The Namibian
(Windhoek) March 18, 2003
Posted to the web March 18, 2003
Chrispin Inambao
THREE white rhinos, six roan antelopes and three tsessebe antelopes
are among rare game species that will be auctioned at a local resort
early next month when African Wildlife Services hosts its third
sale of wild animals.
The rare species will be auctioned on condition that they are
not exported.
This is to ensure their numbers are not depleted.
Rhinos are expected to fetch between N$180 000 to N$300 000 or
even more.
Roan antelopes will carry a price tag of at least N$135 000 while
ostriches are expected to fetch around N$1 500 a bird.Giraffes can
fetch up to N$11 000 each , while tsessebe can go for as much as
N$14 500.
Other game on the auction list are a breeding pair of Damara dik-dik,
58 ostriches, 137 blesbok, 250 springbok, 73 kudu, 125 oryx, 116
hartebeest, 63 black wildebeest, 103 eland, 26 giraffes, 51 Burchell's
zebras and 22 sable antelopes.
Hans Otto Reuter, a consultant from African Wildlife Services
(AWS), said the hundreds of game animals will be sold by catalogue
"to reduce the amount of handling and the resultant stress to the
animals".
Reuter said only suitable animals are selected at the beginning
of the capture season when they are expected to be in prime condition
following the rainy season.
They can also only be released into the wild when veld conditions
are favourable for adaptation to their new environment.
Only experienced and registered Namibian game dealers who apply
professional capture techniques are used.
At this stage it is not clear whether the Ministry of Environment
and Tourism will allow the import from South Africa and sale of
20 bushbuck, 30 mountain reedbuck and 20 grey rhebok.
The animals are endemic to Namibia in the Huns mountain area, north
of the Orange River, but have not previously been sold in Namibia.
At the 2002 auction, 1 044 animals were sold for N$5,3 million.
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