Gentlemen
As many of you know, I am one of Craig Boddington's partners in our two TV shows "Tracks Across Africa" and" Hornady's Africa With Craig Boddington and Ivan Carter". During a phone call with Craig this morning from Namibia, Craig asked me to post this on AR to answer any questions on what is sure to be a well traveled topic on the rumor mill. Craig's eldest daughter Brittany is an avid, and fairly experienced big game hunter with multiple safaris under her belt, several of which were targeting dangerous game. I have filmed several of her safaris for the show, and always found Brittany to be safety conscious where firearms were concerned ,a result of learning under a father who stresses the point of firearm safety at all times. Last week while filming a leopard with dogs hunt with our Tracks Tv crew in Namibia , an incident happened that resulted in (1) a flat out charge from an UNWOUNDED ,but agitated male leopard (2 ) a dog handler being savaged by the cat (3) an attempt by Brittany to kill what was, by the time of her shot,a wounded leopard that accidentally hit and wounded the man being mauled.
At the time of the accident , Craig was filming in Zimbabwe, but flew to Namibia to assist as best he could, and as you can imagine comfort his daughter from the obvious anxiety of the situation she was dealing with. The attending PH was Nic Kruger, a first rate hunter and Co-owner of Omujeve safaris. Nic is an experienced leopard man, and we have enjoyed several wonderful safaris under his and his brother Corne's care. For those of you who have never experienced a close range charge from an infuriated leopard , trust me , it is scary as hell and it happens with shocking speed. It is easy to second guess these situations ,especially when the facts of the hunt are unknown or blurred second hand accounts. The following is the official police report as filed by both Nic and Brittany. Please read both accounts,and I believe you will reach the same conclusion as I have, that this was a very fast moving situation that both PH and client were trying their level best to control,to the best of their ability and skill. As I said, due to the last name involved, this is bound to get some attention in safari circles. Craig thought, and I agreed, that posting the police reports would be the best method to make sure the facts were accurately portrayed. I have seen some fairly experienced hunters loose their heads under far less stressful situations than the flat out charge of a leopard at point blank range. I think Brittany did her best to stand firm and shoot what she believed to be a wounded cat. The accident was just that, a terrible twist of luck that can happen to each and every one of us that hunt dangerous game.

