I an currently reading Bunny Allen's entertaining book, "The Wheel of Life". For those who don't know, Bunny was an infamous PH who operated in many African countries over several decades. He was as famous for his hunting exploits as he was for success with the fairer sex.

He tells of one huge lion he took in Tanganyika with a client and I quote........"We went up to him. He was no optical illusion. He must have been the biggest lion that ever existed. We measured him to stand 6 feet 6 inches at the top of the shoulders, that is the height of the withers on a horse. .........His legs were as thick as a buffalo's. He had a four foot chest depth, a huge head and feet the size of dinner plates. My guess he weighed 800 lbs. He must have been one of the heaviest lions to ever roam Africa".

I am no expert on lions, any comments from those who know more than me?

Bunny was full of it ... a lion that tall and big-footed would weigh more than 8 hundred pounds, try one ton!!!
Maybe the occasional freak lion occurred, possibly a case of pituitary gigantism, or mutant!!!
What happened to that skull or cape? Alien abduction?

Guess he didn't get any pictures, else they were burnt in a forest fire or something......

I read his book a couple of years ago and found absolutely nothing in it I could tell my daughter. This was dime store romance novel trash.
yuck....

quote:

He was as famous for his hunting exploits as he was for success with the fairer sex.

In his own mind maybe

6'6" is 19.5 hands. That's draft horse size.

The largest Siberian tiger would stand less than 4 feet at the shoulder and weigh less than 700 lbs. It might measure tip nose to top tail at 13 feet max.

I doubt if a lion ever measured much more than 10 ft 2 inches tip to tip as a carcass.

There was one in a cage (totally domestically reared) that had a reach of 14'(ie standing on his back legs his front paws could reach the 14' mark (top) of the enclosure fence.

He was the product of several generations of selective breeding - and got killed by a single .270 Winchester silver tip when he decided to eat the lad wo bought his dinner. Sadly nobody ever weighed him.

He would have been the ultimate offering for a canned lion hunt...but ended up logged in an appie guides log book as 'cat experience' for the PH exams

Thinking about it...the largest wild lion ever recordeed in Zim was a mainless brute that Andre van Eeden shot on his farm in cntenary..I don't have my notes here but it well wellover the 500lb mark...but it looked exactly like a lioness- just (litterally) twice the size.

I wonder if 'he' had any balls?...The buffalo with the widest spread I have ever seen alive were vet department ones that had been castrated...but horns are thin like a cows but all between 55 and 60"

I have seen this with several other wild animals...I must ask Andre when he is next down from Zambia

quote:

Originally posted by David Hulme:


Guess he didn't get any pictures, else they were burnt in a forest fire or something......

no, like kids homework- the dog ate them

i had a dog like that

peter

That book was one of the silliest books I have read on African hunting.

And whatever Bunny might claim, he does not fit in my estimation of what a PH is.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
That book was one of the silliest books I have read on African hunting.

And whatever Bunny might claim, he does not fit in my estimation of what a PH is.

Amen to that.

6'6" and 800lbs, ya that sounds about right!!! Didn't I tell you guys about the 20' tall buffalo I shot last year??

Bunny was a legend in his own mind.

quote:

Originally posted by Tembo:
Bunny was a legend in his own mind.

That is funny, one I need to remember...

Ganyana, You definitely see that occur in domestic cattle-steers horns will grow extremely long and body size goes up. However studs are generally larger than geldings so it isnt every species thats affectd. Castrated males do generally put on fat easier whatever species they are.

SSR

I'm layin' odds that Bunny was lyin' about that lion.

I read his book and don't remember that passage, but it was a long time ago.

BTW, I found the book quite entertaining, although not very enlightening!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
That book was one of the silliest books I have read on African hunting.

And whatever Bunny might claim, he does not fit in my estimation of what a PH is.

I have been trying to find a tactful way to express exactly what Saeed posted. Well said.

quote:

Originally posted by Ganyana:
Thinking about it...the largest wild lion ever recordeed in Zim was a mainless brute that Andre van Eeden shot on his farm in cntenary..I don't have my notes here but it well wellover the 500lb mark...but it looked exactly like a lioness- just (litterally) twice the size.

I wonder if 'he' had any balls?...The buffalo with the widest spread I have ever seen alive were vet department ones that had been castrated...but horns are thin like a cows but all between 55 and 60"

I have seen this with several other wild animals...I must ask Andre when he is next down from Zambia

This could make sense. About twenty years ago we had to kill a Friesian bullock that had been poorly castrated in that it had about a quarter of a nut left. Not only did it grow to about 25% bigger than its brethren it displayed uncharacteristic aggression. Having attacked everyone from the farm laborers to the game keeper, it escaped, charged a land rover placed to stop it and hid out in an abandoned iron stone quarry. It soaked up a couple of .308s in the engine room with little visible effect before a high shoulder spine shot finished it.

This one might not be the Biggest, but he gotta be the best looking. Trying to Get Aaron to come get him next year!!!!!!!

that photo is just wrong!

quote:

Originally posted by zimFrosty:
This one might not be the Biggest, but he gotta be the best looking. Trying to Get Aaron to come get him next year!!!!!!!

Man, as long as the price is right, I'm there!!

The trick is to use fresh dog bones and a rawhide and pig's ear- There's apparently an abundance of these "Lions" in parts of South Africa- only $2k each and a limit of 5/person/year:

I know a taxidermist who will be glad to make your lion look like that.

quote:

Originally posted by CanadianLefty:
The trick is to use fresh dog bones and a rawhide and pig's ear- There's apparently an abundance of these "Lions" in parts of South Africa- only $2k each and a limit of 5/person/year:

Sorry Zim, but I want this one!!

quote:

Originally posted by zimFrosty:
This one might not be the Biggest, but he gotta be the best looking. Trying to Get Aaron to come get him next year!!!!!!!

If Bunny Allan was a lion, this how he would have looked

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:

Sorry Zim, but I want this one!![/QUOTE]

Damn, and I spent hours on that fine configuration of hair!!!!!

This could make sense. About twenty years ago we had to kill a Friesian bullock that had been poorly castrated in that it had about a quarter of a nut left. Not only did it grow to about 25% bigger than its brethren it displayed uncharacteristic aggression. Having attacked everyone from the farm laborers to the game keeper, it escaped, charged a land rover placed to stop it and hid out in an abandoned iron stone quarry. It soaked

I am not suprised about that, horses that have been gelded improperly (called rigs) are notorious for being unpredictable and agressive even more so that stallions.

Maybe it was a Liger.

quote:

Originally posted by zimFrosty:
This one might not be the Biggest, but he gotta be the best looking. Trying to Get Aaron to come get him next year!!!!!!!

Conan O'Brien's Lion?