Inside South Africa’s R594 million top-end wildlife auction season
Data analysed in October 2026. Hammer prices are used, all excluding VAT.
DISCLAIMER: AI assisted me in the creation of this report. The content is the intellectual property of Twisted Toast Digital (Pty) Ltd and my personal responsibility. If you have any questions, find any mistakes, or need corrections to be made, please email me at louis@twistedtoast.com.
Forty-two top-end auctions were analysed, delivering a total turnover of R593,7 million and indicating a sustainable mature market that grew naturally. The Wildlife Season Report 2026 analyses every sold lot across four auction platforms.
Bona Bona Wildlife’s 9th Platinum Auction on 21 March was the largest single wildlife auction of 2026. It turned over R54,0 million, ahead of Stud Game Breeders’ 21st Annual Game Auction at R50,5 million. With its timed auction, Bona Bona Wildlife sold R59,4 million, 54,6% more than in 2025.
Bona Bona’s own premium buffalo set the tone. Nonnatjie, a 42 4/8-inch cow, fetched R5,1 million as a 3-in-1, with a bull calf sired by the 52-inch+ Joey at foot and in calf to the 56-inch Magic. No buffalo cow and no animal of any species sold for more at auction in 2026. Bona Bona Wildlife sold six buffalo at auction during the season for R9,4 million. Five were cows, all with a calf at foot by the 52-inch+ Joey or in calf to him.
“Buyers in 2026 paid for certainty,” says Pieter Ernst Jnr of Bona Bona Wildlife, host of the Platinum Auction. “The animals that sold best had proven genetics and strong prospects, DNA records on file and trusted breeders who stand behind their herds. Our two auctions grew by more than half in 2026 and we consider this as proof of trust in the quality wildlife sector, not as a bubble or another type of anomaly.”
The season as a whole bears him out. Astute buyers paid for remarkable animals from top breeders they trust. They paid the most for proven breeding cows. The total market delivered a higher turnover than during 2025. The growth was spread across many auctions, rather than coming from only a handful of standout lots.
The season closed on a high at Summit Wildlife’s 11th auction in Graaff-Reinet on 26 September. Its top lot was a common springbok ram from Jules of the Karoo, the farm Julian and Martisan Theron run near De Aar in the Northern Cape. The 21-inch ram fetched R3 million, the highest auction price we can find for a common springbok. Summit Wildlife, a group that counts Neil Dodds’s Nukamma Wildlife of Jansenville among its members, sold R42,8 million across its live and timed auctions, 58,5% more than in 2025.
“A ram like this is scarce,” says Julian Theron of Jules of the Karoo. “He measured 21 inches in July at about three years old and he is a regular, plain common springbok bred on our Karoo veld. To see him at the top of Summit’s premium auction shows just how valuable exceptional Karoo animals are. We are proud and commend Summit Wildlife on a wonderful auction.”
Turnover growth
South Africa’s top-end wildlife auctions turned over R593,7 million in 2026. That figure is the aggregate of 42 auctions held between March and September by 24 breeders, breeder groups, wildlife festivals and conservation authorities, on four platforms: Wildswinkel, SwiftVEE, African Wildlife Auctions and Stud Game Breeders’ own online platform.
The ten largest single auctions, 2026
| No. | Auction | Date | Turnover | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bona Bona Wildlife 9th Platinum Auction | 21 Mar | R54 007 000 | 9,1% |
| 2 | Stud Game Breeders 21st Annual Game Auction | 5 Sep | R50 490 000 | 8,5% |
| 3 | Summit Wildlife 11th Auction | 26 Sep | R36 159 000 | 6,1% |
| 4 | Wildlife Legacy | 18 Jul | R35 977 000 | 6,1% |
| 5 | Groot Kalahari Veiling | 2 May | R34 780 000 | 5,9% |
| 6 | Bloodline Africa | 5 Jun | R25 555 000 | 4,3% |
| 7 | Signature Wildlife | 18 Apr | R21 617 950 | 3,6% |
| 8 | Thaba Tholo | 19 Sep | R19 982 000 | 3,4% |
| 9 | Classic Game Breeders | 1 Aug | R19 961 500 | 3,4% |
| 10 | Benchmark Game Breeders | 15 Aug | R19 054 000 | 3,2% |
Of the 4 276 lots offered at those auctions, 93,7% were sold. A lot sold for R148 212 on average. The 13 auction owners with published results for both years sold R400,5 million, up 21,9% on R328,4 million in 2025. Nine of the 13 grew their total turnover.
