I was thinking the other day about leopard hunting and the success rates. I was curious to know for those that are not sucessful on their cats hunts the possible reasons why? It seems if you are on a dedicated hunt then the rate is higher than trying to get as many animals as possible on a hunt and not doing the leopard justice.
For those that failed in a Leopard hunt what was it that you feel you did not get a cat?

Have to ask the kitties for the answer. Cats do what they want, not what you want or expect them to do.

I hunted Leopard twice before getting one the third time, whereas my partner got one the first time and one in daylight the second time, both with little effort.

On my first cat hunt, the leopard was a target of opportunity. We baited them for 7 days and had one feeding but at night where we could only shoot in the day. I decided to switch areas as I wanted to experience a different area although the PH felt there was a good chance to get the cat if we had stuck it out for the rest of the hunt. In retrospect, I should have done that. First hunt mistake and all. I was too worried about shooting some of the PG that I wanted instead of letting things just happen.

My next hunt was just plain bad luck. I brought a late discount hunt. It was really late in the year, and I was one of the last hunters in (we closed the camp when I left) and quota was a little thin. The water was very low and there was a big die off of hippo and buffalo in the adjoining concession. All the lion had migrated over there, and the guys hunting there saw multiple great cats (which they could not shoot) within literally a couple hundred yards of the concession boundary, while my baits just rotted, except for one that had some females feed for the first couple days.

The third hunt, I am not so sure what happened. I had scheduled it as a dedicated leopard hunt in a prime area in the early part of the year and we were allowed to shoot after dark with a spotlight and we did not get a single hit by a legal cat. I did have a juvenile or small female that we saw, but that was it. Unfortunately, they had some issues with too many hunters in the camp, and two of us were hunting leopard at the same time the whole while I was there, but none of us got one, which was odd. It may have been too much hunting pressure, animal migration, or just plain old bad luck.

Hopefully my three strikes are up and Tanzania this year will be different.

Hey, Leopard hunting is a challenge -- getting an independently thinking adult male Leopard into a tree at exactly the right time and place is never easy.

Male Leopards are polygamous in the extreme, with females spread over a large area and the male migrating around from female to female. There's a lot of luck just in having that big guy visiting the right female, the one you've located, during the 12 or 14 or 17 days that you happen to be there. And, all that big dab of "luck" gets you is the chance to try and get the big guy into the right tree at the right time and then making the right shot.

The attraction of Leopard hunting is its difficulty -- if it were easy, most of us wouldn't be interested. Sometimes you're successful and sometimes you're not -- but success or not, all of the hunts are exciting and challenging experiences and that, after all, is what hunting is all about.

Forest Walker,

There's a luck factor unquestionably in cat hunting and in the best areas, at the best time of year with the best PH's without a little luck you can be unsuccessful. What I find in my business though is that a lot of unsuccessful leopard hunters that come to me inquiring about a second try have in the past booked something very inexpensive which equates to poor area, poor time of year and less than knowledgable PH or all the above. Yes! There is a bargain available on occasion and I have offered them but generally speaking if you are offered a really cheap leopard your chances of success are very low.

Book with a outfit with a long and successful track record with leopard, book early in the year, concentrate on the leopard until he's in salt and you should be successful.

Mark

I agree with Mark. I picked a good area, good operator, and good hunter. Luck was involved but we worked very hard baiting over a nearly 80 square mile area. Other than hunting buffalo for bait we did nothing else.

After sitting in the blind for 2 1/2 hours one day we shot a nice cat in the daylight. It was our ninth day of hunting but first day in the blind.

ForestWalker, I can't help you as I shot a big leopard the first evening I sat on my first safari. I think it was our 7th or 8th day of a general bag safari, and we had 4 baits out with 2 of them being hit. We built a blind where the bigger track was, climbed into the blind about 5 or 6 hours later, and shot the cat before dark after sitting for perhaps an hour or two. On my second try for leopard, we tracked a big male in the Kalahari for about 3 or 4 hours on the first day of a 24 day safari before finishing that quick hunt. So, I wouldn't be a good one to ask as I've spend about 6 or 8 hours to take the two nice leopards I've been fortunate enough to shoot.

