Description:
The comeback of the White Rhino from near extinction to a huntable population is one of the great game management stories in history. Capstick describes the history of the Rhinoceros, compares the White and Black Rhino, and narrates important historical footage of the transplantation program by the Natal Parks Board that was largely responsible for the great increase in the population of White Rhinos since 1962. Then the hunting starts for a trophy Bull White Rhino in the Thabazimbi area of South Africa, about 200 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg and 150 kilometers due east of Gaborone, Botswana. A traditional tented camp is set in the middle of a valley that is surrounded on three sides by mountains. Ken Wilson is the client-hunter and Peter Capstick is the back-up and on-camera expert. Ken's professional hunter is Dirk Uys (pronounced 'Ace') and Dirk's partner is Stan Szmyrgala. In the course of a week, 9 Rhinos are stalked before the hunters decide on which one to try for. And the one they take is a loner Bull that has been seen in the valley for over 25 years which makes it one of the first Rhinos transplanted back to the Transvaal after they had completely disappeared from that Province in the last 1890's. In the course of the Rhino hunt, two other exceptional species are taken on-camera: an unusually long-tusked female Warthog and a Southern Impala with long and wide horns that will place it in the top 10 of both Rowland Ward and SCI. A 20 foot Python also provides some excitement.