If you add the 70 smaller auctions on the same platforms, the market we can measure totalled R861,2 million. The top-end breeding auctions represent 68,9% of this aggregate number.
The auction season was typically skewed towards September. It was the biggest month at R140,5 million, with the Stud Game Breeders, Kroon Stud Wild, Thaba Tholo and Summit Wildlife auctions all concluded within four weeks. March followed at R90,7 million, most of it represented by Bona Bona’s R59,4 million live and timed auctions. Wildswinkel hosted 29 of the 42 top-end auctions, delivering 73,8% of turnover.
This report defines an auction as top end in this way: It is held by a recognised breeder, a breeder group, an annual wildlife festival or a conservation authority. Its live auction, together with the same auction owner’s timed auction within seven days, must average R50 000 or more per lot sold. A timed auction held without a live auction must reach the same average on its own. This rule is explained here so that you can see how we define what we report. The season data portal applies this rule to every auction in the same way. Every amount in this report is the hammer price, excluding VAT.
Where the money went
Not surprisingly, buffalo was the top species. The lot details of all 42 top-end auctions show 10 984 wildlife animals sold for R577,1 million. Buffalo lots fetched R162,3 million (28,1%). Sable followed at R85,8 million (14,9%), then wildebeest at R67,3 million, impala at R62,0 million and oryx at R52,4 million.
Buffalo was the top species
Top-end wildlife value by species, every top-end lot. Select a species for its page.
Show the numbers
| Species | Value | Share | Animals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | R162 343 500 | 28,1% | 643 |
| Sable | R85 817 500 | 14,9% | 623 |
| Wildebeest | R67 290 250 | 11,7% | 1 351 |
| Impala | R62 011 100 | 10,7% | 2 379 |
| Oryx | R52 402 500 | 9,1% | 755 |
| Springbok | R27 352 700 | 4,7% | 1 268 |
| Kudu | R27 184 000 | 4,7% | 509 |
| Roan | R24 370 600 | 4,2% | 182 |
| Eland | R17 002 000 | 2,9% | 392 |
| Blesbok | R10 159 650 | 1,8% | 714 |
| Waterbuck | R8 097 000 | 1,4% | 291 |
| Red hartebeest | R7 601 000 | 1,3% | 394 |
As usual, averages hide a wide spread. A buffalo fetched R243 147 an animal on average, yet half of all buffalo sold for R95 000 or less. Exceptional prices were achieved on a relatively small number of proven, exceptional animals, which is a well-known and standard characteristic of the top end of the wildlife breeding industry.
Within the buffalo category, 2026 was the year of the cow. A buffalo cow averaged R327 718 an animal across 298 cows. A bull averaged R170 097 across 345 bulls. A premium price belonged to the best cows. Regular cows sold for R80 000, less than regular bulls at R110 000. The four highest prices for whole animals were all cows with a calf at foot or in calf: Nonnatjie (R5,1 million) at Bona Bona Wildlife in March, Zsa Zsa (R4,8 million) and Mitsie (R4,1 million) at Wildlife Legacy in July, as well as Nova (R4,6 million) at Stud Game Breeders in September.
