Where Rhinos Roam BY HARRY MORSE

Buffalo Kloof proves hunting and wildlife conservation can coexist.

e translocated and restored an ele- phant herd to our area, brought in “W20 white rhinos, we’re working with the World Wildlife Fund on black rhino conservation and plan on re-introducing lion prides,” said Warne Rippon, owner of Buffalo Kloof Hunting and Con- servation Reserve. Interesting stories are the coin of the hunting realm, while visiting outfitters and professional hunters at the SAFARI July/August 2020 Safari Club International Convention. But I had never come across anything quite as intriguing as this. Being a born skeptic, I walked down the aisle, pulled out my phone and went to Buffalo Kloof’s website. It featured a short video of veterinarians darting elephants and the mammoth creatures being loaded on to tractor/trailer rigs for transport to the 70,000-acre Buffalo Kloof Reserve, north of Port Elizabeth, South

SAFARI July/August 2020 July/August SAFARI Africa. Over a dozen white rhino photos were also posted. The site had excellent reviews. continued on page 45 43 42

Perfect. I was looking for a place to hunt Cape bushbuck with a conservation story, with rhinos and Arriving at the reserve, Warne asked if I would like to elephants to make my African hunt an experience to get a look at the 70,000-acre reserve from the air. He savor. Rippon set up a hunt for me with Buffalo Kloof was patrolling the ranch by helicopter, keeping a close Wildlife Safaris. I wanted a trophy Cape bushbuck and eye on his 20 white rhinos. Not your usual introduction the region is renowned for them. to a hunting area and how often does a ranch owner Meanwhile, a friend, Mike Bouton’s burning desire own and pilot his own helicopter? to get a trophy Cape buffalo got the best of him and Airborne, he pointed out the two river valleys I he scheduled a buffalo and plains hunt at would be hunting for bushbuck and the tangle of Buffalo Kloof Wildlife Safaris also. It worked out so canyons and savannas where Mike would be hunting we could overlap hunts. Mike would hunt with Pro- plains game and seeking his trophy buffalo. The area was fessional Hunter Ralph Koster and PH Guy Brown- vast and finding the rhinos took some keen spotting rigg would guide me. from the air. We didn’t see the elephant herd or any buffalo. Miles and miles of deep canyons and dense forest cover simply engulfed game. continued on page 47 SAFARI July/August 2020 SAFARI July/August 2020 July/August SAFARI 45 44 SAFARI July/August 2020 47

48

continued on page and glassed. Several small Several and glassed. away The evening hunt was unproductive. A wind rattled unproductive. hunt was The evening going well plains game hunt was Mike’s Meanwhile, Guy, my PH, had three river valleys he wanted me he wanted valleys river had three PH, my Guy, bush for hunting out Guy picked valley The first spotted an outstanding buck coming to water here. coming to water spotted an outstanding buck set up 150-yards We in various females appeared and a half dozen bucks no big ones. but portions of the canyon, a scattering saw of we us and all around vegetation At dark a bucks. no bush but and blue shooter grazed bed but possible out along the stream could assess its horns. we before disappeared to spot the Cape buffalo he came it took four days but the afternoon followed The previous they Africa for. to tracks. big bull containing several tracks of a small herd into a shooting their way hours to work It took several estimated it was Koster a dandy. was One bull position. light fadingWith the 40-inch mark. inches over several they a perfect shot, not presenting and the big bull at firstdecided to back out and come after the bull light. in his scope and the vision haunted had the bull Mike him all night. to hunt. I wanted a trophy Cape bush buck. He had buck. Cape bush a trophy I wanted to hunt. The of the areas. class in all spotted record past the had eluded hunters they over catch was, determined to change that. were We season. peaked still in morning when we was shadows buck hoping to find animals out lip, the canyon over among scattered were and small buck Females grazing. A bucks. no mature but the openings in the brush, small with a found us at a bend in the river mile hike hunt Guy had On a previous it. bench overlooking

Settling his

away. away.

Finding A 40-inch Trophy Cape Buffalo Trophy A 40-inch Finding A half-mile stalk put them on a ridge overlooking difficult more was buck bush Finding a trophy What made Mike book a Cape buffalohunt? He fell What made Mike laid out the Hunter Ralph Koster Professional

