Mark Biggs-Successful baitman!

Congratulations to Mark Biggs of Port Elizabeth in himself baiting and eventually shooting a bushpig in just the moonlight!

Mark has access to a friend's property,Longhill, very near to our property,Blaauwkrantz.

The property was recently bought and a lot of investment and work has been done in converting it into a private game ranch.The owner and Mark have a management idea for all the other trophy species except for the one specie that remains under the radar...yes you guessed it,the bushpig.

I mentioned to Mark that there are healthy populations of bushpigs there although they are hardly ever seen.So much so that many other landowners often doubt the presence of bushpigs on their properties.Bushpigs occur almost everywhere where there is cover and fences can't keep them in or out.

I advised Mark on how to set up a bait site and make use of an old house as a blind.

Mark did all this to the tee and also made use of a digital scouting camera to monitor their patterns.

I joined Mark on Wednesday afternoon the 15Th Sept to attempt a stakeout for these "ghosts".The moon was waxing very nicely and the forecast showed a clear night.We sat from sunset(6:30pm) till 10pm when I noticed a bushpig at the bait site.A layer of cloud had emerged and enveloped the moon.Mark struggled to see the pig at first but after a bit of frantic low level-frequency chatter Mark could make out the pig in the darkness.The shot of my 300 Win Mag topped with the Zeiss illuminated reticule scope roared and the muzzle blast temporarily blinded us.

Mark said that he missed!

I couldn't believe it since it was only a 45 yard shot.What I did see was blood running down from above Marks eye...He certainly was a member of the Half-Moon club already!

We walked over to the bait and low and behold there was a very nice boar lying stone dead.

Mark not only made it to the Half Moon Club but the Bushpig in the Moonlight Club too.

May the bushpigs on Longhill Farm also prove their value and sustain this fantastic endeavour of preserving natural habitat in order to sustainably utilise the wildlife.

Long-live the wildlife on Longhill!

David "Skip" Erickson,Montana, the newest Bushking!

If luck isn't on your side then intrepidness is the name of the game and Skip showed tremendous resolve in eventually bagging a good boar after four nights and a total of twenty hours in bushpig blinds.

Skip has been hunting Africa since 1985 and has never been able to add a bushpig to his Children's Museum collection despite hunting in areas where they occur. He heard about the Bushpigs of Blaauwkrantz and set his sights on a trip here to collect a bushpig amongst other unique Eastern Cape species.Skip cleverly planned his safari to coincide with the full moon too.

No sooner had Skip arrived and we set off with his son,Rob,to a bait site where I felt we had a good chance.The Moon was one night from full so we only had three good nights to be able to see what was going on when any pigs appeared at the site.

We sat two nights at this bait site without any pigs showing up.I was confused but not surprised as bushpigs do this,just when you think you've got them they throw a curve ball!

We went to another site on the third night and sat there till 12:30 am,still nothing...!I was getting worried as the next night the moon would only rise at 8:40pm .If the pigs came in before that we would have trouble in seeing them and of course making that shot.

Skip was resolute and showed no sign of giving in and we headed off to the site that we sat on the 3rd night again.At about 8:15pm I noticed what looked like a pig scurrying around the bait site.We watched it there till the moon came out and Skip could see it clear enough in the scope.

Skip made a shot and the pig dashed off into the night.I almost felt worry but Skip said he was right on the pig.We walked the 70 yards to the bait site in anticipation and Skip found some blood and then saw the pig lying in some brush not more than 20 yards from where he had shot.

Since Skip's Bushking accolade two more bushpig hunters have arrived at Blaauwkrantz and the first missed his shot and the other ended before it started.But these stories are better left untold,although to be fair the moon was gone and bushpigging without moon would be chancing it anyway.

Bushpigs aren't for everyone but understanding that they aren't just a normal hog or feral pig goes a long way in actually successfully hunting one.

Congratulations Skip!