20 Years of intelligent selection

Pioneering the rare wildlife industry During 1986, Dr. Johan Kriek purchased and imported 30 Roan, 30 Sable and 30 Lichtenstein Hartebeest from Malawi. The operation was done in three parks in Malawi, Kasungu, Njika & Liwonde. These animals were imported to South Africa and sold across the country. This was a huge learning curve and Dr. Kriek decided to re-import wildlife during 1991 after a battle to get permissions. During The 1991 operation, he imported 60 Sable and 88 Roan Antelope of which most was Sold to cover the cost of the operation and to finance his farm which is called Mattanu Private Game Reserve. The herds at Mattanu started with 24 Sable and 24 Roan.

Development of the industry The wildlife industry has seen tremendous growth during the years and nobody expected this industry to grow so quickly. The industry has created many spin-offs in the form of trophy hunting, tourism, taxidermy, accommodation and meat production. The prices have steadily grown and we see records prices being paid each year. During the early years buyers were scrambling to get one of the 3 elite species (Roan, Sable and Disease-free Buffalo) regardless of quality. It is only recently that a strong focus on quality developed. The market has now changed to quality driven purchases and the only way to compete in future markets is to offer quality.

Sable Antelope (Hipotragus Niger) The first Sable herd was released on Mattanu during December 1991. The original group was from Liwonde Park in Malawi. During 1994 Dr. Kriek imported more Sable antelope from Zimbabwe and bulls from each bloodline were used. He followed a disciplined approach to keep the best bulls for breeding and hunted the inferior bulls as trophies. The use of Malawi and Zimbabwe bloodlines greatly improved the quality of the animals and specifically horn length. One must be careful not to focus solely on horn length as infertile bulls can also have big horns. The bulls must be masculine and have good horn base with length. Continue next slide………..

Sable Antelope (Hipotragus Niger) The main breeding herd at Mattanu now had two bloodlines, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The breeding bulls were changed every 3 years, with better bulls, to further improve the Bloodline. During 2005 Dr. Kriek bought a West Zambian bull which have been used till today. It was during this period that we saw potential in the cows when a 36” cow Emerged. The excess bulls were placed into a fenced-off section of Mattanu to reach Maturity. These bulls were checked for potential and placed with different breeding herds, if they were of exceptional quality, otherwise they are marketed for hunting purposes. The latest bull to join the main herd is “Mattanu Sable 3”, measuring 44”. He is an outstanding bull with a solid horn base, good length, big testes and a strong body.

Breeding bulls – Mattanu Sable 1 – 44 “ (Previously used breeding bull)

Breeding bulls – Mattanu Zambia 1 – 42.5 “ (Current breeding bull)

Breeding bulls – Mattanu Sable 2 – 45.5” (Current breeding bull)

36” Cow – Mattanu Queen (Currently breeding with a Zambian bull)

Breeding bulls – Mattanu Sable 3 – 44” (Current breeding bull)

Roan Antelope (Hipotragus Equinus) The first Roan herd was released on Mattanu during December 1991. The original group was from Njika Park in Malawi. During 2007 Dr. Kriek imported more Roan antelope from Namibia. He sold the Namibian group later and focussed more on the Malawi Njika bloodline, although Kasungu Roan was also used. He followed a disciplined approach to keep the best bulls for breeding and hunted the inferior bulls. The use of Malawi bloodlines and intelligent selection greatly improved the quality of the animals and specifically horn length. One must be careful not to focus solely on Horn length as infertile bulls can also have big horns. The bulls must be masculine and have good horn base with length.

Roan Breeding bulls – Mattanu Roan 1 – 31 1/4” (Previous breeding bull)

Roan Breeding bulls – Mattanu Roan 3 – (To be measured when fully grown) – Current breeding bull

African Buffalo (Syncerus Caffer) The first Buffalo herd was released on Mattanu during 1994. The original group was from Kwazulu-Natal parks Umfolozi & Hluluwe. During 1989 Dr. Kriek wrote the protocol for the first Corridor disease-free breeding project in South Africa (Where disease Buffalo are used to produce disease-free Buffalo) and submitted the protocol with inputs of Dr.Fred Potgieter. The KZN Buffalo bloodlines are sought after as the disease-free Buffalo used to be only Addo bloodlines. This changed with the projects. The Buffalo bulls were also intelligently selected and inferior bulls were hunted. The bloodline was further strengthened by combining East African, Addo & Kwazulu-Natal bloodlines. We have most of the available Buffalo genes in one disease free herd. The disease free herd is the result of 13 years of breeding and selection. Mattanu now offer some of the best Buffalo in Africa.

Buffalo Breeding bulls – Mattanu Buffalo 1 – 43.5” – Boss – 15” (Previous breeding bull)

Buffalo Breeding bulls – Mattanu Buffalo 2 “Brutus” (To be measured) – Current breeding bull

Wildlife Sales – Mattanu Dr. Johan Kriek – 082 820 8305 [email protected] Johann Kriek – 083 321 8707 [email protected] Jacques Kriek – 083 235 1993 [email protected]