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It seems that elephant-themed DVDs are in vogue as of late, and why not, for the African elephant is thriving to the extent that they today defy the dire predictions of only a decade ago. Botswana, through its excellent game management, now has an absolute overabundance of phunts in almost all areas of the country. Well-known Botswana outfitter Johan Calitz has a huge community concession on the edge of the Okavango Delta and produces some of the biggest tuskers in Botswana.
And what great elephants Botswana has! Not only are they absolutely huge in body (some as much as 12 feet at the shoulder), but they also have heavy ivory. A parade of a 70-, 80-, and even a 90-pounder walk through the scenes of this DVD with hunters pursuing them. The action is well paced but not too fast.
We have a few minor criticisms: First of all, you have to pay attention to understand Johan Calitz with his nicely clipped colonial English, and, second, two elephant-hunt segments were filmed with a different camera. Although the footage is totally acceptable, they have a different look and feel from the other segments. This is made up, however, by the fact that in the first segment a bull is shot with a .577 and in the other segment a bull of over 90 pounds is bagged.
Produced by Garrick Cormack, this DVD follows Johan Calitz and his clients on fifteen hunts. If you want elephants, more elephants, and then some large ivory thrown in with an elephant topping, this DVD is for you! It’s an overall great movie that will be enjoyed by every armchair and real elephant hunter out there.
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