canyons that held giant bulls. The first part of the that held giant bulls. canyons the edges of the rolling work would they hunt, game plains a chance to take giving Mike savannas, and get comfortable terrain with the trophies while found a lone Once they scouting for buffalo tracks. would they tracks, or a group of dugga boy bull first score Mike’s target them and pursue relentlessly. Glassing the fringes of the dense a dandy eland. was spotted a small they savanna brush rolling boarding made up of was The herd of eland grazing. herd decided to spend some Koster females and young. bull to see if an interested time glassing the herd but appeared An hour later an old bull might show. were and they A quick conference drifted away. the bull. headed out to intercept It is turned the bull in to. the small side valley a 2,000-pound can just disappear. amazing how the down their way worked A half-hour later they was bull The ridge and into another small canyon. in the shade 150-yards resting squeezed the trigger Mike “sticks,” .450/400 on the were They began. Then the work fell. and the bull dirt the nearest road. a mile from over than I had envisioned. in love with a double rifle from the French rifle the French with a double riflemaker from in love Express .450/400 Nitro The sleek, Armes. Chapuis 1.5-4 scope topped with a Schmidt and Bender double, energized him and turned about hunting Cape a dream his hunt with booked Mike reality. buffalo into a Buffalo integrated Kloof because they conservation a crack at a 40- ethics with a family and provided feeling inch Cape buffalo. deep several He knew use. would strategy they

SAFARI July/August 2020 July/August SAFARI 46 Guy had one more place to check before the morning nificent bull that had lived a charmed life due to the hunt was over. Bumping over a dirt road, we stopped to dense foliage surrounding the grazing area strolled below glass a hillside. There, standing in the open was the them. Koster had seen the tight groups Mike shot when biggest buck of the trip, 300-yards away. A short stalk he was sighting-in his rifle at the ranch and believed he brought us within 125-yards and the shot was true. could make the shot. Mike settled in behind the rifle Measuring over 15 inches with a dark cape, it was all I and dialed up the distance. Seconds later the 180-grain had hoped for. Burger bullet instantly killed one of the best red Ten miles away, Mike and Koster sat up on the taken on the ranch. highest ridge on the ranch, glassing. Resting on sandbags Returning to camp both of us were ecstatic about was Mike’s new McWhorter rifle chambered in 7MM our morning’s hunt. At camp eight rhinos were huddled STW with a Swarovski 5-30x50 scope. around five hay bales, beating us to lunch. Below them a herd of red hartebeest grazed. A mag- continued on page 50

At first light, they found the herd as it was leaving the Elephants, Bush Bucks and A Red Hartebeest savanna and heading into thick brush and boulders. Wrap Up the Hunt Mike sprinted to get above the herd. No luck. As they The following morning as we edged the Land Rover looked upslope, two bulls slowly ambled out and headed through a creek, we came face-to-face with a dozen for thick cover. At 180-yards they were moving out of elephants. At 20-yards even the babies looked big. Not range. Koster told Mike to shoot the first one. What spooked, they gave me enough time for several pictures happened to the under 50-yard shot, wondered Mike? and then with an ear flap from the matriarch, they

The .450 bullet pierced the bull’s lungs. It stumbled vanished. Wow. SAFARI July/August 2020 and somersaulted, landing on its back and regained its It was eerie, how elephants could disappear so silently. footing as Mike’s second shot anchored the bull, killing Guy led me along the same stream bed, treading very it. Surprisingly, the buffalo herd moved in and milled carefully. Twice in thick cover we busted good bushbucks around the fallen bull. They waited and as the herd dis- in the 14 to15-inch class, but they were gone before I persed, carefully approached the mammoth animal. could get a shot. But the image of the elephants haunted Laying his rifle across the curling black horns, Mike had the area. It was time to move. realized his dream of a 40-inch Cape buffalo with two inches to spare. Thick, wide and massive, it was all he had SAFARI July/August 2020 July/August SAFARI hoped for and more. For Mike, this was the highlight of

an extensive hunting career. 49 48

The Rest of the Buffalo Kloof Story We were invited to join the Rippon family at their family camp to celebrate their love of the outdoors. Their hospitality made us feel like family members at a special campout. Celebrating around the campfire, we asked Warne and Wendy Rippon their plans for this massive chunk of territory. Their main goal is to create a Big Five conservancy. They want to introduce two prides of lions and black rhinos in the future if all goes well. An amazing turnaround since elephants and rhinos were eradicated here over 100 years ago, before his parents ranched in this area. They see hunting as a major contributor to restoring the Big Five at Buffalo Kloof. Not only does it provide funding for reserve operations and keep fast growing species in check, it provides eyes in the field to spot any suspicious activity connected to poaching. Each of their rhino’s horns are infused with a dye and toxin, which are not harmful to animals but poisonous to humans. It is an extra step towards stopping poaching. All 20 rhinos are potential targets for horn poachers and require ground and aerial surveillance. These keystone species are part of restoring a natural ecosystem from the ground up, where elephant and rhino will never be hunted. Meanwhile, removing non-native vegetation, reintroducing native plants and grasses, stabilizing stream beds and soil are all part of a process forecasted to take 30-40 years. Their hope is to leave a restored ecosystem in their family’s care for the future. . SAFARI July/August 2020 SAFARI July/August 2020 July/August SAFARI 51 50