Black Rhino

[CZDiesel]

Question to all of you that have hunted across the Dark Continent… How rare is it to see Black Rhino while on your safari? And how rare is it to see all of the Big Five while on your safari?
How many have seen one or both while on just one of your safari's?

 

[sniper7]

Pretty loaded question but I’ll try my best based on my trips.

Zim: saw 4/5 of big 5 but the leopard was honestly a flash while pursuing buff. Never saw a lion. Only saw white rhino and only in the park.

SA: 2 trips and have seen all but leopard including both white and black rhino on both trips. This is much further south in SA.

Namibia:
Saw all but Rhino. Leopard was a juvenile sleeping, lions were all over same with buff and elephant.

others may have different results but to see all 5 and to see a black rhino is going to be very rare unless you touch a park and get really lucky.

 

[DLSJR]

I’ve seen a total of 6 different Black Rhinos while hunting in Zimbabwe, but all were back in the 1980’s. I saw a large bull in Deka, he chased our truck down the road for a ways. Then, on my next hunt, I saw 5 different Black Rhinos on Charara, including a cow and calf who had a bull following them. They walked past us at about 25 yards, never knew we were there. I saw all of the Big 5 on both of those hunts, taking several species on each hunt.

Lately, I’ve seen 4 of the 5, lacking only a rhino, on a couple different Tanzania hunts over the last 4 years.

 

[375Fox]

Depends where you go. My last safari in Namibia I saw white rhino, black rhino, buffalo, and elephant while hunting. My last safari in Zimbabwe I saw elephant, buffalo, leopard, croc, hippo while hunting and had lions roaring near camp. Certain areas allow the potential of seeing them and other areas it’s unlikely to impossible.

 

[mark-hunter]

Question to all of you that have hunted across the Dark Continent… How rare is it to see Black Rhino while on your safari? And how rare is it to see all of the Big Five while on your safari?
How many have seen one or both while on just one of your safari's?

If you dont look for it, you will not see it.

Various government sites, keep information on rhino locations confidential.
The best way is to go to a national park with all big 5 and DG 7, but I think seeing leopard will be most difficult.

I have seen all DG in nature, but it took me 4 safaris. I hunted only one (cape buffalo).

My experience:

1. White rhino, seen on a farm in central Namibia
2. Black rhino, seen in Etosha park, Namibia (black rhino in Namibia is not farmed animal)
3. Cape buffalo, seen in Caprivi (and hunted), and also seen in Chobe national Park, Botswana
4. Elephant, seen in Caprivi, Namibia
5. Lion, seen in Etosha national park, Namibia
6. Leopard, seen a female from a blind, while waiting for male (Central Namibia, farmland)
7. Croc, seen in Caprivi, Namibia
8. Hyppo, seen in Caprivi, Namibia

Later edit: other lethal animals seen, non DG considered: black mamba and cape Cobra, in central farm land, first week of September (to establish the season)

 

[BryceM]

If you are hunting high fence ranch areas in SA or Namibia, most likely you'll only see big 5 if they're part of what the owners are keeping. In some areas, leopard wander in and out, but it's pretty rare to see them.

If you take a side-trip to a park, like Kruger or Etosha, you can generally see any and all of them, although you could go many times and never see a leopard. If you hunt wild concessions in Zim, Moz, Tanzania, on the border of Kruger, or in the Caprivi you can always bump into DG. Rhinos aren't everywhere.

I've hunted in the Caprivi and saw loads of elephant and buffalo. I've seen cheetah, but in 7 trips never a leopard - only tracks. I've seen rhino, hippos, and crocs in parks.

I've only seen DG once while hunting in a high-fence area - a wild lion on the other side of the border. I've never hunted high fence areas with buffalo or other DG on the property.

 

[grand veneur]

Apart of a track that was supposed to be that of a Black Rhino in Zimbabwe, I have never seen a rhino in the wild in Africa. Never seen Leopard either, only once a Cheetah in Namibia.

 

[Sarg]

If you dont look for it, you will not see it.

Various government sites, keep information on rhino locations confidential.
The best way is to go to a national park with all big 5 and DG 7, but I think seeing leopard will be most difficult.

I have seen all DG in nature, but it took me 4 safaris. I hunted only one (cape buffalo).

My experience:

1. White rhino, seen on a farm in central Namibia
2. Black rhino, seen in Etosha park, Namibia (black rhino in Namibia is not farmed animal)
3. Cape buffalo, seen in Caprivi (and hunted), and also seen in Chobe national Park, Botswana
4. Elephant, seen in Caprivi, Namibia
5. Lion, seen in Etosha national park, Namibia
6. Leopard, seen a female from a blind, while waiting for male (Central Namibia, farmland)
7. Croc, seen in Caprivi, Namibia
8. Hyppo, seen in Caprivi, Namibia

Later edit: other lethal animals seen, non DG considered: black mamba and cape Cobra, in central farm land, first week of September (to establish the season)


View attachment 665286

Is that your photo, it’s a beauty if so ?

A real member of the Big 5 !

I have seen a few in Zimbabwe in the old days, Kenya old & modern times & Namibia .
I think he would be the least seen on a wild hunt as he is in the least numbers by far !