I, Brittany Boddington, a 23 year old U.S. citizen herewith declare under oath as follows:
I was hunting leopard with Nic Kruger of Omujeve Hunting Safaris Namibia on the Fahlwater farm in the Karibib district. We found some fresh leopard tracks at about 5:15 in the morning and when it was daybreak we put down the dogs. We set out following the sound of the hounds through the brush but this was a very aggresive cat, it was not running from the dogs like most cats do. Zukile was one of the dog handlers, he was contacting us by radio telling us that the cat was fighting the dogs and had injured several of them. These dogs know what they are doing and almost never get close enough to get hurt. After a couple of hours we came up to a really thick area where the dogs were barking and the leopard would not tree. The leopard held its ground and the dogs were tired and bleeding so we sent Classen to get the car so that we could give the dogs some water. At this point we called the dogs away from the leopard and they laid down inthe shade waiting for the car to bring water. After they had all had water and were looking rested the dog handlers started encourageing the dogs to go back into the brush and find the tracks of where the leopard had gone. The dog handlers were sure that the leopard had run away because none of the dogs were barking so we started walking slowly in the direction that the leopard had been. Nic showed me the flattened grass in an area surrounded by bushes where the leopard had been hiding when the dogs were last barking. The dogs were scattered all around us looking for tracks and as I was examining the flattened grass area I heard a dog begin to bark. Before the dog could even get the whole bark out I heard the growl of the leopard. When I heard Nic’s shot go off I stepped out from behind him and saw the leopard come out from behind a bush. The leopard paused for a moment and in the tall grass I could see only slightly more than the outline of the leopard’s back. I saw that the leopard had been hit and it stopped with its head down in the grass. I got my rifle up and took a shot at the part of the leopard that I could see. The leopard then jumped up and Nic hit it again with another shot as the leopard ran into the bush and Nic ran after it to make sure it would not come back to attack again. At this moment I heard Zukile yell, we realized that Punki had been shot and we called Nic back and he sent Classen to get the car. We held pressure on the wound and we kept Punki awake until the car could get through the thick brush to where we were. We loaded him into the back seat of the car and I jumped on the back of the cruiser. The entire way to the hospital I was trying to figure out what had happened. I could only imagine that I had shot over the leopard and hit Punki as he was running away. I didn’t know where they had been standing so I assumed that he had just run when the leopard charged. It was only after we had wheeled him into the emergency room that Simon told me “You should see what the leopard did to his ankle.” My response was a suprised “The leopard bit him? When did the leopard bite him?” Simon then told me that Punki had been attacked and mauled by the leopard and that he was in fact under the leopard when I shot. I screamed “WHAT?” and then it all started to make sense. Nic had seen the two men fall to the ground in the tall grass before I had stepped out from behind him. Both men were wearing full camouflage from head to toe and in the tall grass they were completely invisible to me. The leopard bit through Punki’s leather belt and had been thrashing him about in the grass when I shot. Apparently the leopard was pulling him up from the ground and as I fired my rifle the leopard pulled him up by the left side and the bullet must have missed the leopard and gone through his hip. I know better than to fire when a leopard is mauling someone, I would not have shot had I known that there was a person even close to the leopard. The whole attack from beginning to end took less than four seconds and there was just no time to sort out what was happening.
Brittany Boddington


I, Joachim Nicolaas Kruger, I.D #82041910569, a 27 year old Namibian citizen here with declare under oath as follows:
I am a shareholder and Licensed Professional Hunter with Omujeve Hunting Safaris and a resident on the farm Ongombo West Section II # 56 Windhoek District. I was guiding a legal leopard hunt on the farm Fahlwater in the Karibib on the 24th of April 2009. We found a big leopard track at 05:15 in the morning and decided that it was a big leopard and that we could start the hunt as soon as it was light enough. At first light we released the hounds to start tracking the leopard. After some time Zukile called me on the radio and said he was hearing the leopard. We started to approach Zukile. The leopard was in thick brush and wasn’t afraid of the dogs. He was fighting with the dogs and injured a couple of them, which is very unusual with this experienced pack of hounds. 
As time passed it was clear that the dogs were afraid of this leopard and the leopard wasn’t planning on getting in a tree soon. I decided that it was too dangerous to attempt to approach the leopard. We called the hounds back and I send Claasen to fetch the vehicle. We gave the hounds water hoping that the dogs would be fresh again and would have an advantage over the leopard, and that they would then push the leopard into a tree and give us a nice, safe clean shot. Zukile, Punki and myself thought the cat had moved off and we decided to move to the spot where the cat was laying down last and get the hounds back on the track. Zukile and Punki were walking a short distance in front of me with Brittany right behind me and Simon Elton a couple of steps back. Suddenly one of the hounds made a sound and I saw the leopard charging towards Zukile. Zukile fell to the ground and as the leopard approached Punki I saw a gap and shot the leopard but the shot was not fatal. The leopard jumped on Punki and Punki fell to the ground. Then the leopard moved towards Claasen but turned back toward Punki and started biting him. Then I heard a shot from Brittany’s rifle. Brittany didn’t know at the time that Punki was under the leopard because she was walking behind me when it happend and when she stepped out behind me, Punki was already down in the tall grass. That is why she couldn’t see him, and of course she is eleven inches shorter than I am, so she could see much less than I could in the long grass. She shot at the leopard because it stopped which, for her was the right thing to do at that stage. Any hunter in the same situation would have done the same. When she shot the leopard it was busy biting Punki and there was a lot of movement as the leopard was pulling Punki around. Because of her height Brittany was unable to see this. The whole thing happened very quickly, in less than three seconds, much too quickly for me to give any instructions or clarify the situation. I am certain her bullet hit Punki because the leopard pulled Punki up right into the line of her shot, suggested by deep bite marks on his belt. After Brittany’s shot the leopard dropped Punki and started to run away and then I shot the leopard again and ran past Punki. I knew that he was bitten by the leopard, but at this time I did not know he had been hit by a bullet. The leopard was still running away from us and I just wanted to make sure that the leopard was dead because I didn’t want to track a wounded leopard after what has already happend. The leopard was dead when I reached it, and Zukile called me and said that I must come quickly and that Punki was shot. Until that moment I had no idea that Punki was shot and I told my tracker Claasen to run and bring the truck. Meanwhile we took our shirts and held pressure on the wound. While we waited for the truck I called EMED rescue and Doctor Jordaan and made some arrangements as to what to do and where to meet the ambulance. The truck came about two minutes later and we loaded Punki in the truck and raced to the main road that was about 10km away. As we got on the main road the ambulance was on it way from Okahandja and we drove straight to Okahandja Hospital and they were quick to help and to get Punki stabilized. Then EMED rescue came and they then moved him to Windhoek where the doctors were waiting for him.