The highest price of the season was R6 million for a 25% share in Dominus, a 56 2/8-inch buffalo bull from Woody Cape Wildlife. The buyer has the right to run eight cows with Dominus at Woody Cape Wildlife. Dominus was one of the Super 9, the premium lots sold at the end of Bona Bona Wildlife’s 9th Platinum Auction on 21 March. Nonnatjie was another. Cheslin, a 33 5/8-inch blue wildebeest bull, fetched R1,9 million in the same Super 9.
The top end of the market added significant value. Fifty-eight top-end lots sold for R1 million or more, R112,2 million altogether. Thirty-two were buffalo lots. The top 10% of lots totalled 44,4% of all lot value, while regular lots sold for R84 000. Colour variants such as golden wildebeest, black impala and red oryx represent a quarter of top-end wildlife lot value (25,1%). Common animals and buffalo account for the rest.
Apart from buffalo, the best lots were bulls and rams. Showtime led sable at R2,9 million. Kalala, a 57-inch sable bull, fetched R1,9 million at Bloodline Africa’s successful auction in June. Rockefeller, a 61 6/8-inch kudu bull, sold for R2,1 million at the Wildlife Legacy auction. Rhino lots fetched R5,6 million at the top end, with two black rhino cows at the Kirkwood Wildsfees among them. Published totals also include R5,3 million of Ankole cattle and other livestock, almost all at the Stud Game Breeders and Silent Valley auctions. They also include hunting packages (R5,6 million), covering rights (R3,2 million), charity lots (R2,9 million) as well as ostrich, Barbary sheep, fallow deer and emu (R2,2 million). The wildlife species figures leave these out.
The ten highest prices, top-end auctions, 2026
| No. | Lot | Auction | Seller | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A 25% share in Dominus, a 56 2/8-inch buffalo bull | Bona Bona Wildlife Platinum Auction, lot S009, 21 Mar | Woody Cape Wildlife | R6 000 000 |
| 2 | Nonnatjie, a 42 4/8-inch buffalo cow, 3-in-1 | Bona Bona Wildlife Platinum Auction, lot S008, 21 Mar | Bona Bona Wildlife | R5 100 000 |
| 3 | Zsa Zsa, a 40 3/8-inch buffalo cow, with her calf | Wildlife Legacy, lot 039, 18 Jul | New Wycombe | R4 800 000 |
| 4 | Nova, a 40-inch buffalo cow | Stud Game Breeders 21st Annual Game Auction, lot 016, 5 Sep | Nyumbu Wildlife | R4 600 000 |
| 5 | Mitsie, a 42-inch buffalo cow | Wildlife Legacy, lot 038, 18 Jul | Buffalo Creek Game Ranch | R4 100 000 |
| 6 | A 36 4/8-inch buffalo cow sired by Leba | Signature Wildlife, lot 015, 18 Apr | Kwandwe Signature Wildlife | R3 000 000 |
| 6 | The 21-inch springbok ram from Jules of the Karoo | Summit Wildlife’s 11th auction, lot 13, 26 Sep | Jules of the Karoo | R3 000 000 |
| 8 | Showtime, a 56-inch sable bull | Summit Wildlife’s 11th auction, lot 24, 26 Sep | Valley Venture | R2 900 000 |
| 9 | A buffalo heifer out of 47 1/8-inch+ Eclipse, buyer’s choice | Stud Game Breeders 21st Annual Game Auction, lot 099, 5 Sep | Tembani Wildlife | R2 600 000 |
| 10 | Oupa Jan, a 47 2/8-inch gemsbok bull | Groot Kalahari Veiling, lot 016, 2 May | STS Meletse | R2 500 000 |
| 10 | Claymore, a 51 6/8-inch East African buffalo bull | Stud Game Breeders 21st Annual Game Auction, lot 101, 5 Sep | Phala Phala Wildlife | R2 500 000 |
| 10 | Iris, a 39 4/8-inch buffalo cow | Thaba Tholo, lot 032, 19 Sep | Thaba Tholo | R2 500 000 |
The leaders
Stud Game Breeders led the top end with R66,5 million over three auctions: Its Breeding & Hunting Auction on its own online platform in March, its 21st Annual Game Auction, live with Wildswinkel on 5 September and its September Timed Auction, which closed online on 7 September. Bona Bona Wildlife followed with R59,4 million across its live and timed auctions in March. Its 9th Platinum Auction was the largest single auction of the season. Silent Valley Game Breeders came third with R58,4 million over five auctions with African Wildlife Auctions between 27 June and 8 August, two of them buffalo auctions. Wildlife Legacy (R43,2 million), Summit Wildlife (R42,8 million) and the first Groot Kalahari Veiling (R39,2 million), to be held every second year, completed the top six. The five largest auction owners totalled 45,5% of top-end turnover.