I know, I'm being a smartass! But hey, it took 2 safaris and 37 days to get a lion, and I've had eland on license for 3 or my 4 safaris, and have yet to even see an acceptable bull. I guess it all balances out in the end.

we had been hunting the loveld for plains game when we ran into an extremely big leopard track. the people of the area knew about the cat, he had been around a few years and had been poisons, chased etc. everything a leopard need to know he knew. we spent 34 days hunting for that particular cat and never did catch up with him. hunting for a particular leopard became an obsession enough to pass up lesser cats. it all finally came together after almost 2 months of chasing them around. but that's another story. well worth the wait however

I have had a couple problems before I was able to connect. We once were in an area where the locals discovered it was easier to take our baits than use snares. Twice I had lions take possession of an active bait and drive away the feeding leopard. We had a good sized male feeding and unseasonal rains started and that put the leopard off. Finally a nice male 7"6" showed up in the last 10 minutes of daylight and the most difficult easy shot of my life was successful. I preach pre baiting to anyone going after leopard. The cost of pre baiting is cheaper than multiple hunts. I'm starting to believe the best way to hunt lions is by hanging a leopard bait! Good luck!

I tried traditional baited hunts twice in Zim and Namibia and came up empty both times. Sitting in a blind watching meat rot gets old after awhile. I then went to Botswana and tried a Bushman tracking hunt where dogs were let loose when we got close to the cat. It was successful with pulse pounding excitement. Even with that success, I still have a lingering desire to take a big cat the old fashioned way with bait at dusk.

When I am lucky with the leopards, I am really lucky. The most I ever had to sit was 2 times. I believe that i would have been successful the first sitting both times if it had not been for sudden, severe allergy attacks.

I have gone home with out a leopard before. The reasons vary. The last time, it was too hot. Baits didn't last long. The time before that, we had cats on bait & my brother became seriously ill. We left. The first time, the PH was pretty inexperienced. Somethings were done that perhaps should have been done differently.

I too, have been quite lucky with Leopard. Out of two serious hunts for the cats in Zimbabwe, I have taken two leopard. On another half hearted one in South Africa (I had a S.A. leopard permit)-nothing.

Pre-baiting Leopard always helps. You know from the start if you have a mature tom on the bait or not. Also, I'd never hunt leopard less than 14 days. I've been lucky to take 2 on the first day and my last on the 6th night, but my clients have also had good luck and straight shooting. Usually we pre-baited for them and had toms on the bait, but not always. Some spent two days baiting and hunting a cat on the third night.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Forest Walker,

There's a luck factor unquestionably in cat hunting and in the best areas, at the best time of year with the best PH's without a little luck you can be unsuccessful.

Book with a outfit with a long and successful track record with leopard, book early in the year, concentrate on the leopard until he's in salt.



Mark

+1

I failed two times and got lucky the third time. It took 54 days....I cant see myself going to Africa without a leopard on license.

Since pre baiting, dogs and lights were not legal on my Leopard hunts, I hunted Leopards and bait and helped hang them.
First hunt in Zim had unseasonable rain that helped the baits rot and knocked out two days of 14 hunting....then on 11th day I rushed a shot at dark as we heard the vehicle with the game scout coming at official end of shooting---missed. We were perhaps 20 yards from Bots and that's where he went. Tried him again with bait at bottom of tree ---Lion got it.
A couple or three years later, back in Zim with both cats and two buff on quota, we found BIG Leopard tracks whilst working on the Lion, started baiting but continued Lion hunting. Wounded the Lion on 7th day and finished him on 9th day---a whole other story! But we had kept the Leopard interested. Finally took Leopard on 14th day, once again as we heard the vehicle coming with the Game Scout at dark. Unfortunately it was not the "big" male---PH recognized that--but I shot it anyway to get Leopard behind me....7-foot, 140 pounds, 13 3/8" green skull.
Were finances to allow, I would love to try them again....daylight with my killed bait.....kinda funny, hunting with Kwalata Safaris last year in Zam, Chipman and I saw four Leopards in the middle of the day----two were very good but it was not a cat hunt.

