Report by: Leon Lamprecht
Location: Lake Natron Concession
Date: 26 July 2006
Maasailand is scattered with extinct volcanoes, the most popular of these being Mt Kilimanjaro. Being very arid the only water during the dry season can be found on these mountains. Buffalo, being dependent on water, normally only occur on these mountains where grass and water is available. One of these mountains in the Rift Valley of Maasailand is Mount Kitumbeini.
The summit of Kitumbeini is at 9300 feet. The top third of the mountain is covered by rain forest. To protect this forest the Tanzanian Government established a Forest Reserve in 1996 where hunting is allowed, but no grazing of live stock or settlement. The base of the Forest Reserve can be reached by a 4x4 vehicle when it is not too wet, and from here, the mountain can only be accessed on foot.
In 2001, I did a buffalo hunt with Dr. Raimund Remmel on Mt. Kitumbeini. Dr. Remmel was scheduled to do a 10 day buffalo hunt. On the first morning we saw several buffalo but no mature bulls. The trackers and Game Scout wanted us to shoot these immature bulls saying that this is the size they normally shoot. Needless to say, my client and I were not prepared to do this and it took us eight days to see the only mature bull of the trip. We could not get a shot and Dr. Remmel had to go back to Germany empty handed.
With us taking over the management of Tanzania Wildlife Company it was of the utmost importance to do a reconnaissance hunt on the mountain to establish the shootable buffalo population. The way these hunts are conducted are by using the Maasai and their donkeys to transport the luggage and supplies from the base of the Forest Reserve to the flycamp. The flycamp are normally erected a day or two before the clients arrive and the equipment for the camp is taken to the top the same way. It is about a two hour walk from the base of the reserve to the flycamp. The first hour is spent climbing the outside of the crater. Oxygen is scarce so the going is tough for those not accustomed to the altitude. Once the top has been reached it is down hill to the flycamp.
The top of the mountain mainly consists of open grassland. Game available in this area is eland and some bushbuck along the edges in the early morning or late afternoon. At night the buffalo feed in these areas but it is very seldom that they can still be found in the open two hours after first light.
The flycamp consists of two four-man dome tents. One for clients and another for the PH. The dining area is enclosed for bad weather with another dome tent used as a store room. P2, Dining Tent, client tent, a mobile toilet and shower serve as ablutions for the guests with a separate set for the staff. Staff on the mountain consists of a cook, waiter, tracker and skinner with some Maasai, to collect water and firewood.
Our reconnaissance hunt started after lunch of the day we arrived. We had lunch at the base of the Forest Reserve and then climbed the mountain taking a break when reaching the summit. We had a relaxing first afternoon and scouted some bushbuck but nothing worth getting excited about.
The next morning was a splendid surprise. The morning had the normal fog which started clearing around the time of day break. About 20 minutes from camp, we were heading to the far ridge in search of buffalo when we spotted a herd grazing on the ridge. It drizzled during the night and together with early morning dew it was very wet. Temperatures on the mountain cool down to close to freezing and it is not pleasant crawling through the wet grass in the morning. We eventually managed to get within 20 yards from the herd when a big bull stepped out and approached us to investigate the noise he heard. He took off once he knew what was happening and joined the herd. When approaching the rest of them we saw another bigger and even older bull. They eventually took off in two directions and when following the group that went to the left, we saw yet another big old bull coming out of the rain forest. The first bull would have been 36” with very wide bosses, the second bull out of the same group would have gone close to 39” and broomed down completely. The third bull that came out of the forest was over 40’ and also broomed down.
The couple of years rest that the mountain had since I last hunted there in 2001 definitely paid off. Seeing three shootable bulls from the same group in the first morning was certainly a pleasant surprise. We ended up seeing another single bull the following day that was also in the 36” class with hard bosses.
At present we can sell two buffalo a year on the mountain. We will maintain our monitoring of the population and hopefully will be in the position to enlarge the quota in the next couple of years.
On the last afternoon, before our return to Kiserian Camp, Jack managed to get within shooting range of a beautiful bushbuck.
We will be moving to Madaba in the Selous Game Reserve and in the next report I will be able to give you some information on our lion population.
Happy hunting,
Leon Lamprecht
Managing Director
Tanzania Wildlife Company