The auction owners, ranked
Top-end turnover by auction owner, 2026. Top three marked.
Show the numbers
| No. | Auction owner | Auctions | Turnover | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stud Game Breeders | 3 | R66 468 500 | 11,2% |
| 2 | Bona Bona Wildlife | 2 | R59 384 500 | 10,0% |
| 3 | Silent Valley Game Breeders | 5 | R58 436 300 | 9,8% |
| 4 | Wildlife Legacy | 2 | R43 238 250 | 7,3% |
| 5 | Summit Wildlife | 2 | R42 761 000 | 7,2% |
| 6 | Groot Kalahari Veiling | 2 | R39 208 000 | 6,6% |
| 7 | Bloodline Africa | 2 | R30 416 000 | 5,1% |
| 8 | Kriek Wildlife Group | 2 | R25 944 900 | 4,4% |
| 9 | Signature Wildlife | 2 | R25 911 800 | 4,4% |
| 10 | Benchmark Game Breeders | 3 | R25 752 000 | 4,3% |
| 11 | Thaba Tholo | 2 | R25 217 750 | 4,2% |
| 12 | Valley Venture Stud & Friends | 2 | R20 236 000 | 3,4% |
| 13 | Classic Game Breeders | 1 | R19 961 500 | 3,4% |
| 14 | Woody Cape Wildlife | 1 | R17 360 500 | 2,9% |
| 15 | Kirkwood Wildlife Festival | 1 | R15 090 000 | 2,5% |
| 16 | Kroon Stud Wild | 2 | R12 161 500 | 2,0% |
| 17 | Sekgweng | 1 | R11 850 450 | 2,0% |
| 18 | Pymat Game Breeders | 1 | R11 576 000 | 1,9% |
| 19 | Tidal Winds Game Breeders | 1 | R10 312 500 | 1,7% |
| 20 | Robedi Safaris & Friends | 1 | R10 190 000 | 1,7% |
| 21 | SANParks | 1 | R7 875 000 | 1,3% |
| 22 | Royal Castle (Castle de Wildt) | 1 | R7 217 500 | 1,2% |
| 23 | Free State DARDEA | 1 | R4 270 000 | 0,7% |
| 24 | MW de Jager Wildlife | 1 | R2 898 100 | 0,5% |
The ten largest auction owners, top end
| No. | Auction owner | Auctions | Turnover | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stud Game Breeders | 3 | R66 468 500 | 11,2% |
| 2 | Bona Bona Wildlife | 2 | R59 384 500 | 10,0% |
| 3 | Silent Valley Game Breeders | 5 | R58 436 300 | 9,8% |
| 4 | Wildlife Legacy | 2 | R43 238 250 | 7,3% |
| 5 | Summit Wildlife | 2 | R42 761 000 | 7,2% |
| 6 | Groot Kalahari Veiling | 2 | R39 208 000 | 6,6% |
| 7 | Bloodline Africa | 2 | R30 416 000 | 5,1% |
| 8 | Kriek Wildlife Group | 2 | R25 944 900 | 4,4% |
| 9 | Signature Wildlife | 2 | R25 911 800 | 4,4% |
| 10 | Benchmark Game Breeders | 3 | R25 752 000 | 4,3% |
Growth was noticeable across the board. Amongst the 13 auction owners with published results for both years, Bloodline Africa grew 66,2%, Summit Wildlife 58,5% based on its published results, Bona Bona 54,6% and Valley Venture Stud & Friends 43,3%. Four auction owners sold less: Stud Game Breeders, the largest auction owner, sold 12,3% less than in 2025, with smaller drops at Kroon Stud Wild, Woody Cape Wildlife and Kriek Wildlife Group.
