntersnetworks.com

Best Regards,

Arjun

Hi Folks

I will be attending the SCI show in Reno, NV and will be there from the 26th to 29th. If anyone would like to meet up out there. Please let me know.

Cheers,

Arjun

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and all the very best in 2011.

Best Wishes,

Arjun

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays with family and friends.

Hi All,

Hello from Joburg airport. We are on our way back from Namibia after a wonderful trip. Not looking forward to the long flight back, but its all in the game.

More later.

Regards

Arjun

Just to say that we have launched a HuntersNetworks page on Facebook and our username has been registered. To visit our page on Facebook go to www.facebook.com/huntersnetworks

Friends,

I just thought some of you might be interested in this raffle. It's for a good cause and is genuine, not a scam!

Here is the deal :

This raffle has been arranged by the Keegan Langley Trust, duly registered in Zimbabwe. The mandate of the Trust is to ensure the resources are available to meet the needs of Keegan Langley, an 18 year old scholar from Zimbabwe, seriously injured in a vehicle accident in April 2009. He suffered severe head injuries and it is expected his recovery will be a lengthy and costly process. Keegan’s father is a professional hunter whilst his mother is a teacher at Falcon College. They have two younger sons at Falcon as well. Full information can be seen at www.keeganlangleytrust.org

The hunt has been most generously donated by Mazunga Safaris and the Bubye Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe. www.mazungasafaris.com

Includes - The following are included in the package:

1. Full daily rates for 1 hunter and 1 observer for 10 hunting days, plus arrival day and departure day.
2. Trophy fees for 1 x buffalo bull; 1 x eland bull; 2 x zebra; 2 x blue wildebeest; 1 x giraffe; 2 x impala; 1 x warthog.
3. All government levies: 2% on daily rates, 4% on trophy fees.
4. Collection and transport by road from Bulawayo airport Zimbabwe.
5. Dip, pack and shipping of listed trophies to South Africa or USA.
6. Full services of Professional Hunter, hunting vehicle and team (trackers and skinners).


Excludes - The following are not included in the package:

1. Trophy fees, dip, pack, shipping and levies on any extra animals that may be taken, as per tag availability.
2. Taxidermy.
3. Any transport within South Africa or Zimbabwe other than that stipulated in item 4 above.
4. Gratuities to hunting team and camp staff.
5. Incidental and casual expenditure made by hunter and/or observer during course of safari.
6. All costs relating to any extra days spent in Zimbabwe above the 12 days included in this package.

Limited to 300 tickets - US$250 per ticket

Conditions - The following conditions apply:

1. The winner will not use the hunt, or any part of it, for personal gain or any commercial purposes whatsoever.
1. The draw will be conducted by the chairman of the Keegan Langley Trust under the supervision of the honorary auditors, in Bulawayo at such time the last ticket has been sold or on 31st March 2010 at the latest.
2. Whilst every effort will be made to accommodate winners preferred dates it must be accepted that it is dependant on camp availability. The hunt must be booked by 30th April 2010.
3. The hunt must be undertaken in 2010.
4. No limit to number of tickets per buyer.
5. Buyers of tickets will be advised of their ticket number/s within 7 days of receipt of payment.
6. No choice of ticket number – tickets will be allocated 1 through 300 in order of receipt of payment.


Paul Zorn – can answer any questions regarding the raffle and provide all information on the area, the camps and the hunt itself. He or his office will notify ticket buyers of their numbers.

Paul will also be guiding the hunt on behalf of the Trust, for no reward. He has been a PH and operator in Zimbabwe for many years prior to moving to South Africa in 2008, and has conducted scores of dangerous game hunts throughout Zimbabwe.

paulzorn@live.co.za 083 641 7275

Ticket Sales  -  Payments must be clearly marked “HUNT” with name of buyer and contact information which must include email. The Trust cannot be held responsible for any delays in notifications where this information has not been provided. It is strongly recommended that buyers email Paul Zorn with details of payment. This will expedite notification of receipt and ticket numbers.

Payments should be made to:
K. L. Trust
Absa Bank
Rivonia
Branch code: 509955
Account No.: 922 4011 806
Swift: ABSAZAJJ632005

Guwahati, Jan 28 – An endangered one-horned rhinoceros was found dead with its horn gouged out at the famous Kaziranga National Park in Assam, in the fourth such incident in the past one month, officials said Thursday.

A wildlife official said the latest killing was reported late Wednesday from inside the sanctuary, 220 km east of Guwahati.



‘The rhino carcass was found from near a sandbar on the fringe of the park. Its horn had been gouged out. Poachers used automatic weapons to kill the rhino,’ a park ranger told IANS over telephone from Kaziranga.

On Monday, poachers at the Orang National Park in northern Assam gouged out the horn of another rhino. The horn was extracted while the animal was still alive. It later succumbed to the wounds.

‘We are indeed worried about the spurt in incidents of rhino poaching inside Kaziranga and elsewhere,’ a senior wildlife official said, requesting anonymity.

At least 18 rhinos were killed in 2008 and 14 in 2009.

Between 1980 and 1997, some 550 rhinos were killed by poachers in the wilds of Kaziranga, the highest being 48 in 1992.

As per the 2009 census report, some 2,048 of the world’s estimated 3,000 one-horned rhinos lumber around the swamps and grasslands of Kaziranga, their concentration here ironically making the giant mammals a favourite target of poachers.

Forest rangers complain about poor infrastructure and obsolete weapons compared to the poachers armed with sophisticated assault rifles.

‘First of all, the number of forest guards in Kaziranga is far less than what is actually required to protect the wildlife, then you have World War II weapons compared to AK series rifles and carbines used by the poachers,’ a senior forest guard working in Kaziranga for more than 15 years said.

Poachers kill rhinos for their horns, which many believe contain aphrodisiac qualities, besides being used as medicines for curing fever, stomach ailments and other diseases in parts of Asia.

Rhino horn is also much fancied by buyers from the Middle East who turn them into handles of ornamental daggers, while elephant ivory tusks are primarily used for making ornaments and decorative items.

Profits in the illegal rhino horn trade are staggering, A rhino horn sells for up to Rs.1.5 million per kilogram in the international market after the horns are smuggled to clandestine Asian markets.

Once extracted, the rhino horn is routed to agents in places like Dimapur in Nagaland, Imphal in Manipur and Siliguri in West Bengal.

A possible route of rhino horn smuggling is to Kathmandu via Siliguri and then from Nepal to China and the Middle East. The other possible route is from Imphal to Moreh on the Manipur border with Myanmar and then via Myanmar to Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and China.
 

Note: Unfortunately hunting is banned in India and needless to say the Poachers don't give a damn! It really makes one mad.