Company Name: Umlindi Taxidermy
Contact: (Owner/Manager) Cecil Henning
Physical Address: Braemore Farm, Cradock, 5880
Tel + 27 72 335 1358
Contact Email: Bernie@umtaxidermy.co.za
Website: www.umlinditaxidermy.co.za
Current processes offered
Pick up & collect trophies Yes
Own tanning facilities: YES
Do you buy in forms or sculpt your own? Both
Delivery time (approximate):
Dip and Pack & European Mounts: 90days
Shoulder & full mounts: 6months
Drums of the Morning, by respected and highly experienced Zimbabwean professional hunter Wayne Grant, is a must read. In fact, I would go so far as to say that any sport hunter interested in classical fair-chase lion hunting, should consider this book as required reading.
It’s not often that a really good hunting book hits the shelves, but this one certainly steps up to the plate – in no small measure.
Readers familiar with Wayne’s writing will no doubt have read his equally superb Into the Thorns, a book widely regarded as the most definitive work to date, on hunting the African leopard.
Now, we are fortunate to have his latest book Drums of the Morning, written and presented in much the same vein, but with the focus this time being on lion hunting and lion conservation issues.
Having spent the last forty years guiding hunting safaris across much of East and Southern Africa, Wayne is eminently qualified to write a book of this nature. His relaxed style of writing is fluid and easy to read, and his book is highly informative – a real mine of information relative to every aspect of lion hunting, for both seasoned hunters, and neophytes alike.
In the opening chapters, Wayne describes some of his youthful experiences growing up in the once-proud country called Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). As 1978 drew to a close and the Rhodesian war raced inexorably toward a final crescendo, Wayne left school and joined the army to do his compulsory military service. After passing officer selection and completing officer training at the School of Infantry, he was posted to the Rhodesian Light Infantry as a troop (platoon) commander. The RLI was an air mobile unit which introduced and perfected the highly effective anti-guerrilla tactic known as ‘fireforce’ – (vertical envelopment of the enemy by helicopter and parachute).
Throughout the last year of the war Wayne experienced constant combat as a young officer commanding equally young soldiers both on fireforce operations inside Rhodesia and on ‘external’ operations into Mozambique and Zambia.
In his first book Wayne did not cover the Rhodesian war in any great detail, but in Drums of the Morning he devotes a whole chapter explaining the circumstances which led to the war, and some of his experiences while serving his country. When the war came to a halt in 1980, Wayne commenced his career as professional hunter.
Drums of the Morning isn’t only for those interested in lion hunting. It’s also an important historical record of how much wildlife conservation and its future in Africa has changed over the last forty years. Sadly most of these changes have been for the worst. When it comes to using facts to illustrate gross mismanagement, corruption, and poor governance, the author doesn’t hold back. And quite rightly so.
Due to the future of Africa’s wildlife currently looking so bleak, the days of shying away from constructive criticism for fear of being branded ‘politically incorrect’ are over. Any true sport hunter concerned about the situation regarding Africa’s wildlife, and the future of safari, would do well to read this book.
In this book Wayne takes an objective look at the controversial captive-bred lion hunting operations in South Africa, and he also puts the whole sorry ‘Cecil the lion’ saga in Zimbabwe, into perspective.
His anecdotal style of writing, coupled with a dry sense of humour, periodically brings a smile to the reader, and importantly, the author includes his family, and his hard working loyal staff in many of the stories.
I found it interesting that Wayne ends his book by identifying practical remedies that could halt, and rectify, the rapid slide of Africa’s safari wilderness areas into overgrazed barren ground. The measures he talks about are not new, and they are not just ‘pie-in-the-sky’ impractical dreams – many of these ideas are already being implemented by committed hunter-conservationists, but Wayne points out that these solutions need to be put into practice far more widely, and quickly, before it is too late.
From my perspective as someone who has witnessed firsthand, the regression of some of Zimbabwe’s finest hunting concessions (like Chirisa) into poached-out empty land, I found this chapter extremely thought-provoking, and it leaves the reader with an optimistic, positive hope, that committed hunter-conservationists may be able to turn things around.
Drums of the Morning – like Into the Thorns – is a hefty (589 pages, 1.5kg), with an attractive eye-catching cover. It has been well crafted and bound by Tien Wah Press; and is full of interesting photographs, and superb illustrations done by Wayne’s son Lucas – a gifted wildlife artist. I have no doubt that Drums of the Morning will be well received, not only by hunters, but also by collectors of Africana.
I have only one minor criticism of this excellent book – the maps of Zimbabwe and Tanzania are a bit small, and the printing of place names on those maps are very difficult to decipher – especially for us older folk! I’m guessing that this was just a ‘techno’ glitch gremlin that crept into the works.
Drums of the Morning can be purchased from drumsofthemorning@gmail.com
As the 2021 season kicks off, I thought some insights from someone who understands big game could be interesting.
Stretch Ferreira, a professional hunter and now full-time guide, based in arguably one of the most wonderful areas of southern Africa – Mana Pools – has been hunting and now exclusively guiding safaris for 37 years.
