Two rare south-western black rhino cows achieved the highest prices at this year’s popular Kirkwood Wildsfees game auction, selling for R700 000 and R675 000 respectively.
By Fredalette Uys
According to Garth Saville, organiser of the auction, these south-western black rhino cows (Diceros bicornis bicornis) are highly sought after because they are extremely rare, with only a limited number remaining worldwide. Over the years, more male south-western black rhinos have been offered for sale, but this subspecies naturally produces a higher proportion of males in the wild.
“There was strong demand for these females because they are not commonly offered at auctions.”
The two cows were purchased by private owners.
According to Saville, the auction was exceptionally successful and once again attracted excellent support.
The game auction is held annually as part of the Kirkwood Wildsfees and was presented this year in collaboration with SANParks, Mayogi Bomas and Casper de Klerk Wildlife Services. A wide variety of game from SANParks national parks – including Addo Elephant National Park, Karoo National Park, Mokala National Park and Mountain Zebra National Park – as well as game from guest vendors, was offered at the auction.
The auction was held on 26 June at the Mayogi Bomas venue near Kirkwood, with Brandon Leer serving as auctioneer as usual. Buyers were also able to bid online via SwiftVEE.
This year’s turnover reached R17,4 million and, according to Saville, each of the past five annual auctions has improved on the previous one.
Other top prices achieved at the auction included a black rhino bull that sold for R180 000 and ten spotted hyaenas that sold for R20 000 each. Buffaloes of various sizes were offered, with the largest fetching R155 000, while the smallest buffaloes sold for R100 000 each.
Saville says SANParks consistently offers animals that are in high demand at the auction.
Plains game also performed exceptionally well this year, with groups of males achieving above-average prices.
According to Saville, the strong prices for plains game can be attributed to the favourable veld conditions in the Eastern Cape following good rainfall. In addition, there is a shortage of breeding animals, as hunting farms require breeding stock to replace harvested game.
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