When I saw my first in Zim way back, there was a crashing,stomping, cuffing like a train & snoring as one took off next to us, I thought cool Rhino, the PH with me & the boys were all very excited, I was surprised & ask why so excited, he said first one seen for sometime, I asked could we have shot it if it had came for us (fresh & first time out) he said if all the Boys & I were impaled on its horns he might but would still go to jail lol !

 

[mark-hunter]

Is that your photo, it’s a beauty if so ?

yes, my photo! Here is two more photos, same rhino.
I was out of my self when I saw him!

 

[TheGrayRider]

Great sightings by everyone. So much fun seeing these animals!

Not Big 5 but I was blessed and lucky to get to see a wild lowland male silverback gorilla while hunting the jungles of Southeastern Cameroon in May 2024.

We were also extremely thankful to see three male forest elephants cross the road in the jungle not far from basecamp. A couple of the bull elephants had nice ivory.

My “bucket list” animal to see is a wild snow leopard in the Himalyan mountains. Happy hunting to all, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

 

[grand veneur]

Since I have no experience with Rhino, I once thought I was looking in the jungle of Malaysia at the tracks of a Sumatran Rhino. To see this would have been something extraordinary, but unfortunately it was the track of a Tapir. For my discharge, Sumatra Rhinos are not as big as their African cousins, but the Tapirs in Southeast Asia are very big and both species have only three toes depict in the mud so that they can be confused.

 

[Philip Glass]

Pretty rare to see all of the Big 5 in a wilderness area.

 

[Fatback]

I’ve seen them in Etosha along with white rhinos, elephants and lions on that trip. Even watched a lioness catch an impala at a waterhole.

I’ve seen 1 wild leopard and I can look at it whenever I want now as it hangs above my fireplace.

I’ve seen lots of wild elephants and buffalo in both the Caprivi and Matesi 2. Lots of hippo and crocs in the Caprivi as well. I’ve seen wild cheetahs in Namibia. I think out of all of these sighting, while all very impressive l, was watching and listening to a big male lion roar and call from about 100 yards away. Absolutely breathtaking.

 

[DLSJR]

With some of you mentioning hippos and crocs, you got me thinking back to my 2023 safari to the Selous with Alan Vincent. When you add in Hippo & Crocodile, I saw 6 of the Dangerous 7 on that 16 day hunt, lacking only the rhino. Lots of buffalo, hippos and crocs. Saw a couple lions, elephants here and there and saw 3 different leopards including 2 while checking baits during the day as well as the one I shot at 8:00 AM. And for those who like to add snakes, we saw a black mamba, Forest cobra, couple puff adders and a vine snake.

The Selous is a wildlife paradise.

For anyone who can take advantage of it, he has a cancellation hunt available for this September. 16 days or 21. If anyone is interested I’ll be glad to put you in touch with him.

 

[Red Leg]

If you are in South Africa and on a game ranch, you will see whatever is stocked. Some ranches have open borders with Kruger which will increase the likelihood of seeing members of the Big 5 under more natural conditions. Should you hunt the Caprivi of Namibia, you would expect so see elephant, buffalo, crocs, hippo, and probably lions (at least hear them). If hunting the Delta of Mozambique, you would expect to see buffalo, elephant, lions, crocs, and hippo. Leopard exist in all of these areas, but seeing one anywhere but on a bait is a very, very rare thing.

White rhino are essentially farmed, and are fairly easy to see on a game farm or National Park which maintains them. I have seen black rhino twice. Both times were in conservancies in Namibia. The first was in 2008 when one objected us using "his" road (I managed a blurry photo as he charged and we accelerated away), and the other was about ten years ago when we came across the tracks of one, stalked him, and managed a couple of photos. In both cases, they were bulls and the most switched on animals I have seen in the wild.

First black rhino

Second black rhino

 

[Green Chile]

It's interesting to hear how switched on black rhinos tend to be. My experiences with white rhinos are just the opposite. They don't like to wind you but I have had them follow me because they were curious and their eyesight is so bad. I love how they huff around and just run in whatever direction they feel like going through trees, etc. Cool animals that are much more nimble and quick than their size would indicate. They can spin on a dime and they jog/run pretty fast.

 

[Goat416]

We saw all 5 in the same trip to Timbavati on the border with Kruger National Park. There happened to be a leopard in a tree outside of camp when we drove in the first day. That is the only leopard I have seen outside of hunting them.

The other area we saw all 5 including a lot of black rhino, was a reserve called Erindi in Namibia. I'm not sure since the ownership change if there are still hunting opportunities. My experience was the PH's were much more cautious around the black rhinos then they were around the white rhinos.

 

[Nyati]

I have seen the 7 dangerous in RSA, but no black rhino.

 

[Hank2211]

In over 15 hunts in Africa I have seen plenty of white rhino (and darted one) but never seen a black in the wild.

 

[Hunt anything]

In Mozambique I saw buffalo, lion, elephant, crocodile and heard leopard calling at night and had one walk past my chalet one night, saw the tracks and some hair where he rubbed against a tree.
In South Africa buffalo, white rhino and elephant all behind fences.
Left out hippo in Mozambique, he came out of a papyrus a long way away.