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| WHITE RHINO HUNTING IN AFRICA |
| By Rich Ziminski, Life Member #361 |
November 2006
Here I was, crawling on my hands and knees, up the rocky slope; and before this, an hour or walking, and
now I’m crawling over thorns, cactus and rocks and thinking, “only another hundred yards or so to go”.
Adventure, Adventure!! Always seeking adventure - first a “super Slam” (International Wild Sheep); then a
“Grand Slam” (North American Wild Sheep); then the “Dangerous Five “ of Africa (lion, leopard, hippo, cape
buffalo, and elephant); and now, trying for the fifth and final animal of the “Big Five”, (lion, leopard, cape
buffalo, elephant), the white rhino of Africa.
This venture started over a year ago having shot my third Cape Buffalo, with a 44 inch horn and my second
blank-maned lion. What next, I thought!, Well, remaining was the rhino. So I contacted several outfitters
thinking of shooting one when finally one of the outfitters suggested that I dart a rhino. He said, “It is
definitely more thrilling and more challenging. You can shoot a rhino from 100 or so yards with no problem;
and its dead!! But to dart one, you have to get close, maybe 20 yards, and then you have about five minutes
of potential risk until the tranquilizer takes effect and the rhino goes down. Also, it’s substantially less
expensive.”
Encouraging each other, my buddy, Stan Boots and I decided to book a darting hunt together. The trip from
JFK (New York) via South African Airways to Port Elizabeth was relatively satisfactory.
Upon arrival at the ranch, explanations were made about the compressed air blow gun which shoots a dart-
syringe filled with M99, a drug chemically related to morphine (actually etorphine hydrochloride). This
compound is fatal to humans, but injected into a white rhino it will take from 4 to 20 minutes for this huge
6,000 lb animal to collapse.
So here I am, with another 100 yards to go, and then I would be within 15 yards of the rhinos. There were
two of them; the biggest one had his rump towards me and his buddy had its nose in my direction. Their
funnel-like ears kept moving, checking for sounds. At this range, I was sure they could hear my heart beat, I
was so excited. Sazzi, my professional hunter, said.. “Rich, crawl around this wmall bush, take careful aim
and shoot”. I crawled and then shot. The dart went diagonally downward and missed the beast. The rhinos
took off. Sazzi said that the dart had hit a small twig on the bush. He told me to wait and he would go get
another dart. He went off down the mountain returning in about an hour and we were off again.
Once more, another repeat of an hour of climbing and then over an hour of hands and knees crawling,
always checking the wind and being as quiet as we could be. Rhinos have somewhat poor eyesight but a
very good sense of smell and extraordinary hearing with their funnel-like, ever pivoting, ears. We were now
about 18 yards from the animals. We were concealed by some small bushes and I was very careful of the
branches when I got ready to shoot. The blowgun emitted a small noise as it discharged, propelling the
tranquilizer dart towards the rhino’s neck where the major muscle exists. As the rhinos lumbered off, Sazzi
said it was a great shot and it had hit well. Off we went, following the two rhinos, checking our watches to see
how much time had elapsed. It is very critical to get to the rhino as soon as it starts to falter so that it doesn’t
fall on rocks and get hurt of fall over on its side where its intestines may get jumbled and kill the animal. We
walked/ran to the Land Cruiser so as to follow the rhinos. After 20 minutes or so, we could still see the dart
in the animal’s neck. A good shot, but no apparent effect. Mike Murray, the concession’s Owner and syringe
loader, speculated that the dart’s needle may have hit a spot of mud or dirt on the rhinos hide, negating the
M99. Mike explained to me that the darting of the rhino is tricky and all aspects of the hunt are involved.
The day was now almost over.
The next day we located more rhinos several miles away. “My Darted” bull
Was chasing a smaller bull across and around the plain. Round and round they went; very nimble and agile
for such large animals. We stealthily approached a small acacia tree, “my” bull chased the small bull to
within about 15 yards of me. As it winded us, it put its horn down and started towards us but the other bull
diverted his attention. When the bull faced me, I had no chance for the dart to penetrate, so I did not try.
The rest of the morning, we did many stalks for the 2 bulls, but they were very aware of us and kept moving
away. We finally gave up on the bull and searched for others. Mike had a team of men on horseback to
follow the rhino should we get a shot. Off we went on another stalk, this time finding a fine bull in some very
thick river bottom brush. It had been seen earlier by Mike’s team and now for another try. This time Mike
carried his CZ550 safari in 416 Rigby because lone bulls are very dicey. We stalked into the wind and with
much pussy-footing around were now only a tree and 15 yards away. I held the dart gun steady; carefully,
no movement, not even a blink! The bull started towards us around the tree. It’s big horn now only 12 yards
from me. I a flash it winded us and there was no opportunity for a shot. This was getting frustrating, but
certainly exciting at the same time. Mike and Sazzi suggested we take a break and try after lunch. I don’t
remember lunch since I was thinking about the hunt; much more challenging then I ever imagined.
