I've seen quite a bit about hunting leopard in a blind over bait and apparently this is the most popular method of hunting them. However, I am curious about hunting leopard on foot with trackers. Anyone have experience doing this? Is it a much tougher hunt with a lower kill ratio due to a leopard's nocturnal ways and keen senses? Do people use dogs to trail them or just follow the tracks? In the thick cover or semi-open?

rattelsnaker hunting of Leoaprd by tracking will depend, largely, on where you hunt! About the only place where these can be tracked, successfully, is the Kalahari of Botswana, and Namibia. The open country, and sandy soil is the key to this type of leopard hunting. Tracking in most of southern Africa is almost non productive, because of the bush conditions aren't well suited to that type of hunting leopard. Even on bait, I wouldn't book any less than 14 days for leopard, and even then you may go home empty! The only way to hunt them on a short time safari is by dog. this is done some in Zimbabwe, but no type of hunting is a sure thing for leopard, even in areas where they are thick.

The best way to hunt Leopard is to dedicate the hunt to Leoaprd, and get bait animals in the trees as quickly as you can, and not think about any other trophies till the cat is in the bag. Many, many people come home two or three times empty for leoaprd, even in good areas. One needs to pick his PH with care for leopard, as they are a difficult animal to collect. Two PHs that I know that have a very good records on Leopard are Andrew Dawson, who hunts the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe, and Peter Chipman who hunts the Lower Lupande of the Luangwa Valley of Zambia, and both hunt over bait.

GOOD LUCK

While I was in Zim in March, I heard that National Parks will not allow dog hunting of leopards next year.

CHEERS!
465H&H

MacD37 - thanks for the information. Sounds like a leopard/buffalo combo for a first time safari wouldn't make much sense for only 14 days or so.

Is Andrew Dawson the PH from Boddington on Buffalo?

Rattlesnaker,

As you've been told tracking leopards is very difficult unless the ground conditions are perfect. Tracking with dogs or Bushman trackers seems to be the only way to do it.

As for a leopard/buff combo it is very doable on a 14-15 day basis. The only drawback particularly for a first safari is that you'll need some luck with the leopards even in the best areas with the best cat men. Leopards are never a slam dunk. If you can go home without one and still feel you had a good safari go for it.

I personally think leopard hunting is one of the best hunts there is. Of course I have been very lucky, hunted great areas and have been with good cat hunters.

Eventhough leopard hunting has to be your focus you'll have plenty of time to shoot a buffalo. In fact I killed a leopard off a bait from a buffalo I shot.

If you'd like to know more about this drop me an e-mail.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:
hunting of Leoaprd by tracking will depend, largely, on where you hunt! About the only place where these can be tracked, successfully, is the Kalahari of Botswana, and Namibia. The open country, and sandy soil is the key to this type of leopard hunting...

I hunted leopard in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia and asked the PH's about tracking, and was told that although one could easily follow the tracks in the sandy soil (like that of Botswana), it would be very difficult as they are too aware and elusive (as Mac said) to actually get up on them. I shot the leopard coming to a bait. In a later hunt, we did successfully track a pride of lion in that we got up on them after ~8hrs. Tracking hunts are great fun and a real challenge, but for leopard, excluding the "driven track hunts" in parts of Botswana (where the bushman track on foot and the hunter follows in the truck), baiting or to a lesser extent dogs are the viable options.

As Mark said, a combination buffalo/leopard hunt is very dooable in a good area, and the buffalo makes great bait.

Rattlesnaker,

Andrew Dawson is the PH on boddington on buffalo.

His website can be found here chifutisafaris

He is also the PH on the forth coming Boddington on Leopard, which if aswell made as Boddington on Buffalo, will be a must buy for anyone considering hunting leopard.

Cheers
Craig.

Vaughan, Mlindsay and I followed a Leopard on foot for about 4 hours in Vaughan's area by Etosha. The conditions were perfect, fresh track, good sandy soil to follow him in. I am sure we were not far behind him, but we never caught up with him.

I asked Vaughan if he had ever shot one doing it this way. He said yes, in Bushmanland, (now the Nye Nye Conservancy) he has been successful tracking Leopard.

Guys in Botswana - Kalahari do it with Bushman trackers. This hunt almost always ends in a charge. The hunter carries a shotgun and shoots when the cat is about 3 yards.

These hunts are expensive, $14,000-$16,000 but the success is very high. (I have no personal experience with these hunts, all my information comes from speaking with a ph who runs them.)

Rattlesnaker the way my ph hunts leopard with the dogs is a combination of following tracks by sight and dogs. Dogs when the grass is tall and the trail hot. Baits are hung in known areas and then checked every morning for sign. Big tracks are obviously of mature males and are the only ones followed. Hopefully the cat has fed and not traveled far. This method is very successful. We saw leopard tracks every day while hunting plains game.

a properly done dogged leopard hunt is the sport of kings...provided you are fit enough to keep up.

and yes zim parks have said they are stopping hound hunting next year...but I suspect the minister will over ride that decision

Rattesnaker - Just of echo what Nevster and Mac 37 said, Andrew Dawson and Paul Smith of Chifuti Safaris have an unsurpassed record on Leopard. I have hunted with them the last two years, getting my leopard the second time I sat in the blind in '04. They will, if you desire, charge a modest fee to pre bait (which I think is well worth it) the day before your arrival. They would not tell it, as there is always a first time, but to my knowledge the only client that did not get his leopard with them, was one that was poorly shot and they could never find it. During my '03 hunt, the other hunter slightly wounded his cat but Andrew/Paul got it after a four hour followup.

quote:

Originally posted by Rattlesnaker:
MacD37 - thanks for the information. Sounds like a leopard/buffalo combo for a first time safari wouldn't make much sense for only 14 days or so.

Is Andrew Dawson the PH from Boddington on Buffalo?

Snaker, a combination Buffalo/Leopard hunt of 14 days Makes a lot of sense! Buffalo hunting is best in mornings, and Leopard is best in afternoon. In most places where there are good populations of Leopard, there are pleanty of things like Impala, and warthog, for baits, and they can be trophies as well, as long as you don't spend too much time looking for a record book head. Your Buffalo/zebra, will make fine Block bait, to replinish the normal Impala baits after one is hit, to keep him on the bait longer!

And, yes Andrew Dawson is the same one that is on Boddington's film. I haven't seen that film, but I know he is the PH. IMO, there is not a better PH for Leopard in Africa than Andrew! Many are just as good,like Peter Chipman, but none better.

Not to drive this into the ground...but I will anyway ... Andrew Dawson also did a video called "He's in the Tree: Hunting the African Leopard". It is a good watch for anybody hunting leopard for the first time, regardless of where.

quote:

Originally posted by Rattlesnaker: Sounds like a leopard/buffalo combo for a first time safari wouldn't make much sense for only 14 days or so.

Not true! I booked my first safari for 16 days, and had a leopard on the ground on the seventh day. On my last safari, at the end of day three, buffalo and leopard were in the salt. I live in the Dallas area, and we are fortunate to have some of the best PHs and outfitters in the world in town every year for the DSC convention, many that will get you lined up with a buffalo and leopard. You have a very good chance of taking both on a 14 day hunt if you get a good area and a good PH. Zimbabwe would be my choice.