I'm glad this topic came up. I am going on my first Leopard hunt with Zambezi hunters next year.
I will say that I wish the hunt date was a little earlier as it is Mid August start date. I think the time of year makes a lot of difference. I wouldn't go any later than August myself unless it was prices right.

I talked with Thierry who if it works out will be my PH. He figures we have about a %70 chance at being succesfull. He mentioned if he was in the area before hand he would pre bait for me and I think that would help a lot. I think it takes a lot of time to get the baits shot and hung and those are valuable days that it takes to sort things out and get a cat hitting the bait so you can work on him.

I also would think the number of baits out would make a difference as well? When I guided bear hunters I put out as many baits as I could spaceing them every 3-4 miles at the least. It gave me more options and chance at a good bear this way and I would think it would be the same with a Leopard in that the more baits to a certain degree would give you a higher chance of getting one on bait.

In the end I sure hope I can get one on my first trip. Some of us are not so lucky to be able to go to Africa on a Leopard hunt with the costs involved. If I fail my first time it will be a long wait till I get back. I have too many other hunts I want to do as well and for the price of a Leopard hunt I could do a few of them. Wish me luck because a lot of it is just that as well. Luck!

Hey Phil! GOOD LUCK!!

Which area of the Save?

I do not think that is too late. It shouldn't be as hot as October.

Baits are a catch 22. As long as they aren't too close together, more of good. Unfortunately you have to check them all. That can kill a lot of time and include some really monotonous driving.

Agree , Larry! It is a total pain in the azz when you have to check each animal before taking another....I like good ol national owned lands where you can go out , kill a Zebra, sevral Impala and a Buff for bait before heading in! (Assuming you can get them all in the bakkie)

Yup, I have had baits as far as 4.5 hours from the camp. If nothing but that one was checked daily, that was 9 hours getting beat to death in a truck.

My first leopard hunt in Matetsi 6, one bait was 55km down the Bots border road

My cats (and any I have known) here always seem to gravitate to empty boxes like they are heroin... I wonder if you set a big moving box out if a leopard or lion would think it as interesting...

Larry, I will be out of the Arda Camp from what I am told I believe. At least if I am lucky to have Thierry I will be in good hands from what I am told.

What do you guys mean by checking your animal before getting another? I thought you go out and take out a herd of impala and zebra and go string them up! You actually have to head back to camp to get permission to hang them? That would be time consuming.

check if the leopard been eating of your bait - could take the whole day to check em all.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION...

I got lucky on my leopard hunt in the Buby Valley Conservancy a couple of years ago. We hung 6 baits the first two days and by the third day we had 4 males on bait. We hung zebra shoulders on the two biggest sets of tracks. On the first evening/night in the blind we got run out by elephants. On the second evening in the blind I shot a huge leopard--7'7", 163lbs and 16.75" skull. I think we were there 3 and a half hours. I shot the cat with Steve Meyer and Brent Hein came over to help us track him.

A lot of it depends on where you go. In the Zim Lowveld on private land (legal night hunting) with a very good PH, we had several real "switched-on" leopards feeding and got outsmarted by a monster after 16 nights of hard dedicated hunting. Several years later I hunted in early in the Zambezi Valley again with a good PH and had lots of more naieve cats feeding and "won" just at dark the second time we sat on one Technically it was a pre-baited hunt as a preceding hunter had left up several chunks of buffalo, but we shot our cat on fresh buffalo quarter that I shot two days earlier.