Nine of 13 auction owners grew
The 13 auction owners with published results for both years, 2026 against 2025.
Show the numbers
| Auction owner | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bona Bona Wildlife | R38 409 000 | R59 384 500 | +54,6% |
| Stud Game Breeders | R75 767 250 | R66 468 500 | −12,3% |
| Wildlife Legacy | R30 576 000 | R43 238 250 | +41,4% |
| Summit Wildlife | R26 980 500 | R42 761 000 | +58,5% |
| Bloodline Africa | R18 302 500 | R30 416 000 | +66,2% |
| Kriek Wildlife Group | R26 509 200 | R25 944 900 | −2,1% |
| Thaba Tholo | R19 120 800 | R25 217 750 | +31,9% |
| Benchmark Game Breeders | R21 780 500 | R25 752 000 | +18,2% |
| Valley Venture Stud & Friends | R14 125 500 | R20 236 000 | +43,3% |
| Classic Game Breeders | R16 175 000 | R19 961 500 | +23,4% |
| Woody Cape Wildlife | R18 344 900 | R17 360 500 | −5,4% |
| Kroon Stud Wild | R13 313 750 | R12 161 500 | −8,7% |
| Pymat Game Breeders | R9 025 000 | R11 576 000 | +28,3% |
A new auction appears
Groot Kalahari Veiling sold R39,2 million in its first year, with Wildswinkel: R34,8 million on its live auction on 2 May and R4,4 million on the timed auction. This unique regional auction will be held every second year. Its top lot this year was Oupa Jan, a 47 2/8-inch gemsbok bull from STS Meletse, at R2,5 million. A red oryx bull, Rocket, sold for R2 million at the same auction.
“The Kalahari is known for amazing animals that can thrive in the hard country. Wildlife breeding of top quality animals is thriving in the region and therefore it needed a professional auction to cater for demand,” says Louis van der Watt, Group CEO of Atterbury Property, owner of STS Meletse and a founding member of the Groot Kalahari Veiling.
“Wildlife farms in the Kalahari tend to cover large areas and as a result, it’s one of the only districts remaining where true extensive wildlife breeding takes place. In our first year the Groot Kalahari Veiling produced turnover of R39,2 million across its live and timed auctions. Oupa Jan showed what a proven Kalahari gemsbok bull is worth. Buyers came for animals of the Kalahari that thrive where it is dry and hot. They were not disappointed. We look forward to our next auction in 2028.”
Piet du Toit Wildbedryf of Hoogenbomen, Lindleyspoort, in North West offers its main auction every second year, as it did in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025. Thus, there was no auction for this group in 2026. In February 2025 it sold R82,5 million for its live and timed auctions combined. The buffalo bull Magic sold for R22 million at its 2025 auction.
“I enjoyed keeping up with the season in 2026 and in my opinion, it proves what I believe, which is that the wildlife industry is mature and thriving, supported by a strong and growing end product market through ethical hunting,” says Piet du Toit. “What I saw was a calmer, more serious market than the one of ten years ago. Prices follow proven genetics now, not fashion and that is healthy for every breeder who plans in decades. Next March we bring our animals to The Tenth Platinum Auction with Bona Bona.”