Joachim Nicolaas Kruger.

Eishh, sorry to hear the bad news and hope that everyone, including brittany who must be very shocked has a quick recovery.

Dave, do you know the condition of Punki?

Wow, this is quite an exciting story. I hope Punki doesn't have any permanent damage. What caliber rifle was Brittany using and was any of this caught on film? It sounds like an honest accident.

damn! Poor kid, poor everyone.

Best wishes to all.

Dave,

Sounds like a very unfortunate accident with no one to blame. Dangerous game hunting is just that. Dangerous! I can easily see a scenario like that happening even with the most seasoned hunter. Brittany obviously used her best judgement in a tough situation and it turned out badly but if she had killed the leopard right there she would have been hero.

Let us hope for a full recovery by Punki and for Brittany to not blame herself.

Mark

I feel bad for both the handler and the young lady, but it's entirely possible that her shot saved him from much more serious injuries. No way to know.

Is he gonna be alright??

I second Jefffive's contention that the shot may have saved him. We pray for a speedy recovery. Accidents happen. She seems like a brave young lady.


Dutch

Guys
Craig said that Punki is expected to make a full recovery. Brittany was nearly living at the hospital, and as you can imagine is sick with worry. I have not talked to my videographer yet, but Craig said there is a weeks worth of hunting on tape, and although the actual charge is not captured ( remember, they thought the cat would have shoved off by then ) he thinks we will be able to make a show from it . Hard to say until I see it though.
Keep Punki in your prayers boy's
Dave

Let us all hope for a full recovery for Punki.

Craig has to be proud of his daughter as she did not panic, and took action that was necessary from her perspective. If all accounts are accurate, I would hope I would react with the same manner.

I am sure there are some who would do nothing.....

Based on what I get from the police reports, Britany is to be commended for standing firm and doing the right thing. If the leopard had Punki in his mouth and pulled him into the line of fire, then dropped him and ran off at Britany's shot, it sounds likely to me that her shot may have hit the leopard as well.

I would only hope that my hunting companions would do as well by me in a similar circumstance. The outcome could have been far worse, as while Punki was injured, he might have easily been killed had not the young lady fired the shot when she did.

That story is a hunter's worst nightmare. I first met Brittany as she was traveling back from her first African (Namibian) hunt, a few years ago, and I was impressed by her sense of maturity and her serious attitude about hunting. Knowing that she has, since that time, hunted extensively throughout Africa and Australia, and under her father's tutelege and training, I am sure that it was an unfortunate accident, which, but for the grace of God, go any of us. I offer my prayers for a full recovery by Punki. Please provide us with an update on his condition.