Back into the thick bush along the river valley. The rhino had not moved too far when we found him. It had
been laying down in the afternoon sun with it’s head downwind facing us. It was laying in some really thick
brush. As we approached it with the wind in our faces, its ears seemed to follow us. I could not get a shot as
the head is no target. Sazzi and I backed off. What to do??. We debated; should we go in from the side,
close by and then go rear-ward? Maybe I could see an opening to its rump. In we went, slowly, slowly, as
quietly as possible. Suddenly, the rhino winded us and jumped up. How quickly he turned! Ninety degrees
toward me, then another ninety degrees, and going off!
I tried a quick shot through a small opening and the dart could the bulls left hind quarter, dow low. Sazzi
said, “Congratulations, you hit him”! Now will the Moo activate? We ran on through the brush while the
horse-riders took off following the rhino. Five minutes later, about 1 1/2 miles from the spot where I had shot
him, we saw the rhino emerge from the river bottom heading toward the rocky plains. It appeared to me to
be slowing down. Mike encouraged his staff to get closer. As the rhino stopped and started to fall, Mike
threw a coat over his eyes. The beast moved its head and pushed Mike sideways but the animal was now
“out”. Mike had the coat over the bull’s eyes so they would no burn from the sun -a rhino does not have
eyelids and can’t close its eyes.
Mike immediately had his men and I hold the rhino up as he gave it the antidote to the tranquilizer. As my
picture was taken, the men held up the big boy and kept him from falling over on his side. Four minutes later
the rhino was up. By now we had all backed away while the rhino moved towards us. Finally, he moved on
out!!
Congratulations were given out all around. Sazzi told me that his previous client had frozen when the bull
charged and in the process had hooked his (Sazzi) pant’s belt throwing him about 10 yards. Sazzi sand that
both he and the client ended up OK. But Sazzi did have a major bruise on his leg that had to be attended to
medically.
The following day I hunted a caracal cat with hounds and successfully harvested a large male. Stan’s rhino
hunt was very similar to mine. He successfully darted a rhino after the first dart failed to work.
Now that the hunt is over, I think it was very exciting and know why rhinos are called “dangerous” game.
There is a lot of involvement in darting a rhino and I heartily recommend this hunt as well as the outfitter.
Here I was, crawling on my hands and knees, up the rocky slope; and before this, an hour or walking, and
now I’m crawling over thorns, cactus and rocks and thinking, “only another hundred yards or so to go”.
Adventure, Adventure!! Always seeking adventure - first a “super Slam” (International Wild Sheep); then a
“Grand Slam” (North American Wild Sheep); then the “Dangerous Five “ of Africa (lion, leopard, hippo, cape
buffalo, and elephant); and now, trying for the fifth and final animal of the “Big Five”, (lion, leopard, cape
buffalo, elephant), the white rhino of Africa.
This venture started over a year ago having shot my third Cape Buffalo, with a 44 inch horn and my second
blank-maned lion. What next, I thought!, Well, remaining was the rhino. So I contacted several outfitters
thinking of shooting one when finally one of the outfitters suggested that I dart a rhino. He said, “It is
definitely more thrilling and more challenging. You can shoot a rhino from 100 or so yards with no problem;
and its dead!! But to dart one, you have to get close, maybe 20 yards, and then you have about five minutes
of potential risk until the tranquilizer takes effect and the rhino goes down. Also, it’s substantially less
expensive.”
Encouraging each other, my buddy, Stan Boots and I decided to book a darting hunt together. The trip from
JFK (New York) via South African Airways to Port Elizabeth was relatively satisfactory.
Upon arrival at the ranch, explanations were made about the compressed air blow gun which shoots a dart-
syringe filled with M99, a drug chemically related to morphine (actually etorphine hydrochloride). This
compound is fatal to humans, but injected into a white rhino it will take from 4 to 20 minutes for this huge
6,000 lb animal to collapse.
So here I am, with another 100 yards to go, and then I would be within 15 yards of the rhinos. There were
two of them; the biggest one had his rump towards me and his buddy had its nose in my direction. Their
funnel-like ears kept moving, checking for sounds. At this range, I was sure they could hear my heart beat, I
was so excited. Sazzi, my professional hunter, said.. “Rich, crawl around this wmall bush, take careful aim
and shoot”. I crawled and then shot. The dart went diagonally downward and missed the beast. The rhinos
took off. Sazzi said that the dart had hit a small twig on the bush. He told me to wait and he would go get
another dart. He went off down the mountain returning in about an hour and we were off again.
