Shambala Private Game Reserve,owned by billionaire Douw Steyn,lies within the Waterberg near

the town of Vaalwater. The reserve isbased on exclusivity and quality, and itupkeeps the highest standards in everyindustry that it trades within. Sham-bala is not only known as a malaria-free exclusive big-five game reserve,but it also conducts the self-ownedWaterberg Elephant Back Safaris on itspremises and is one of South Africa’smost prestigious disease-free buffalobreeders.Shambala has been intensively

breeding buffalo for over a decadewith great success, and 2007 markedthe first-ever buffalo to be sold fromthe reserve since its outset. Thedemand for disease-free buffalo fromthe reserve has always been high andthus Shambala decided to facilitateproduction auctions on a bi-annualbasis. In May 2009, the 2nd ShambalaProduction Auction was held, at thetime achieving various records pertain-ing to buffalo. In early 2010, the buffalo breeding

was further intensified to additionallyaccommodate the stud breeding of thespecies on the reserve. The goal at the

outset of 2010 was to create a top-quality second herd of buffalo of thesame standard as the current Shambalaherd, but of a different genetic make-up to ensure greater diversity. Theconstruction of a hectare passive-cap-ture boma paved the way to safely cap-ture, introduce and relocate buffalo.The passive-capture boma wasdesigned to comfortably house theherds in order to optimise workingconditions and minimise stress for theanimals. The size of the boma enclo-sure was specifically designed to allowthe buffalo to keep their natural dis-tance between themselves and anythreat; this in turn resulted in passiveanimals under minimal stress. In 2010, the game industry wit-

nessed the largest transaction to evertake place between two of the largestbuffalo breeders in South Africa. Ironi-cally, the origin of the Shambala herd,Kwanare, was yet again the sellerwhen top-quality animals were invest-ed in by Shambala during 2010. Thebuffalo bull named Bill was boughtfrom Kwanare at what was probablythe highest price ever paid for a singleanimal in Africa at the time. The pur-chase price emanated from many dif-

ferent attributes but above all thephysical appearance and his absolutepride, which represent the idealAfrican buffalo, identified him as theideal ambassador for the reserve. Thepurchase of exceptional buffalo fromKwanare continued with the buffalocow Hanlie being bought for R1,75million on the Stud Game Breeders

Promotion

Buffalo cow Hanlie, purchased for R1,75million

42 GAME & HUNT November 2010

Auction on 4 September 2010.Shambala is also very proud to have

invested in Thaba Tholo buffalo, dueto the fact that, as a 35 000-ha privateprotected area this game reserve con-serves biodiversity, which makes a sig-nificant contribution to South Africa.Thaba Tholo not only contributesimmensely to the breeding of game,but they also conserve many otherendangered non-economic species,such as the cheetah, on a large scale.This similarity to Shambala, which con-serves 12 000 ha of biodiversity, wasvery significant, for these protectedareas are of national importance. Theinvestment made by Mr Douw Steyn in21 of the best buffalo within South

Africa by 22 September 2010 amount-ed to R29,7 million. Thus Shambalahad successfully started a brand-newherd of top-quality buffalo to furtherproduce top-quality breeding stock. Shambala did purchase the best dur-

ing 2010, but is also looking forwardto an exclusive sale to Mr CyrilRamaphosa, which involves four top-quality females, each originating fromthe Shambala herd. Mr Ramaphosabeing a pioneer in the game industryhas positioned himself well in the buf-falo market by forming a formidableherd in a very short time. Being part ofthe renowned Stud Game Breeders MrRamaphosa is very selective in his pur-chases in order to ensure that he

excels in his stud-breeding prac-tices.The 3rd Sham-

bala ProductionAuction is sched-

uled for the 7th May 2011. The auctionwill see top-quality buffalo of the origi-nal Shambala herd up for sale. Theseanimals are highly prized within thegame industry, have been hidden with-in the billionaire reserve for years andonly seen by a fortunate few. The moti-vation for the sale of these animals lieswithin the generations that they leavebehind in the Shambala herd. By mak-ing the buffalo available to the marketwe will provide additional quality toother breeding operations throughoutSouth Africa, which will diversify thegenetics within the country.

Enquiries:Hanru Strydom General Manager: Shambala GameReserve Tel: 014 755 9300 Cell: 079 504 9843Email:wildlife@shambalagamereserve.co.za

Passive-capture boma, designed tocomfortably house the herds

Buffalo bullBill fetched

a record-breaking

R6 million.

The Shambalabuffalo cow Tanzania

3

Shambala-bred bullMasai

WILD & JAG November 2010 43