A platform view
Live auctions delivered 81,9% of top-end turnover: R486,5 million against R107,2 million on timed auctions. The difference per animal is significant. An oryx averaged R96 764 on a top-end live auction and R32 620 on a timed one. A sable averaged R158 059 live and R88 536 timed. Breeders keep their best animals for the premium live platform, where the floor and online bidders compete for the same lot in real time.
Timed auctions do a different job. They usually close online within a few days of the live auction and can list more of breeders’ volume animals. Kriek Wildlife Group and Kroon Stud Wild ran theirs along with WIRU Wildlife Services. Two conservation authorities sold at the top end too. SANParks sold all 118 lots on its timed auction in March for R7,9 million. The Free State’s DARDEA sold hunts on provincial reserves for R4,3 million.
Online bidding is truly part of every auction. The 29 Wildswinkel results for top-end auctions recorded 6 384 registrations, 415 of them first-time bidders. Together bidders placed 34 468 bids online. On those auctions 93,1% of lots were sold. Six top-end auctions sold every lot: SANParks’ timed auction, Silent Valley’s auctions of 27 June and 4 July and the live auctions of Signature Wildlife, Stud Game Breeders and Thaba Tholo.
“The numbers I watch carefully are the averages, not the outlier prices,” says JP Smith, chief operating officer of Veilingswinkel, Wildswinkel’s parent company. “On the top-end auctions we managed in 2026, more than nine lots in ten were sold and bidders placed over 34 000 bids online. Foot-and-mouth disease made moving animals harder, yet astute and dedicated wildlife buyers kept bidding. That tells you the demand is real and sustainable, for sure.”
Records
The best way to see price trends is to compare the same platform across two years. On the Wildswinkel platform the average oryx rose 89,4% per animal, from R35 054 in 2025 to R66 378 in 2026. Among the main species, eland rose 53,0%, red hartebeest 48,0% and springbok 37,3%. Buffalo rose 9,0% and sable 12,9%. Sable turned the buffalo pattern around: In the top end a sable bull averaged R182 649 an animal and a cow R106 105.
Definitive auction price claims need careful analysis, as always. Novanews called the Summit ram’s R3 million “a record auction price” and noted a private sale of R3,45 million in August 2025. We call the ram’s price the highest auction price we can find for a common springbok.
“Julian Theron’s springbok ram was the animal of the auction and our loyal buyers agree,” says Neil Dodds, co-founder of Nukamma Wildlife in Jansenville and a member of Summit Wildlife. “The astute buyer paid for a 21-inch ram from a proper Karoo springbok bloodline they can trust wholeheartedly, not for a variant colour. R3 million for a common springbok shows you the Karoo’s own species are in high demand, if it’s the right kind of animal. Summit’s eleventh auction showed that buyers will pay for proven quality in every species. We are happy with the results.”
What held prices back
Not every species went up. On Wildswinkel, blesbok fell 28,1% per animal, colour variants included. Black wildebeest fell 16,0%. Roan, blue wildebeest and kudu held their 2025 prices per animal, within 1% either way.
Three things weighed on the year. Foot-and-mouth disease was declared a national disaster in February. Movement controls followed, so delivering animals after an auction took longer and cost more. In August a moratorium suspended the automatic culling of buffalo that test positive for the disease, which eased one fear for buffalo breeders. Money also cost more: The Reserve Bank raised the repo rate to 7% in May, its first increase in three years, then to 7,25% in September.
The wider market
Beyond the top end, 70 other and smaller auctions turned over R267,5 million at an average of R36 570 a lot sold, about a quarter of the top end’s average. The median lot price in the wider market was R27 600. Nylsvlei Game Traders led with R64,6 million over 16 auctions, followed by African Wildlife Auctions’ own general auctions at R54,6 million. Thabazimbi Wildlife Services (R27,7 million), Arno du Plessis (R26,7 million) and Hanley Wildlife Services (R22,7 million) came next. These are the auctions where most wildlife farmers buy and sell their regular game. The season data portal gives them a page of their own, so the top end is not positioned as the entire market.
