February 2026

Conservation at it's best

This month we had guests who had driven with the team escorting 32 rhinos to the airport for export. That is correct. From Joburg, they boarded a 747cargo plane chartered to Uganda, only to then be transferred into a Hercules, as that’s the only plane that could carry cargo like that and land on a dirt strip in the deep heart of Africa – the DRC. This relocation is part of the plan to have 60 rhino in the DRC’s Garamba National Park. Just one of the many projects and operations that this organization will hopefully carry out. As they now own the greatest number of rhino, having purchased the nearly 2000 from John Hume last year, it is a real case of how a commonsense conservation company works across the board, seeing no distinction between photographic and hunting tourism, and focuses on conservation, and embraces how it has to happen.



Watch the landing.

Then, this week, I had dinner with a couple who work with Mozambique’s Zambeze Delta Safaris. Mark Haldane’s brain is behind what, for me, is the most incredibly positive story around lions and, for sure, is THE wildlife relocation success story of its kind – 24 lions were moved from South Africa to Mozambique. South Africa is home to the hotly debated and spoken about captive bred lion industry, which I don’t want to go into detail here because it needs a dedicated lion edition of AHG to speak about this topic, but it is safe to say that this industry is evolving – big time. And when so many big-time hunters, big-time outfitters still offer this option, on the side, in the quiet, not wanting to make a noise, you know that somewhere along the line, logic will prevail.

A lot has been written about the 24 lions, which now number well over 120 I am told, and their first progeny is to be hunted this year. Funds go to continue the conservation program, and it is sustainable utilization at its absolute truest. 

Sadly, none of this is covered anywhere near extensively enough in the mainstream media – who should be sticking to their mandate. “Free Fair and Independent” is laughably the mission of the BBC.

Anyway, in one week at Afton, to engage indirectly with people on the ground, linked to and doing real work, seeing real results directly and absolutely linked to the sustainable use of wildlife is encouraging to see.

February is a very big month for marketing African hunting. We’ll be at DSC and SCI. Pop by and say hello - it will great to connect. If not, and you are elsewhere, just enjoy planning your next safari, write up any of your safari experiences to share and spread the word!

On a different note, what can you win this month?

In case you don’t know, we have an incredible all-in 7-day Buffalo safari – hunt, trophy, taxidermy, and shipping in a draw for all subscribers.

No raffle ticket. No lottery. Just a BONUS when you sign up. Not to mention that the added value makes it a NO BRAINER. I am not a fan of that expression, but sometimes it is very descriptive 😊

When you read this, I will be in home state of the Zac Brown Brand – with the African Hunting flag flying high. 

Enjoy your February.

Regards, Richard Lendrum

We all love reading about your African hunting adventures. Let’s spread the word.

Submit your story, and we’ll clean and edit it to be published on Africanhuntinggazette.com

Wildlife Artist - Justin Prigmore

Born in Wales and now long settled in the Highlands of Scotland, the artist’s journey into wildlife art has been shaped as much by geography as by curiosity. Art was always a quiet constant in Justin Prigmore’s life, but it wasn’t until a formative gap year in Colorado that wildlife emerged as his true subject. While studying for a degree in Business Management, a visit to the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole proved pivotal. Standing among those works, Justin realised with sudden clarity that art was not simply a passion, but a calling he wanted to pursue for life.

At the time, a career as an artist felt far from practical. Yet the vast landscapes and cultural reverence for nature he encountered in the American West shifted his outlook entirely.

My Lord Derby Eland Hunt

By Dennis Schumacher

The group of eland were clustered behind a grove of trees deep in the bush of northern Cameroon, thirty sets of eyes arrayed in a circle looking outward for any perceived threat. I swatted at the mopane bees circling my face and diving into my ears. Gadal, the lead tracker whispered, “Don’t move!” Even though we were still 250 yards from the group, their sharp eyes could identify any movement that did not normally belong in their environment. The eland turned and began to move away. The three of us inched forward in single file while their attention was distracted.

Prepare to Repel Boarders!