With new hunting blinds, record animal births and thriving populations of South Africa’s most prized game, 2021 is poised to be an unforgettable year at Eastern Cape Bowhunting.
As the world knows, 2020 was unlike any year ever before experienced—and that was true for life at Eastern Cape Bowhunting. When the government implemented the lockdown, we refocused our efforts on our hunting grounds, staff, facilities and animals to elevate every experience for future guests.
Thriving Populations
The rainfall in the 2020 season was so much better than the previous seven years, which led to thriving animal populations and record new births. Because there was no hunting in 2020, the prospects for success have truly never been better. With the improved rainfall and feed availability, we’re seeing some truly impressive bulls. This hunting season is going to be remarkable!
New Hunting Blinds
We built two new bowhunting blinds to provide guests with new opportunities. Dassie Blind is set into the side of a kopje (stone outcrop) and has a rugged feel, unlike the concrete blinds on the property, making it an ideal spot for baboons, kudu and waterbuck. Cliff Blind is situated along the Tarka River on a remote part of the property, where we’re seeing nyala, kudu, sable and golden wildebeest.
Pop the Cork
With the help of our head sommelier in Cape Town, we’ve acquired some very exciting wines for our guests. The cellar is stocked with prize-winning South African wines, as well as a few new selections to keep things interesting. If you’re new to South African wines, fear not—we’re always excited to host wine tastings for your group. And, of course, when the occasion calls for it, we happily open a beautifully chilled bottle of champagne!
Caring for Staff Families
During the lockdown, all our staff’s children came to stay with them on the farm. Because we feel so strongly about education, we’ve been supplementing their learning with educational materials and games. We built a community vegetable garden to supplement food through the year for our families and created a sports area for the children to play netball and soccer. We even hosted a proper South African Christmas party with all the kids!
Ready for the Hunt
The start of 2021 has seen all our rivers flowing, our dams full, and we’re irrigating our newly planted crops with strategically collected rainwater. There’s plenty of green grass and the animals have had a bumper birthing season. The excitement, trophies, camaraderie and friendships forged in the pursuit of the hunt are all starting up. The firewood has been prepared and the campfires are eagerly awaiting your return to the starry African skies. The hunt is on!
To learn more about Eastern Cape Bowhunting and make your reservation for 2021, visit easterncapebowhunting.com, Password: hunting.
The publication of a tender document for the auction of four groups of elephants in Namibia triggered howls of protest from the animal rights lobby all around the world. As often happens in these cases, the mainstream media published sensational and misleading information that vilified the Namibian government with accusations of corruption and all other kinds of malfeasance. The Namibian Chamber of Environment (the NCE) is a respected non-government organisation – a comprehensive assessment of the issue has now been published on its website.
Gail Thompson has written a very useful account of the background to the controversial move by the government of Namibia which puts things into perspective. Readers can find the article here: http://conservationnamibia.com/blog/b2021-elephant-auction.php. A summary of Gail’s document follows.
Towards the end of 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) announced its intention to sell a total of 170 elephants from four different locations in Namibia. The rationale was to address the increased human-elephant conflict in the four areas, which has been exacerbated by the recent drought. In each area, the elephants to be taken were entire family groups (females and young) plus a few bulls. Potential purchasers of these elephants had to employ qualified Namibian game capture teams and move them to suitably fenced private reserves in Namibia, or if exporting them to another country, adhere to all CITES requirements.
Important to note are MEFT’s insistence on taking whole family groups (rather than individuals) and their requirement that the buyer and destination abide by national and international law. This would exclude unscrupulous buyers who might want to take young elephants that can be tamed for the purpose of human entertainment. The requirements for proper fencing in Namibia are to ensure that the elephants do not simply cause conflict in other areas of the country, or return to the capture locations.
The tender advert does not provide sufficient information to understand the thinking behind the decision. Gail obtained a draft copy of a document called An Overview of Elephant Conservation and Management in Namibia that accompanies the Draft National Elephant Management Plan. This document details all of MEFT’s recent public consultations, past and present elephant research and monitoring, and approaches to reducing human-elephant conflict by MEFT and non-governmental organisations. The information contained in this extensive document (commissioned by MEFT, but prepared by an independent consultant) provides valuable insight into the reasoning behind MEFT’s intention to sell these 170 elephants.
Gail discusses in detail the history of elephant populations in Namibia. The country was colonised by Germany; then in 1920, after the end of World War I, the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony to South Africa. As the mandatory power, South Africa imposed its laws, including racial classification and policies. The central and southern areas of the country most suited for farming were fenced and elephants were exterminated.
At the same time, rural Namibians were pushed into apartheid-type ‘homelands’. With the passage of time and the independence of Namibia, these communal rural areas have adopted the practice of ‘communal conservancies’, where wildlife has thrived and elephants have multiplied. And elephants have also prospered in Namibia’s game reserves.
However, the farms are still privately owned, and the people living on this land farm for commercial purposes with livestock or wildlife. The infrastructure on the livestock farms includes windmills and diesel pumps to provide water for cattle, and fences have been erected to manage livestock grazing. The farms that have converted to wildlife are fenced with high game fences to keep valuable wildlife in (some are particularly valuable, such as sable and roan antelope), and while internal fences have been dropped, water is still pumped for game species to drink.