Ten years on
Wildswinkel’s list of auctions provides an interesting long-term view. Its wildlife auctions from January to September 2026 came to R457,7 million, 10,6% more than in the same months of 2025 and 6,9% more in 2026 rand, adjusted for inflation. That is still far below 2016, when 15 auctions turned over R1,18 billion: R1,85 billion in 2026 rand. Wildswinkel’s records list R225,7 million for Piet du Toit’s 2016 auction alone, as an outlier with one exceptional lot price included for a spectacular buffalo. The low point was 2020, at R98,1 million.
Ten years on Wildswinkel
Wildlife auction turnover by year, nominal and in 2026 rand (Stats SA CPI).
In 2026 randNominal
Show the numbers
| Year | Auctions | Nominal | In 2026 rand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 15 | R1 182 515 000 | R1 846 917 758 |
| 2017 | 30 | R767 020 250 | R1 139 250 665 |
| 2018 | 28 | R406 842 450 | R576 813 393 |
| 2019 | 31 | R393 131 900 | R535 882 236 |
| 2020 | 20 | R98 131 950 | R129 438 971 |
| 2021 | 27 | R157 257 266 | R198 537 298 |
| 2022 | 32 | R224 831 372 | R265 516 336 |
| 2023 | 28 | R287 898 273 | R321 047 443 |
| 2024 | 31 | R271 899 650 | R290 382 255 |
| 2025 | 33 | R418 358 500 | R432 847 990 |
| 2026 | 34 | R457 714 350 | R457 714 350 |
The market of 2026 is smaller than that peak in real terms and structured differently. Wildswinkel held 34 wildlife auctions in 2026 against the 15 it recorded in 2016. Prices follow measurements, pedigrees and DNA. Online bidding has become as ordinary as raised hands on the floor.
Looking towards 2027
Wildswinkel’s calendar already lists the first auctions of 2027. Stud Game Breeders’ Breeding & Hunting Auction closes on 8 March. The Tenth follows on Saturday 13 March: Bona Bona Wildlife’s Platinum Auction, with Piet du Toit Wildbedryf as co-host. Woody Cape, Kriek and Valley Venture Stud & Friends follow in April and May. Stud Game Breeders holds its annual live auction on 4 September.
“The Tenth is the next step: Two breeders, one catalogue, one standard,” says Pieter Ernst Jnr.
How we calculated the results
This report counts every South African wildlife auction from January to early October 2026 that publishes results on Wildswinkel, SwiftVEE, African Wildlife Auctions or Stud Game Breeders’ own online platform: 112 auctions and their 12 361 lots. Each auction’s total is the number its auction house published or, where none was published, the sum of its confirmed lots that we could find online. Every total was recalculated three times over and checked against the individual lots making up the totals. Where it exists, a second source was used as verification too. Figures by species, lot and animal cover every top-end auction, 100% of top-end turnover. A share in an animal counts in lot value but not in prices per animal. The data was compiled during mid-October 2026. All amounts are hammer prices, excluding VAT. The full method, every auction and every check are detailed in the season data portal.
Second disclosure. thetenth.auction is the marketing and seller portal site of Bona Bona Wildlife’s next Platinum Auction in March 2027, co-hosted with Piet du Toit Wildbedryf. Bona Bona appears in the data as seller and buyer. Twisted Toast Digital created this report and built this site. All mistakes are ours, no-one else’s. If you spot anything we need to change, email Louis Eksteen at louis@twistedtoast.com.
In the season data portal
- All 112 auctions Every auction, with its source
- Buffalo Cows, bulls and the price spread
- Lot explorer Search all 12 361 lots
- Checks Three checks for every auction
Cite this page Wildlife Season Report 2026, season data portal: Wildlife Season Report 2026. thetenth.auction/stories/wildlife-season-report-2026 (data analysed in October 2026).