It takes all day to check baits and if you are lucky enough to have them feeding and his route to the bait is participating with the wind direction and you are completely still and quite for hours and he decides to return once you are there, then it is relatively easy! I spent 15 days hunting and 47 hours sitting in the blind on my first trip for all this to come together and 10 days hunting and 3 hours of
sitting in the blind on my second. So after 25 days of checking baits and 50 hours sitting in
blinds I have been lucky enough to shoot 2
leopards. I did shoot them both on the last
night of the safari. So I would say I have been
very lucky.

Not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, but I will give you my list of when not to go

Do not go with a full moon:
Do not go during mating season:
Do not go when the grass is still tall and green:

So you ask when to go? I have no idea...just find a good area. A good ph. And bring some good luck.

Maybe some of the more seasoned leopard hunters can elaborate

quote:

Originally posted by JPrice:
It takes all day to check baits and if you are lucky enough to have them feeding and his route to the bait is participating with the wind direction and you are completely still and quite for hours and he decides to return once you are there, then it is relatively easy! I spent 15 days hunting and 47 hours sitting in the blind on my first trip for all this to come together and 10 days hunting and 3 hours of
sitting in the blind on my second. So after 25 days of checking baits and 50 hours sitting in
blinds I have been lucky enough to shoot 2
leopards. I did shoot them both on the last
night of the safari. So I would say I have been
very lucky.

Not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, but I will give you my list of when not to go

Do not go with a full moon:
Do not go during mating season:
Do not go when the grass is still tall and green:

So you ask when to go? I have no idea...just find a good area. A good ph. And bring some good luck.

Maybe some of the more seasoned leopard hunters can elaborate

JP:

When would the mating season be?

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:

quote:

Originally posted by JPrice:
It takes all day to check baits and if you are lucky enough to have them feeding and his route to the bait is participating with the wind direction and you are completely still and quite for hours and he decides to return once you are there, then it is relatively easy! I spent 15 days hunting and 47 hours sitting in the blind on my first trip for all this to come together and 10 days hunting and 3 hours of
sitting in the blind on my second. So after 25 days of checking baits and 50 hours sitting in
blinds I have been lucky enough to shoot 2
leopards. I did shoot them both on the last
night of the safari. So I would say I have been
very lucky.

Not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, but I will give you my list of when not to go

Do not go with a full moon:
Do not go during mating season:
Do not go when the grass is still tall and green:

So you ask when to go? I have no idea...just find a good area. A good ph. And bring some good luck.

Maybe some of the more seasoned leopard hunters can elaborate

JP:

When would the mating season be?

Hell if I know???

Leopard hunting is similar to fishing when it comes to excuses. These are the things I have been told most of which were validated while hunting!

I think it takes 4 factors in this order
1. LUCK
2. Good Area
3. Great PH with leopard experience
4. Persistence (plan on hunting the full 14 Days, and maybe have the option of staying a few extra days)

Having just returned from my first real leopard hunt, my experience is limited. Here are the details of my hunt.

I spent 7 nights, totaling approx. 42-44 hours in the blind. We had between 8-12 baits going during the 11 days it took us to get a leopard.

We had 3 adult males feeding and multiple females/juveniles.

We had males on bait starting on day 2, but they were not the most consistent feeders due to mating and being educated via past hunters.

Good luck, the cats don't play by the rules.

Area, time of year, and PH. That's the list, in order, period.

Moon? I actually believe a full moon might make leopards more active at night. So, if you are hunting an area where you can hunt at night, you may actually be better off with the full moon. I've killed them on full moons and new moons, so go figure.

Mating? You cannot plan around it. To my understanding, in Southern Africa, a female is in heat 6-7 days out of every 46 day estrous cycle. Until she conceives, she can be in heat 8 or 9 times per year. Also, females in heat make the big males more active. More activity makes them more likely to find a bait and get shot. So, again, mating may be advantageous.

Nobody beats this one: We baited for one day, sat the next evening for 45min and it was in the can.

I had plenty of time to goof around after that.