My prayers go out for Punki and also for Brittany. It's easy to second guess when you are safely sitting behind a keyboard and I hope people refrain from it. It sounds as if this was a terrible situation where everyone did what they though was best, and 99% of the time would have been the best, unfortunately this was that unforeseeable 1% where it wasn't. I hope both Punki and Brittany fully recover from the physical and psychological blow.

Had the same scenario last year and I can clearly see how an accident like this can happen.

We also had an old male that would not tree, obviously not afraid of dogs or humans.

Not wounded or hurt he charged when he saw us and the client shot it at two yards from the hip.

It went passed two people on it's charge and there were shots fired before the client shot it.This happened in 5-8 seconds.

That nobody got shot or mauled is a miracle !

I echo Use Enough Guns thoughts.

That kind of situation can happen to any of us and no one should second guess or Monday morning quarterback the situation.

Thoughts go out to all involved.

I am glad for her that she was able to stay at the hospital, and that the patient is expected to recover. Sounds like all involved behaved admirably.

What a nightmare it must have been. I hope the victim fully recovers soon.

Hopefully when the time is right she can pick herself up and continue on with her hunting career. I can only imagine that she is very shaken up about this incident. I hope that we can all learn some lessons from this tragedy.

A very cool young lady, indeed. It's just one of those things. Like someone else said, dangerous game hunting is just that.

Good luck to all involved.

From the police reports, it is clear to me that Brittany behaved exactly as any hunter worth his (or her) salt would have done under the same circumstances.

She stood her ground and fired at an agressive and obviously dangerous leopard.

This incident was an awful and unfortunate accident - one which no one present could have possibly prevented or avoided.

Leopard are dangerous animals. Hunting them is a dangerous pursuit - for all involved.

I am glad that the tracker is expected to make a full recovery. Thank God for that.

Brittany's actions in standing by at the hospital speak for themselves.

Quite a sobering event.

450/400- I say this with all humility, I am not sure what we can learn from this except that $#@% happens. I don't know how anyone can say that they would have done something different to avoid this accident. Am I missing something?

My thoughts and prayers to but Brittainy and the tracker for a complete and speedy recovery.

My best wishes and prayers for Punki's complete recovery and Brittany's metal. I've no doubt she is immersed in grief. I don't think any of us would have come to a different conclusion under the circumstances. Bless them all.
LDK

quote:

Originally posted by McCray:
I echo Use Enough Guns thoughts.

That kind of situation can happen to any of us and no one should second guess or Monday morning quarterback the situation.

Thoughts go out to all involved.

+1

Eyedoc I didn't mean to imply that she should have done something different, just that there's always something to learn from all accidents.

Good luck to all involved. The tracker will recover hopefully, it will take a while for B.
to recover from the fact she shot someone.
Best Wishes!!!

I hope Britanny continues hunting after this incident,my best wishes to the tracker ,if you pursue DG in tall grass,always have a risk ,of the animal ,and of being accidentaly shot,i was almost killed by a shot in the head by a client one time when i went into tall grass to pursue an injured puma at nigth ....Juan

I second all the best wishes, primarily for Punki and secondly for Brittney. It would be a shame for this unfortunate situation to quench her desire for hunting. Her father is such a great emissary for our sport. This also says so much for the bravery of the trackers that we sometimes take for granted.

hope all turns out well for both Punki and Brittany.. thus is hunting DANGEROUS game.

My prayer also will go out for Punki's full recovery as that would likely be the best medicine for Brittany as well.

This is a situation that could happen to anyone... even the most experienced DG hunter. Brittany reacted as any of us would have under that condition and with the information she gleaned in those 4 or 5 seconds. I second the thought that we hope this does not dissuade her from her hobby and passion.

All the best and our prayers and thoughts are with Punki and Brittany. A rapid recovery for Punki and peace of mind for Brittany.

