Ronnie Crous

Ronnie was born in 1959 in South Africa and made his decision at the tender age of 9 to live and work in the bush. Mentored by his father, this became reality in 1978 when after completing his 2 year military service he joined the "game department". He has a National Diploma in Nature Conservation and Management and has more than 30 years of practical bush experience. He has been living, guiding and hunting in Botswana since 1982 and got his Botswana hunters license in 1993. He has many years of big game hunting experience and has 3 elephant over 80lbs under his belt. Ron also has been on the Botswana Licensing Board for the past 11 years and has also accompanied clients to Mozambique.

Joekie Du Toit

Joekie was born into a hunting family in 1979 and grew up in the Klaserie Nature Reserve where he developed a passion for hunting at a very young age. He became a professional hunter at the end of 2000 after completing a 3 year apprenticeship with Johan Calitz Safaris in Botswana and he has been hunting full-time for Johan Calitz Safaris ever since. In 2008 Joekie received an award for the Heaviest Elephant Tusk in Botswana. He has hunted in Mozambique and is licensed in South Africa. During the off season he is involved in his father’s bird hunting company in South Africa.

Louis Pansegrouw

Louis was born in 1958 in South Africa. He spent two years in the military service after which he studied and received a National Diploma and Degree in Agriculture (Rangeland Pasture & Livestock). He worked for the Department of Agriculture for about 15 years in which he conducted research in bush encroachment, carrying capacity and benchmarks in relation to livestock and game ranching. He came to Botswana in 1996 when he conducted vegetation monitoring and aerial surveys in the Chobe National Park. He was licensed in Botswana and Mozambique as a Professional Hunter in 2000/2003 respectively and he hunts on a full time basis for Johan Calitz Safaris.

Gary McKenzie

Gary was born in Zimbabwe in 1963. He started hunting professionally in 1985 and was awarded the highest ivory average in Zimbabwe in 1992 and 1994 as well as the largest lion hunted in Zimbabwe in 1993 and again in 1996. He was the runner up as professional hunter of the year in 1992 in Zimbabwe and worked for a top Zimbabwe safari company for 11 years and ended up being senior PH / Manager of that company. He moved to Botswana in 1996 and obtained the Botswana PH license in 1996. He hunted for one of the premier Botswana Safari companies until 2009 ending up as general manager for that company. He has also hunted in Tanzania, Cameroon and Zambia and has hunted over 200 trophy bull elephant with clients in his career with a career best of 92 pounds taken in Botswana. Gary has joined Johan Calitz Safaris in 2010.

Edwin Young

Edwin was born into a family of conservationists and hunters in 1983. He has lived and worked in the bush his whole life of which 16 years were spend in big game country, after he moved to Kruger National Park in 1994. Edwin has been involved in the hunting industry in Botswana since 2004 and started hunting with Johan Calitz Safaris on a permanent basis during 2008. He is the concession manager for the Luatize concession (Block L2) in Mozambique. He is currently also busy with his Masters Degree in Environmental Management, with the focus on water ecology in the Niassa Reserve. Edwin is a registered Professional Hunter in Botswana and Mozambique and actively guides in both countries for the company.

Cobus Calitz

Cobus was born in 1983 into a family of hunters. From a young age he started hunting and fishing with his father and grandfather - shot his first buffalo at the age of 13 and his first elephant when he was 14. Cobus accompanied his father on many hunts during the years learning and helping on Johan's side. After he finished his Bachelor in Marketing in South Africa, he joined the company as Financial Manager and is licensed as Professional Hunter in Botswana and Mozambique.

Terry Palmer

Terry was born in Maun, Botswana in 1954. He grew up in the Safari Industry with Lionel Palmer (father) who started hunting in Botswana in the 1960's. Terry has been hunting professionally since 1979 with several different outfitters. Terry has joined Johan Calitz Safaris in 1990 and has hunted with him ever since. He has also hunted in Cameroon, Tanzania and Zambia.

Garth Robinson

Garth was born in 1979 in South Africa. He started hunting at a very young age and after completing High School joined Johan Caltiz Safaris as an apprentice. After a three year apprenticeship he became a fully licenses Professional Hunter and has been working with Johan Calitz Safaris ever since. Garth also accompanied clients to Mozambique.

Motsatsi Philip Ramonwana (Mongoose)

Motsatsi was born in 1940 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and started hunting at a very young age. He completed Primary School and in 1967 joined Vira Safaris as Professional Hunter in the Tuli Block. He joined Johan Calitz Safaris in 1997 and has hunted and guided with the company ever since.

Mauro Fabris

Mauro was born in Italy on 8 December 1963. He comes from a conservation background and started hunting at a very young age. In 1991 he went to Zimbabwe for his first African big game hunting experience, followed by a visit to Tanzania in 1997. He took clients to Johan Calitz Safaris in Botswana for the first time in 1999.

Mauro holds professional hunting licences for Botswana, Tanzania and Mozambique and have vast experience in hunting in RCA, Cameroon, North America and Asia.

He has an extraodinary knowledge of wild animals and spend as much as 290 days hunting per annum. In his free time, he writes hunting articles and tests various rifles and other hunting equipment for a number of manufacturers.

Mario Tinkler

Mario Tinkler was born and schooled in Kroonstad, South Africa. He commenced his five-year apprenticeship in 2005 with Johan Calitz Safaris in Botswana as well as Mozambique. Most of his training was under the direct mentorship of Johan Calitz.

Mario is a licenced professional hunter in Botswana as well as certain provinces in South Africa.

Jay Leyendecker

Jay was born in Texas, USA, in 1981.

Under the guidance of his grandfather, he began hunting at an early age, taking his first big game animal at the age of Five.

Jay always had a passion for all things wild. He chose hunting and wildlife as his life’s work at an early age. He began guiding clients at 16 and guided throughout his University years. He earned a Bachelors degree in Business Administration at Texas A&M International University and went on to do a 2-year Wildlife Management degree at South West Texas Junior College.

He started hunting in Africa in 1999 in countries such as South Africa, Zambia, and Botswana. He completed his apprenticeship in Botswana with Johan Calitz Safaris and currently holds a PH licence for hunting plains-game as well as dangerous game.

During the off season, he resides in Laredo, TX, where he guides hunts for dozens of species of native as well as exotic game. He also acts as consultant for private landowners on game management and wildlife biology. He hunts or is in the field on average 300 days a year and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Richard de Bufanos

Richard was born and raised in South Africa and a large part of his childhood was spent hunting on the family owned game ranch in Zululand. Thus a love for the outdoors and hunting was instilled in Richard from an early age.

Having completed his schooling and agricultural college Richard moved up to Botswana in 1996 to pursue his interest in wildlife and hunting. Richard obtained his full professional hunters license in Botswana in 1998 and has been hunting there ever since.

Hunting dangerous game in Botswana’s huge wilderness areas, especially elephant, for the past 12 years has been a great passion of Richards and something that he has taken a great deal of pride and pleasure in doing.