Greetings from the Chacma family.

It probably is a bit late, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  It’s almost unbelievable to see that we are already at the end of March 2009.  The year started with a bang and we have not touched ground since it began.  The marketing and different hunting shows are packed in the beginning of the year, and the planning etc, which goes into the shows, takes a lot of effort and time.  Well we are looking forward to 2009, and believe it is going to be a very busy year.  We hope that you will make time to come and visit Chacma Safaris throughout the year.

Exciting news for our marketing is we appointed an agent, Cape to Cairo, to help us with marketing throughout the year. This agency is based in the US and they will continue with the marketing at shows and SCI Chapters. We will however carry on with our own marketing from here as we would like to keep in touch with old as well as new clients.

CHACMA SAFARIS AND THE MOLEKOA COMMUNITY

Chacma Safaris has been going through some changes lately as was noted in the previous newsletters and you will be glad to know that our hunting concessions has grown tremendously in the last six months. Some of you might have know that we had a land claim on Doornkom, the main lodge, but we have succeeded in leasing the concession for 10 years from the community that got the land. We also started a company with the community resulting in a lease contract for almost 18 000 hectares. This company will;

• Develop skills
• Manage the lodges and farms
• Get the community involved through work opportunities

Through our involvement in this project we have ensured a hunting concession of almost 18 000 hectares for Chacma Safaris. Our aim is to develop this area into a Big Five Reserve which will guarantee different and bigger areas and also a bigger variety of species to hunt. We will also be able to accommodate our clients in various lodges and provide a service that will meet all our clients’ needs.

We will give you more information on all the developments as we go along.

HUNTING A LION (Panthera leo)

The largest of Africa’s felines, the lion is second only to the Asian tiger, in overall size and weight, between 400 and 500 pounds. Standing nearly four feet at the shoulder and stretching to an overall length of almost 10 feet. The females are somewhat smaller and more slender in build, weighing 250 to 350 pounds. They are generally more aggressive than males.
Matures lions have little fear of man, especially at night, which is when they are most active. Superb night vision enables them to see almost as well in complete darkness as in broad daylight. In daylight lions are somewhat more cautious in their attitude towards humans.

They prey on all the continents animal species, from birds and rodents to crocodiles and almost all the game animals, including the young of both hippo and elephant.

Masters at the art of camouflage, concealment and stalking, lion are incredibly powerful for their size. A single adult lion of either sex can easily kill and drag off a prey three to four times its own weight. Extremely quick off the mark from a standing start, lion launch their attack from relatively short range as an aggressive rush of explosive energy. Not possessed of great stamina, lion need to catch their prey quickly for they run out of steam and are quickly outpaced by the majority of their prey. Aided by retractable, talon like claws, which the use for gripping and holding, a lion uses its weight and strength to knock or wrestle its prey to the ground. A lion commonly kills by strangulation, clamping shut the windpipe or closing off both the mouth and nostrils in a viselike death bite. Some lions jump onto the running prey, reaching forward to grab hold of the muzzle or head, and then twisting it around, using the preys’ momentum. The prey usually falls and breaks its neck.

Lions have incredibly good vision. They hunt exclusively by sight. Not all hunts are successful; on average only one in four attempts will end in a kill. In the rainy season the long grass and thick bush make it difficult to hunt and lions rely on the kills of others. Lions are also efficient and dedicated scavengers.

Lion are the only member of the cat family that lives social lives. Lionesses form the nucleus of the pride and do the majority of the hunting and killing. They usually hunt in groups in order to coordinate their attack and increase their chances of success. All the lionesses in the pride are related. Males are immigrants that compete with other males for control of the pride and domination over the territory. Males are rarely involved in the hunting but are always first to feed. They breed with receptive females and protect the pride from intruders, hyena or other male lion.

Young males are thrown out of the pride as they become sexually mature and wander as bachelors. The will roam for a couple of years till they can challenge a dominant male for his territory. Dethroned males lead solitary, wandering lives until they are too old to fend for themselves. After a takeover the newly dominant males will kill all the suckling cubs to stimulate the lionesses to come into estrus. The male mates with these females and so ensures that his genes get passed on.

Sex Determination

Only males have manes. The mane starts to develop between two and a half and three years old. Young males can also retain some of the youth spots along the belly line. Young males will be alone or in the company of the same age lions. A few males remain mane less all their lives.

Trophy Evaluation

Age and genetics determine the color and quality of a lion’s mane. The mane on an exceptional lion is long and will cover the shoulders. It will also cover the frontal chest area and may extend all the way to the elbows. The mane may also extend rearward from between the front legs to some way down the ventral belly line.

The Hunt

Baiting is the most commonly practiced lion hunting method. Lions are scavengers that gladly accept any free meat they are offered. Lions can easily consume 25% of their body weight in a single feeding session. Resulting in large quantities of meat hung in such a way that it is difficult to eat. Zebra is probably the favorite food followed by buffalo and hippo, but it will feed on any kind of meat. Spreading the guts around the bait will cover any strange smells that can chase the lion away.

Another way of hunting lions is tracking and stalking. This must be the purest and most exciting form of dangerous game hunting because chances are good that such a hunt will end up as a close-quarters confrontation. Tracking a lion is not that difficult as they stick to paths, head for water after feeding and sleep most of the day.

Cats have highly refined and sensitive nervous systems. They are thin-skinned and light-boned which makes them dangerous when not hit well by the first shot. Ideal terminal bullet performance is plenty of shock delivered along a large and freely hemorrhaging wound channel with extensive vital-organ damage. This is opposite to the other dangerous species where bullet penetration is the key to getting through their thick skin and still reaching the vitals.

A lion will always communicate its intentions before a charge giving the hunter a few seconds to prepare. They will also lash their tails from side to side. They can cover a hundred paces from a standing start in four seconds. They also don’t move in a straight line making it difficult to stop a charge. Just aim for the centre of the chest.

Shot Placement

CHACMA SAFARIS AND SCI INTERNATIONAL:

As we mentioned in the previous newsletters, Chacma donated hunts to different SCI Chapters all over the world.  Most of the chapters has now had their fundraisings for the year, and the feedback was very positive for the donations that Chacma made.  The winners are in contact with us already,  beginning with their plans on the upcoming safari.

REMEMBER CHACMA SAFARIS WHEN YOU BOOK YOUR NEXT HUNTING SAFARI IN AFRICA!! OUR PRICES ARE GREAT!! AND OUR SERVICE EVEN BETTER!!

HUNTING SPECIALS:

Friends Special

A viable period will be a minimum of 10 days.
Four and more hunters - $350 per hunter per day.
10% discount on the following species:

This is our first elephant hunt for 2009. The hunt took place in Zimbabwe and Gary Bauer, the hunter, also shot a nice old buffalo bull. In our next newsletter we'll place an article about this hunt.

For more information on our hunting packages and prices, please visit our website at www.chacmasafari.co.za or e-mail us at info@chacmasafari.co.za.

See you soon!!

OUR WARMEST REGARDS
WILLEM EN RETHA