Over time, elephants in the communal areas and the wildlife conservation areas in the northern parts of the country have multiplied and expanded, now causing substantial damage to the commercial farms in their quest for water. The human-elephant conflict that is addressed in MEFT’s tender for selling 170 elephants is targeted at elephant populations that have moved onto freehold farmlands from neighbouring communal lands and National Parks. With an estimated 180 freehold farms affected by elephants, infrastructure damages could come to N$ 9 million (US$ 600,000) using a conservative estimate of N$ 50,000 per farmer per year. The situation as it stands is untenable; doing nothing is not an option.
The simplest solution would be to cull the elephants and sell their meat. The Namibian government is trying to avoid this by seeking a short-term solution to the problems of the commercial farmers, while working on some longer-term solutions. A better understanding of the situation would hopefully make the media more mindful of the true story about these elephants.
Namibia’s wildlife management policies are the most progressive and successful on the African continent. This has resulted in the country having growing populations of all species of wildlife, including rhinos and elephants. When elephant numbers increase, conflicts with humans become inevitable, and Botswana is now experiencing the costs of successful elephant conservation. Managing human-elephant conflict is not easy, and those who approach the issue with compassion and good intentions deserve to be treated fairly by the media. Readers are encouraged to access Gail’s comprehensive article, and to share it with friends and objective journalists.
Dr John Ledger is a past Director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, now a consultant, writer and teacher on the environment, energy and wildlife; he is a columnist for the African Hunting Gazette. He lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. John.Ledger@wol.co.za
This is a cautionary tale for those of you that hunt internationally and wire large sums of money for deposits, trophy fee pre-payments for after safari final payments for extras.
In August of 2020 I booked several dangerous-game hunts in Zimbabwe for international clients. My normal procedure has been to issue a written quote along with a deposit wiring instruction PDF by email. Unbeknownst to me, criminals had hacked into my email account and were waiting for just such an opportunity. They intercepted and modified my wiring instructions to divert the funds to a series of fraudulent bank accounts in Texas, and began communicating with my clients out of my email account as if they were me. In some instances, the clients had received my original instructions but were subsequently contacted by the criminals and asked to send the funds to a different account. One of the hunters actually had his account frozen by his bank and flagged as fraudulent. He then attempted to contact me by email, but the scammers intercepted that email and provided him with another set of wiring instructions to a different bank account in Texas. In Europe they call this type of fraud, “Man in the Middle”.
At no time was I aware that any of this was occurring, as none of the clients’ messages were coming through. It finally came to light when I contacted two of the clients to inquire as to why I had not received their deposits. Once I became aware that multiple bank wires were missing, I immediately sent out a potential fraud alert to my client base and worked with the clients to try to pull the funds back. By this time, the criminals had surely withdrawn the money and disappeared. Fortunately, one of the client’s bank returned the pilfered funds, but in the other cases, the money had disappeared.
The banks should have never delivered the funds to an account where the recipient’s name was not on the account. But how do I hold someone’s foreign bank account responsible?
I filed an FBI Internet Fraud Complaint and to this date have not heard a word. This type of fraud is rampant, and losses occur each year in the hundreds of billions. There is just so much of it that the investigative agencies are overwhelmed to the point that they just let it roll, as they lack the investigative resources to chase every complaint. It appears they expend more efforts in accumulating statistics that they can report, than they do in trying to catch these criminals.
So how did they gain access to my email account? I will most likely never know. Our inboxes are full of phishing email scams seeking to gain access to our personal information. One wrong click and a virus can get through, or, providing any personal information on a seemingly genuine email request can give them access. I have had to update my security measures and no longer send wiring instructions by email. I now either send a photo of the wiring instructions by phone text or WhatsApp or the clients must pay the deposit with a credit card and incur a 3% fee. Most of my domestic clients in the US pay by mailing a check. The US Postal Service is incredibly reliable, and I have never had an issue with mailed deposits.
So how did this all turn out? Although I did nothing wrong and was also defrauded in this scam, the clients were defrauded while doing business with my company. To maintain both my own and my company’s reputations, I had to step up and try to make good with my clients. All the clients moved ahead with the booking of these hunts.
The total sum lost in these scams was $20,000. Only $2,000 dollars was recovered. That is a lot of money, but it could have been worse. Fortunately, the outfitter in Zimbabwe and another outfitter in South Africa also stepped up and helped me with compensating the clients.
I share this with the readers of the African Hunting Gazette to help bring you awareness that email is not secure for sending wiring instructions. There are just too many crooks out there looking to steal your money. To help secure your email accounts, use dual factor authentication. Then any new sign-in to your email account will generate a message to your phone that will require a password to gain access. Nothing is 100% foolproof, but this will make it more difficult for the thieves to gain access to your email account.
I hope this helps you avoid falling victim to one of these scams!
John Martins
Discount African Hunts – an Internet-based International booking agency based in Florida, USA. Formed in 2012 and over 1,700 clients in 53 countries.
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