Reading this thread has been really interesting for me, informative too. Having been in the blind to witness 19 Lion/Leopard kills, the part I found most interesting was the length of time some have spent in blinds? Wow, talk about tiring!!

Certainly I have witnessed more time spent on some cats than others, but some it seems have spent more time in the blind, than anywhere else? My personal experience, plus that shared with a couple PH's I consider good cat hunters, and the one guy I consider the best cat hunter I know, is just the opposite.

If you've done it right, set-up everything right, and picked the right time to sit, the cat should come. Not always, but most of the time. Night, after night, after night, of sitting in the blind? Tells me the PH is doing something wrong. If you actually sat ALL-NIGHT and the cat didn't show, why would you sit in the same blind again the next night??? I think I've witnessed 6 Leopard kills, in 3 different countries. Only once did we sit more than one time to kill the leopard, and we got that one on the 2nd morning. On the one Leopard cluster f**k I had in Masailand in 2004, without question the PH's lack of experience/knowledge was solely responsible for our lack of success. Not only did he want to put the blind way too close to the bait (23 yards), but when the leopard did show, he thought the best thing to do was to start talking to me??? Needless to say, the leopard was out of the tree in a big hurry.

From what I've seen, most PH's put the blind too close to the bait, IMO. But, I can tell you they do so because most of them have little confidence in the shooting ability of us, the safari hunter. Had the PH mentioned above, put the blind at the nice 80 yard mark I had picked out, the leopard surely would have been dead. Even with his annoying talking in the blind, at 23 yards. Fact is, I've never sat in a blind with a PH where we killed a cat, that we didn't whisper back and forth when the cat arrived. But I've also never seen the necessity for blinds 25 yards from the bait? Put the blind 50 - 80 yards away, and watch your time in the blind deminish.

I would be interested to hear from the guys who sat in the same blind, all night, for more than a single night in a row? If you sat all night, and the cat never showed, why did the PH say you should sit again in the same blind, the very next night? If he doesn't come the very first time you sit, chances of getting that cat drop dramatically! Usually there's a good reason why he didn't show.

My hunt was a combination buffalo and leopard hunt that I booked very early so the PH advised we hunt the dark nights of August. He said the leopard and buffalo would both be beyond breeding season in that area. With the dark nights, the buffalo would not move as much at night and the leopard would likely move early evening or early morning. He seemed to be correct on both counts. I shot my leopard at 6:50PM the second evening in the blind--no elephants to run us out this time. Buffalo we caught up with late evening were close to the same area the next morning.

This probably sounds silly, but has anybody ever tried putting an ounce of catnip in the blind tree?

Aaron
Spot on - distance to bait big influence on success- I try to be 65 yards at all times with complete coverage from any and all sides. Before they closed Botswana Leopard - we were 100% on cats and they came mostly in the day time. Many tricks to get a late feeder include moving the bait a further 50 yards or so - he should come earlier to see whats moving his dinner. I have one thought on Leopard hunting - your success is based on him making a mistake - if cat does not make a mistake you wont get him no matter how good you are.

quote:

Originally posted by Safaris Botswana Bound: I have one thought on Leopard hunting - your success is based on him making a mistake - if cat does not make a mistake you wont get him no matter how good you are.

Ain't that the truth!

Hey man, aren't you suppose to be out shooting elephants??

It seems that the thing to have for checking baits would be for someone to invent a wireless trailcam that can broadcast its pictures to a device connected to a laptop.

That way one could check bait before one sets out for the day (and even during the day) and save a lot of time.

Of course that type of tech is probably several years away...

quote:

Originally posted by TwoZero:
It seems that the thing to have for checking baits would be for someone to invent a wireless trailcam that can broadcast its pictures to a device connected to a laptop.

That way one could check bait before one sets out for the day (and even during the day) and save a lot of time.

Of course that type of tech is probably several years away...

To a large degree, that would probably work. At least to know if a bait was active.