Well, Sullivan does have his detractors, and much of the negative stuff here is just a rehashing what is found over at AR. When I asked him about the personal attacks over the Internet, he just smiled and said controversy is good - it sells videos, and I'm in the business of selling videos.
Some of his detractors are other PH's. They don't like it when Sullivan points out that lion hunting as it is practiced will spell the end of the lion because too may PH's are passing off juvenile lions as mature mane-less lions. Mature male lions have manes, and the Tsavo lions were/are no exception. The reason they began killing people was because it was easy food, and they could have lost their mother before learning to hunt.
A good friend of mine is booked for his 5th safari (his second 21 day safari) with Sullivan this summer, and when I talked to him last week he said nothing about a cancellation, so I doubt if there is any truth to yet another rumor that the Tanzanian Government kicked him out. Very few PH's have worked as hard as Sullivan at promoting hunting in Tanzania, and he has done so for the last 20 years. My pal, also a Sullivan fan, went brown bear hunting with him on Kodiak last year, and like in Africa had a wondeful time. My pal got a 91/2 foot bear, Sullivan got skunked, but that's hunting.
Sullivan has found his niche, in that his detractors are unable or unwilling to do the things that he has documented on video. No one understands charges by African dangerous game better than Mark Sullivan, because no one else has every put themselves in those circumstances. Most of the charges that are described in the classic hunting stories were not charges at all, and in his video "In the Face of Death" Sullivan debunks many of the old stories.
As Sullivan says, "This is one way to hunt. It is not the only way and it is not for everyone, but it is an option, and it is very rewarding." After all, those of us who have hunted in Africa, don't do it for the meat, or the trophy, we do it for the experience. The pictures, the trophies, and the videos are there to remind us of those experiences, but why not make the most of the experience if the opportunity is there. Why do you choose to hunt dangerous game? If the danger part isn't for you, why not just hunt plains game?
But lets understand something about those charges; there are two very different types of charges. The first is the buffalo charge. Buffalo as a rule do not charge unless wounded. There have been recorded exceptions of course, but that's the rule. When Sullivan is afforded the opportunity of getting a charge on video, it is the exception to what happens most of the time. If there is a charge, it is the client who has wounded the buffalo. There are lots of BS stories on the net about Sullivan purposely wounding game. The truth is, he doesn't need to, clients as a rule are not great shots although, like unwounded buffalo charging, there are exceptions, but buffalo that are killed with the first shot don't charge. Consider that Sullivan's hunting season is about 100 days, during which time lets say he has an average of 10 hunters, who are allowed 2 buffalo each. Over a 20-year period, that comes to 400 buffalo, and he claims more than 500. Given that every safari is videoed, is unreasonable to think there might be a couple of dozen charges as a result of clients wounding their buffalo?
The second type of charge is the hippo. Sullivan hunts these guys on dry land, and I'll tell ya, it's a rush to see these guys up close. A hippo is not like a buffalo though, he will often charge at the drop of a hat. He doesn't need to be wounded, you get inside his personal space (hippo on dry land don't feel as secure as they do in the water) and the game's on.
Does Sullivan have personality? He has oodles of personality! If you are intimidated by "A" type personalities, find another PH, Sullivan's not for you. But if you do you loose. You loose because there isn't another PH operating today who will work as hard for the client as Sullivan. There isn't another PH who is better able to protect his client(s) if something goes wrong. He has a tracker who is arguably the best in Africa. He demands the most from his employees, no I wouldn't care to work for him, but I have worked for people like him, and they make you take pride in your job. He is fluent in Swahili. If you sign up for the Nitro Express program, you are in for a special and unforgettable experience.
and needs a solid 