By Terry Wieland



It’s an unassailable fact that the best-laid schemes of mice and men “gang aft agley,” as Robert Burns would have it, or “often go awry,” as it’s generally translated into English. Either way, for those concerned with self-defense, this means that, no matter how thoroughly you try to prepare for those unforeseeable emergencies, chances are that when the unthinkable happens, you will not have your ideal gun in your hand.

When that happens, you’d best be prepared to go with what you can grab.

Bushpigs by Moonlight

By Doctari

My book, “It Shouldn’t Happen,” contains four stories: Being Dumb, Even Dumber, Dumber Still, and Dumbest Yet. This incident also qualifies.

In the early 1980s my wife Catherine and I purchased Halstead, our Zimbabwean farm. With it came a small herd of six very wild and spookish sable antelope. Halstead lies in Mashonaland West, just outside the one-horse town of Karoi (now Chinoyi), and those of you who have ever driven from Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, to either Lake Kariba or the nearby Zambezi Valley that lies beyond Makuti and Marongora will have passed through it. The area is described as miombo woodland and it is prime agricultural country with reliable rainfall, good soils, and an almost perfect climate.

From the Archives: The History of Rifle Sights

Pierre van der Walt



The firearms of the early 14th century were so inaccurate that any form of sighting, apart from merely pointing the arm in the direction of the target before firing, was unnecessary.

Double Trouble

By Ken Moody

‘To take this old man into those reeds after those buffalo is a bad plan.’ I can still hear those words as clearly today as when they were first uttered so many months ago when my accompanying Zulu PH on this hunt, Musa, explained his trepidation in moving along the half-mile-long trek into the thick reeds which hid an unknown number of the black beasts we were pursuing. We could see with our binos the small flock of egrets which rode atop the backs of the buffalo, but we had no idea how many mature bulls were in the herd given the height and density of the reeds engulfing the landscape for miles in every direction along the river we were hunting.

Biggest is Not Always Best

By Donald Roxby

I’ve made a number of African plains-game safaris over the years. After each trip, a short period of satisfaction is followed by a sudden longing to go back.

One evening as I watched a colorful sunset, I started daydreaming about the red sands of Africa and the many friends I’ve made there. I could almost feel the fingers of the Dark Continent reaching out to draw me back. I went inside and asked my wife Denise if she was ready to return. Her a nswer was immediate – she looked me in the eye and said, “Let’s start planning.”

Lions, Kittens, and Cats

By Terry Wieland

A first encounter with a wild lion is a life-changing event. It may not seem like much at the time. Both of you may walk away unscathed. But I defy anyone to eradicate the memory. It stays with you until you die. And, in truth, you hope it will.

Of all the Big Five, lions hold a fascination for human beings that is mysterious and inexplicable.  Everyone acknowledges it, but no one can put their finger on exactly why.

Chapter 12

The Hunting of Leopards

By Wayne Grant

Not enough is known about the leopard. Even though he is the most widely distributed member of the “big” cats, not many detailed studies of this fascinating animal have been completed. Even hunters, who are fascinated, sometimes even obsessed, by this prince of the forest, know little about him. What he really needs to survive, how many partners he needs in order to maintain his numbers, how large an area he needs in order to live a natural free life. Most of us know the basics but the rest is just guesswork. Many boffins maintain that there is no room for hunting when considering an animal like the leopard, which is endangered in much of its range.

Who are the African Dawn Outfitters?

The African Dawn Outfitter Program is about working with an exclusive group, to offer one critical thing, and that is peace of mind for you, the hunter.

With over 1000 outfitters to choose from, despite the majority being good and offering a great safari, it is a minefield out there when trying to decide with whom to hunt across the continent. And when it comes to your hunt, why risk anything? This group can deliver the goods.

Book directly with them, go to our website and sign up to receive the weekly posts, Fresh from the Veld. If you’re an agent looking for outfitters to represent or sell; you’ll be safe contacting any one of these Dawn Members.

www.africandawnoutfitters.com

Richard Lendrum - Publisher African Hunting Gazette

richard@africanhuntinggazette.com

2026 African Dawn Members