The Hunting Consortium

MARCO POLO SHEEP

The Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon poli) is considered the greatest trophy of Asia by most big game hunters. At present Marco Polo sheep can be hunted in the Republic of Tajikistan and in Kyrgyzstan, officially, the Kyrgyz Republic. Both of these Asian republics have primitive infrastructures in the regions where Marco Polo sheep are found and Marco Polo sheep hunting is considered one of the most exclusive and adventurous expeditions in the world. Considerable preparations are needed for this hunt and licenses for these highly prized sheep are strictly limited.

EXPERIENCE - “Wisdom from Experience!” is no hollow epithet. Bob Kern and his experienced staff have traveled throughout the world and hunted or visited all of the major destinations available to hunters today. We know who is reliable and who isn’t.
This experience is time consuming and expensive to amass, but costs our clients nothing extra. In fact, it has spared our clients countless problems, saving them precious time and money, while maximizing their chance for success and a positive experience.

RESEARCH - Current and accurate information is essential to the success of any hunt. No other company engages in more field research and scouting than The Hunting Consortium Ltd. Our experienced staff are traveling continuously throughout the world gathering up-to-the minute information on active hunting areas, programs and outfitters, as well as exploring new areas and creating new programs. The Hunting Consortium has built a far-reaching network of expert advisors who periodically furnish us with news in their respective areas of expertise.

SERVICE- Our multilingual, multi-national, travel experts make all travel arrangements including; air tickets, hotel reservations and firearm permits, as well as arranging other tourist services to complement the hunt arrangements. Our staff is the finest team ever assembled in the hunting industry, providing all types of services to our clients before they leave and even while they are in the field. The Hunting Consortium also advises its customers regarding firearm regulations, licensing and permitting requirements, taxidermy, and a variety of other technical subjects according to the needs of each client.

Wisdom from Experience

The Hunting Consortium Ltd. is the most experienced outfitter of Marco Polo sheep hunts in the world - period! This firm was involved in the opening of both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to hunting tourism as the Soviet Union and it’s satellite countries collapsed in the early 1990s. The Hunting Consortium took part in the early scouting in those countries and selected the hunting areas based on first hand knowledge. Nowadays the Hunting Consortium offers more hunting areas and outfits more hunts for Marco Polo sheep than any other hunting company. We are proud of our continuing 100% success rate - more than 400 hunts! We are also happy to report that our clients have taken more Marco Polo sheep trophies exceeding 60 inches than customers of any other company.

The Hunting Consortium’s scouting teams select the hunting areas very carefully and secured what we believe to be the best available for our clients. Our staff spend weeks every year in the hunting areas insuring that our information is current and our customer service is the best available. The Hunting Consortium Ltd., is the only company with a team chief in Dushanbe for the entire hunting season and Hunting Consortium representatives in every camp, with every group of hunters. With a resident staff of employees in Tajikistan, we assisted in conducting much of the recent research on Marco Polo sheep and the development of hunting programs for them. This experience has proved very valuable to our clients.

The results of recent Marco Polo sheep hunts reflect the many improvements which have been made to the hunting program over the last decade.

Hunting Areas in Tajikistan

Our three hunting areas lie close to each other in the heart of the Pamir Mountains. This famous region is known as the Gorno Badakh Shan, and it contains approximately half of all the Marco Polo sheep population of the world. Our hunters routinely see more than 1,000 Marco Polo sheep each hunting day! All Marco Polo argali from Tajikistan are classified as true Marco Polo sheep by all standards and associations. The largest Marco Polo sheep ever recorded (over 70") have come from Tajikistan. Average Marco Polo sheep trophies from Tajikistan exceed 55 inches and several trophies over 60 inches are taken every season. This area has several camp locations, among them the famous Hot Springs Camp, The Observatory Camp, and the new Park Camp. These camps have figured heavily in the history of Marco Polo sheep hunting and are still used today.

Hunting Areas in Kyrgyzstan

Throughout a large portion of Kyrgyzstan, the predominant subspecies of argali is the Tien Shan sheep (Ovis ammon karelini). In hunting areas south of the Naryn River, bordered on the east by China and on the south by Tajikistan, true Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon poli) are found. Safari Club International and the United Sates fish and Wildlife Service recognize all sheep taken south of the Naryn River as Marco Polo sheep.

Bob Kern and his experienced staff have scouted these mountains since the beginning of foreign hunting and hunting exploration in the 1990s. He has selected the spots where the largest numbers of sheep travel each year during the annual migration. These areas, east and south of Naryn have produced the largest trophies ever taken in Kyrgyzstan.

