Hunter bags a top kudu record
AN EASTERN Cape hunter managed to shoot himself into the record books by bagging a kudu bull with a trophy length horn – possibly the biggest the region has ever seen.
The kudu’s horn measured more than 60 inches (154 centimetres), well above the Rowland Ward international trophy minimum for kudus of 137cm.
NMMU’s agriculture and game farm management department head Retief Celliers carefully stalked the old bull on the Tankatara farm near Colchester and only realised the significance of his target after he had taken the shot.
The farm, run by the Lake family, forms part of the NMMU Addo campus and offers students the opportunity to do the practical section of their studies in game counting, hunting and meat processing.
Celliers’s hunt was part of a culling process to control game numbers on the farm.
“I probably had an hour left before the sun set and I was actually making my way back to my vehicle when a herd of kudu jumped out of a bush in front of me,” Celliers said.
“I spotted the bull and saw he only had one horn. I knew he was a good specimen for culling purposes.”
After stalking the kudu for about 60m he lined up his 30.06 calibre rifle and took the 150m shot.
The large antelope dropped immediately. “Only when I got to it did I see the length of the horn. I knew this was a good contender for a Rowland Ward.”
The kudu, missing one horn, was an old bull and Celliers said it would not have survived the season.
He suspects the one horn broke off during a fight for dominance with another bull, but must have happened some time ago as the horn showed signs of regrowth after the break.
A cursory measurement put the horn at just below 61 inches, and official measurements by the East Cape game management association (ECGMA) will be done one month after the hunt.
ECGMA vice-chairman and professor at the NMMU game management department, Pieter van Niekerk, said a 60 inch kudu was a dream come true for any hunter, and said a specimen this size was extremely rare in the Eastern Cape.
The Rowland Ward is a list of minimum lengths for animal horns and tusks that qualify them as trophies.