Hopefully everybody will recover. It reminds me of this video: http://trophyroom.com/video/BIkAidNXYP/

When they shoot the cat off of this guy he almost gets shot in the knee. It looks really close to me.

While reading the reports it is easy to see it From Britts point of view. It is one of those things that afterward you say to yourself that exact thing could have happened to me because never in a million years did you think about not seeing the guy under the leopard. Scary stuff.

As is stated above, this could happen to anyone; the best to her & Punki - hope all turns out well.

This is exactly the stuff of nightmares! Precisely because it can happen to almost anyone at almost any time on a DG hunt.

Our prayers for Punki's full and easy recovery. Our hopes for Brittney's peace of mind, and our support for Craig in a time of near panic.

(There but for the Grace of God go any of us!)

I'm going to be the odd man out here but my old man drilled into me when I was a kid not to pull the fucking trigger unless I was absolutely certain of the target.

The first rules of firearms; treat every gun as if it's loaded, don't point it at anything you don't intend to shoot, and be certain of your target.

She got excited and fucked up, big time, almost killing someone. I don't care who she is, CB's daughter or anyone else, how quickly it happened, heat of the moment or whatever, shooting someone is inexcusable and she bears full responsibility for it. You guys should stop making excuses for it. One of you geniuses even contend that her shooting the tracker may have saved his life by, I assume, scaring off the leopard. Good grief!

Good God Drook you've done it now, this could be painful
Chip

Adrook,

You have many good safety fundinentals here which should always be adheared to but....this was a sticky situation that happened suddenly and without warning.
I don't know if any of you have ever been combat, but you have, you will understand what the term "the fog of war" is. I have seen in my police career 5 cops shot by other officers. 2 of these were by highly trained SWAT cops, not 23 year old civilian females.

I have been there, so on a human level I will defend Britteny and hope that she comes to terms with her accident. Unlike movies, it is quite tramatic to watch and sometimes talk to a guy lying on thr street that you just shot a bullet into. It is a life changer.

So let's cut Britteny some slack here and hope the very best for her and especially the tracker, who I hope is getting a huge tip from her daddy! Pay up Craig!!

My wife and I were deeply saddened to read this account. The time we spent with all involved was a great experience for us. We spent days with each of them, and they were some of the nicest folks to be around.

I hunted extensively with both Nic and Corne Kruger on my last two trips to Namibia, and Punki and Zukile were my dog handlers for my leopard hunts. Two finer young men would be hard to find. They all have lots of excellent experience, and I'm sure there were not a lot of choices made incorrectly in this event.

Our sincerest best wishes for all involved, and hope Punki makes a full recovery and Brittany suffers no bad repercussions from this.

Hope that all parties involved recover from the incident, both the physical as well as the emotional/mental injuries.

Adrook, why don't you yourself a favor on this one and just keep your mouth shut.

You don't have a damn idea of what you would have done if you had of been in her place with everything that was going on at that moment, none of us do.

Being a total dick and blaiming her for her actions is not doing anyone any good.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
Hope that all parties involved recover from the incident, both the physical as well as the emotional/mental injuries.

Adrook, why don't you yourself a favor on this one and just keep your mouth shut.

You don't have a damn idea of what you would have done if you had of been in her place with everything that was going on at that moment, none of us do.

Being a total dick and blaiming her for her actions is not doing anyone any good.

Hey Mr. Shoestring Safaris,

I have every idea of what I would have done in her place, I've been hunting and shooting for nearly 40 years and haven't shot anyone yet, never had an accidental discharge, etc. Had it been me I would have made damn sure where the tracker was before I shot my rifle. It's DG hunting, dummy, anything can happen at any time, that's why one should remain extra vigilant and aware of where everyone on the hunt is at any given moment in case something does go wrong. Glad I'm not hunting with some of you fucks.

A PH friend of mine told me that his greatest fear is not getting whacked by an animal but rather getting shot by a careless or excited client. After reading this shit I understand his concern.