Quick bushpig wrap of first fortnight of the 2012 season

                                                                Christiaan Brendel

                                               Bert Major,the author and tracker Jeffrey404

The first fortnight of the 2012 season is done and dusted and once again Blaauwkrantz has also showed it's mettle in the bushpig stakes with no fewer than five bushpigs harvested.Our principle of of preserving natural habitat is the cornerstone of our conservation initiative at Blaauwkrantz.This is true for all our wild species.

As everyone knows bushpigs are not a specie that is taken for granted when targeting them,but the following hunters had success:
The first was Christiaan Brendel from Cape Town who also shot a warthog within 12 hours of hunting his bushpig to set a new Blaauwkrantz Hogslam record for doing it in the shortist time ever.Christiaan completed a Hogslam in April 2011 too.Congratulations!
Second was Bert Major from Oklahoma.Bert incredibly shot a nice boar in broadlight at one of the baits.Great initiative taken there by Bert as I was still carrying gear to the blind when the pig came to the bait.
Jim Gefroh from Colorada came for only a bushpig and was successful after initially attempting to do it with his flintlock muzzleloader and getting the pigs to within 30 yards,but alas it was not to be this time around.Jim's old buddy,Kim Stuart,from California shot a true "bomber" that weighed 81kg's.Kim has hunted Africa for almost twenty years and this was his first bushpig.Congratulations Kim!
Jim and Kim hunted at Blaauwkrantz for the first time in 2001.Jim shot a warthog in 2001 with his flintlock muzzleloader then and wanted to try complete the Hogslam with a flintlock too,you can guess what brought them back...!Jim said that he will be back to try again with his flintlock.But congratulations to Jim in completing his Hogslam anyway!

Dr Peter Bucklin also from the US hunted with PH Paul Smith and also took a bushpig, but with hounds as they had some difficulty at the baits.

Old hunting buddies,Jim Gefroh and Kim Stuart, with their bushpigs

There is still a lot of bushpig action ahead so watch this space...!

Watch a bushpig move - a master of stealth

Diurnal bushpigs on Blaauwkrantz

Hunters often pose the question: "Do bushpigs move during the daytime on Blaauwkrantz?"

The answer is a resounding yes!

However, bushpigs are masters of stealth due to their extreme wariness and excellent senses they are not easily seen by humans during daytime on  Blaauwkrantz.The immensely dense habitat that they live in doesn't make things any easier for the sight-reliant human hunter either.

Put simply on Blaauwkrantz : "To humans, bushpigs are practically invisible" -Long may their legend live!

Bushpig report 2011: It's not just the about the lucky hunters.

The 2011 season on 85 000 acre Blaauwkrantz is officially over. During the season the size of the mainly contiguous private property grew another 5000 acres adding even more refuge for our bushpigs and other wildlife alike.

One of the main reasons for our ability to continually reinvest and add habitat for our wildlife is the fact that we can entertain paying hunters who we responsibly guide to enjoy the outdoors in the form of  hunting.
Bushpigs  have proved to be a really sought after trophy and I am happy to declare that they too are thriving on Blaauwkrantz with its fantastic bushpig habitat - Our indigenous East Cape Valley Bushveldt.

The baiting process is tedious and complicated but bushpig hunters understand this,and then actually getting into position to succesfully shoot one is the other half of their pursuit.

A number of hunters were successful this year and a number were unsuccessful.

We often only talk about the successes but often forget those times we tried hard and failed. Hunters like Doc Meyer from Kansas, Bob Debowski -USA, Jose Sodiro-Argentina, Jeff Hogan-Utah, Linda Bell-Texas, Philip Basset-Michigan, Larry Muck-Missouri, Dr Ted Pawlias-Illinois and Jose Mercada-Bolivia all tried hard, but the Hunting Gods weren't with them and I am sure they will return to continue their pursuit of these hard-to-see animals in the future.

In the pictures are some of the lucky thirteen (!) hunters who successfully hunted 18 bushpigs on Blaauwkrantz in 2011. Randy Bell -Texas, John Blaine-Montana and Karl Evans-Texas are all very experienced African hunters who chose Blaauwkrantz as their bushpig destination.

Thanks to our habitat, Blaauwkrantz Safaris is arguably the leading bushpig Outfit.

Benji Boyd:Another Blaauwkrantz hog record holder!

The Panamanian Jungle Hunter, Benji Boyd, returned to Blaauwkrantz just five months after his very successful safari in April this year.In April Benji hunted no fewer than 3 bushpigs at three different baits in four evenings of ambush hunting. Benji who is a master at this type of hunting, that requires patience and stamina, saw that bushigs were something special. He immediately re-booked for September this year and wanted to complete a Blaauwkrantz Hogslam. Benji again indicated to me before his arrival that he would like to try for more than one bushpig.We were well prepared for the Jungle Man. I gave ourselves a good chance to take at least one bushpig and one warthog, but little did I expect Benji to be successful at taking THREE bushpigs and FOUR warthogs! (The one bushpig weighed just two pounds short of 200lbs of fantastic tasting wild meat)That meant that Benji completed a triple hogslam in 5 days of hunting!!

On his departure, Benji said: "I'll Be Back".....who knows what records will be broken then by this very determined hog hunter.

Thank-you for helping us provide plenty wild, free ranging and organic meat Benji!
Well-done also to Janine Joubert from iGala Productions for filming this epic hunt.(Janine is in the photo of a warthog with Benji)

Another record tumbles at Blaauwkrantz!

In line with my previous statements regarding the proliferation of wildlife in extensive circumstances on 80 000acre Blaauwkrantz , further proof of this can be read into the fact that a 15" warthog has recently been harvested off Blaauwkrantz earlier this month.

Read more about this tremendous feat at http://www.eardleysbushpig.blogspot.com/

Heaviest bushpig ever taken at Blaauwkrantz!

Although conditions were very trying and wet,congratulations to experienced African hunter Jay Brasher from Utah for successfully hunting  a bushpig that weighed 90,5kg on the hoof on the 9th June 2011.This is the heaviest recorded bushpig shot on Blaauwkrantz indicating the healthy state of affairs with our wildlife and more importantly their habitat that bushpigs are such good indicator species of.

We endeavour to always preserve our very sensitive natural habitat allowing our bountiful wildlife species to thrive.
Thank-you for recognising the value of bushpigs Jay.