Once more, another repeat of an hour of climbing and then over an hour of hands and knees crawling,
always checking the wind and being as quiet as we could be. Rhinos have somewhat poor eyesight but a
very good sense of smell and extraordinary hearing with their funnel-like, ever pivoting, ears. We were now
about 18 yards from the animals. We were concealed by some small bushes and I was very careful of the
branches when I got ready to shoot. The blowgun emitted a small noise as it discharged, propelling the
tranquilizer dart towards the rhino’s neck where the major muscle exists. As the rhinos lumbered off, Sazzi
said it was a great shot and it had hit well. Off we went, following the two rhinos, checking our watches to see
how much time had elapsed. It is very critical to get to the rhino as soon as it starts to falter so that it doesn’t
fall on rocks and get hurt of fall over on its side where its intestines may get jumbled and kill the animal. We
walked/ran to the Land Cruiser so as to follow the rhinos. After 20 minutes or so, we could still see the dart
in the animal’s neck. A good shot, but no apparent effect. Mike Murray, the concession’s Owner and syringe
loader, speculated that the dart’s needle may have hit a spot of mud or dirt on the rhinos hide, negating the
M99. Mike explained to me that the darting of the rhino is tricky and all aspects of the hunt are involved.
The day was now almost over.
The next day we located more rhinos several miles away. “My Darted” bull
Was chasing a smaller bull across and around the plain. Round and round they went; very nimble and agile
for such large animals. We stealthily approached a small acacia tree, “my” bull chased the small bull to
within about 15 yards of me. As it winded us, it put its horn down and started towards us but the other bull
diverted his attention. When the bull faced me, I had no chance for the dart to penetrate, so I did not try.
The rest of the morning, we did many stalks for the 2 bulls, but they were very aware of us and kept moving
away. We finally gave up on the bull and searched for others. Mike had a team of men on horseback to
follow the rhino should we get a shot. Off we went on another stalk, this time finding a fine bull in some very
thick river bottom brush. It had been seen earlier by Mike’s team and now for another try. This time Mike
carried his CZ550 safari in 416 Rigby because lone bulls are very dicey. We stalked into the wind and with
much pussy-footing around were now only a tree and 15 yards away. I held the dart gun steady; carefully,
no movement, not even a blink! The bull started towards us around the tree. It’s big horn now only 12 yards
from me. I a flash it winded us and there was no opportunity for a shot. This was getting frustrating, but
certainly exciting at the same time. Mike and Sazzi suggested we take a break and try after lunch. I don’t
remember lunch since I was thinking about the hunt; much more challenging then I ever imagined.
Back into the thick bush along the river valley. The rhino had not moved too far when we found him. It had
been laying down in the afternoon sun with it’s head downwind facing us. It was laying in some really thick
brush. As we approached it with the wind in our faces, its ears seemed to follow us. I could not get a shot as
the head is no target. Sazzi and I backed off. What to do??. We debated; should we go in from the side,
close by and then go rear-ward? Maybe I could see an opening to its rump. In we went, slowly, slowly, as
quietly as possible. Suddenly, the rhino winded us and jumped up. How quickly he turned! Ninety degrees
toward me, then another ninety degrees, and going off!
I tried a quick shot through a small opening and the dart could the bulls left hind quarter, dow low. Sazzi
said, “Congratulations, you hit him”! Now will the Moo activate? We ran on through the brush while the
horse-riders took off following the rhino. Five minutes later, about 1 1/2 miles from the spot where I had shot
him, we saw the rhino emerge from the river bottom heading toward the rocky plains. It appeared to me to
be slowing down. Mike encouraged his staff to get closer. As the rhino stopped and started to fall, Mike
threw a coat over his eyes. The beast moved its head and pushed Mike sideways but the animal was now
“out”. Mike had the coat over the bull’s eyes so they would no burn from the sun -a rhino does not have
eyelids and can’t close its eyes.
Mike immediately had his men and I hold the rhino up as he gave it the antidote to the tranquilizer. As my
picture was taken, the men held up the big boy and kept him from falling over on his side. Four minutes later
the rhino was up. By now we had all backed away while the rhino moved towards us. Finally, he moved on
out!!
Congratulations were given out all around. Sazzi told me that his previous client had frozen when the bull
charged and in the process had hooked his (Sazzi) pant’s belt throwing him about 10 yards. Sazzi sand that
both he and the client ended up OK. But Sazzi did have a major bruise on his leg that had to be attended to
medically.
The following day I hunted a caracal cat with hounds and successfully harvested a large male. Stan’s rhino
hunt was very similar to mine. He successfully darted a rhino after the first dart failed to work.
Now that the hunt is over, I think it was very exciting and know why rhinos are called “dangerous” game.
There is a lot of involvement in darting a rhino and I heartily recommend this hunt as well as the outfitter.
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