Ovis and other hunting organizations, make an additional distinction, for trophy recording purposes. Sheep from the northern most regions, South of the Naryn River, can also be considered Hume’s argali, because of their horn conformation and intermediate pelage, between the Marco Polo sheep and the Tien Shan argali, found North of the Naryn. Whether you want to collect a Marco Polo argali, or a Hume argali from Kyrgyzstan, we can accommodate you!

The mountains in the hunting areas are between 10,500 and 14,500 feet high. The camps are usually situated at an altitude of less than 11,000 feet. Hunting is done both on horseback and on foot. Normally, a hunter will see several hundred sheep during the course of a hunt. Trophies do not reach the size that they do in Tajikistan. The average trophy from Kyrgyzstan is 52 - 53 inches in length.

Hunting Areas in China

At the moment all hunting in China has been suspended. When hunting reopens, we will be able to offer hunts for Marco Polo sheep there again. Marco Polo sheep hunts in China are very similar to hunts in Kyrgyzstan. The primary hunting area is located south of the Marco Polo sheep hunting areas in Kyrgyzstan. Accommodation are had in yurts and the hunts are carried out on horseback and on foot. Base camp altitudes are usually around 12,000 feet, while hunting requires climbs to over 14,000 feet.

Camps and Our Staff

In both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, our camps are outfitted with modern equipment including camp beds, stoves and first-aid equipment. Camps situated at elevations above 12,000 feet are equipped with "Gamow" bags (portable hyperbaric chambers). All camps are heated and have electricity and hot showers. Professional cooks prepare wholesome meals of meat, rice, potatoes, vegetables, and fruit and are trained to western standards, serving both western and regional cuisine. All camps are equipped with satellite telephones.

We can accommodate four (4) hunters per camp, each with his / her own guide team, driver and vehicle. Each guide team consists of 2 or 3 guides. Each camp has one of our highly trained interpreter escorts or camp managers to oversee the hunt and act as interface with the local guides. There is also a competent skinner in every camp, along with a vehicle mechanic and several general helpers.

Mid Asian-Ibex

In Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan hunters may take Mid-Asian ibex after taking the Marco Polo sheep. The average ibex trophy quality is between 42" and 50".

Travel and Arrangements

As a full service travel agency, the Hunting Consortium routinely arranges all necessary international and local flights and hotel reservations, as well as assisting our clients in obtaining the necessary visa and firearm import permit. Our competent, experienced staff in Dushanbe and in Bishkek handles coordination with local operators and government agencies to obtain licenses and the required CITES export permits. Trophies will be shipped as soon as the export documents are issued. Reception representatives are on hand in Istanbul, Dushanbe and Bishkek to handle all details of entry and exit procedures for our clients. One of our competent, experienced translator/escorts accompanies every group of hunters throughout the entire Marco Polo sheep hunting program.

For United States residents we also provide assistance in completing the application for the required Federal Import Permit and track the application from our office in Virginia (only a 30 minute drive from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters).

“Bob and his crew are experienced professionals. Every trip is meticulously planned with true military precision. I have very much enjoyed my trips with Bob and would not trust anyone else to outfit my hunts in Russia and Asia!”

-Craig Boddington

Bob Kern and the team at The Hunting Consortium are the “A-Team” of international hunting in the world today! I depend on Bob’s intensive research and the exceptional experience that he and the members of his staff have accumulated working in the farthest reaches of the hunting world. My own business occupies most of my time, so I depend on Bob to keep me abreast of the latest developments in hunting and to get my trips right the first time, every time. They have never let me down!

- Jonathan Arn

Nobody can appreciate the effort Bob Kern and his staff at the Hunting Consortium make to satisfy their clients’ requirements better than me - they have arranged more than 100 hunts for me over the span of 30 years! Bob is the leading expert and explorer in China and Russia and has helped me travel to the most remote places in the world in the search for the rarest of the rare big game trophies. This company has made very difficult travel arrangements seem easy - they have always exceeded my expectations. Many of the finest trophies in my collection are due to the hard work of Bob and his professional team. This is the best hunting travel company in the world!

-Hector Cuellar

I and my family owe many thanks to Bob, Margarete and the expert staff at the Hunting Consortium for so many memorable hunts in so many countries. It is hard to believe, but every hunt and trip has been characterized by the same qualities - superior service, with a can-do attitude, excellent operators, all arrangements on time and fulfilling everything promised. This is a great organization! I am looking forward to my next hunt with the Hunting Consortium.

- Francisco Vizcaino Gutierrez