Lion attacks American hunter
26/04/2007 07:38 - (SA)
Riette Olivier, Die Burger

Cradock - An American hunter is recuperating in an East London hospital after being attacked by a lion on a game farm in the area last week.
A bloodied Luis Titus, 31, from Omaha in the US, shot and killed the animal on his own while he was still being attacked.
Titus, who allegedly wanted a stuffed lion as a trophy, was hunting on the Tam Safaris hunting farm outside Cradock when they spotted the male lion in a thicket, said a source who wanted to remain anonymous.

"The lion burst out of the thicket and launched at Titus, grabbing his right thigh," said the source.
The rest of the hunters looked on petrified. "They were so shocked none of them even thought about shooting the lion. After quite a lengthy fight with the lion, Titus took out his handgun and shot it through the head while the animal was still standing over him."
An ambulance was called and after Titus was stabilised in Cradock, he was transferred to St Dominics Hospital in East London.
Although the hospital didn't want to comment on Titus's condition, the source said he wasn't too badly mauled.

"He was lucky, it was a huge lion with a wild look in its eyes. I have heard about two farmworkers who were killed by lions on the farm. One shouldn't play with these animals."
He believed the lions weren't the only danger to workers on the farm.

"Workers are often admitted to hospital with broken bones after falling from bakkies," he said.
Irwin Tam, owner of Tam Safaris, didn't want to comment on the incident. Tam Safaris is classified as a free hunting farm, which means the lions roam freely, said Tim de Jonck of the department of environmental affairs. "These lions were raised by hand. Some of them have been roaming freely for the past 18 months."
New regulations about canned lion hunting which will become law on June 1 2007 stipulate that lions have to roam freely for two years before they may be hunted.

YEA Africa is not for sissies

It reinforces the theory that "pen-raised" lions may be more dangerous than those born in the wild due to a general lack of fear of humans.

The bottom line however is that lions are dangerous no matter how they were raised. Many of those who grow up watching Disney movies fail to understand that.

And how many of us carry a handgun when hunting in Africa?

Maybe Tam relaxed some of their saftey standards as they only have 35 days left. I trust their impeccable grooming and shampoo standards are still in full effect. Sorry, when it's served up like this......

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
And how many of us carry a handgun when hunting in Africa?

Unfortunately, as I'm sure you know, it is generally not an option, but IMHO it is a good idea when hunting the big cats. In a close quarters situation, it may be your only hope.

Big cats, even "tame" ones, don't make good playmates.

You can carry a handgun while hunting in Zim.

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
And how many of us carry a handgun when hunting in Africa?

I do when hunting big cats!

465H&H

"After quite a lengthy fight with the lion,...."

Sounds to me like, if it had really been a free ranging (as in wild) lion, Mr. Titus would be dead!

Rich Elliott

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
You can carry a handgun while hunting in Zim.

So which countries allow a foreign hunter to bring in a handgun as "back-up"?

South Africa and Zimbabwa only. I've heard if you have enough cash, Tanzania will allow them.

Good thing they had the gate closed or that lion may have escaped and hurt some others! Sad to use the word "hunt" or "hunter" in association with this type of activity.

Glad the guy did not get dead...but equally glad they are attempting to change the rules regarding such "hunts".

Clark Jeffs
Safari Outfitters, Inc.
Cody, WY

"He was lucky, it was a huge lion with a wild look in its eyes."

Well, there you go...if it had been Clarence it would have killed him.

Personally, I worry more about the lions teeth and claws.

it would be good to know what sidearm it was...

the other idiots who looked on in disbelief...well i would not want to be them when he gets better

quote:

"He was lucky, it was a huge lion with a wild look in its eyes."

Who can blame him. Two weeks ago he was enjoying "three hots and a cot", now he is having to sleep under a bush and catch his food. No wonder he was pissed.

MJines,

That is the funniest thing I've read on this forum in a long time! ROFLMAO!

Thanks,

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Rich Elliott:
"After quite a lengthy fight with the lion,...."

Sounds to me like, if it had really been a free ranging (as in wild) lion, Mr. Titus would be dead!

Rich Elliott

If Mr. Teeth had a grip on my thigh, it would seem like a "lengthy fight".

Canned or not hes handgun saved his life ,but in the future few of us has the privilege to carry .Here a jaguar in a zoo killed his guard and an antbear killed a young woman ,if these unexperienced people would be trained in pistol shooter and Cooper color code they will be alive.Juan

I was under the impression that although they do canned and high fence hunting, Tam Safaris had a good reputation. In another thread here some have jumped all over a guide for not stopping an elephant charge. What kind of professional hunter stands around in shock while his client is mauled by a lion?

465H&H

Although it is plainly prohibited in the hunting regs Lynn Thompson, president of Cold Steel Knives wrote a letter to the TZ consulate in Washington DC outlining the power factor of the 454 Casull and his experience with it. He was granted a 21 day license with all animals available, and he was successful too. He took a stock opensighted Freedom Arms 454 and took a full bag.

Now, I don't know how much the " conservation fee " attached to the letter was but he got it done...........................JJ

How many of you that are bad mouthing Tam Safaris have any knowledge at all about them?
They are the very few, maybe only company in RSA that are regulated as a free range lion hunt. Mainly because their lions have been born and live their entire life inside of a 15,000 acre enclosure.
No I have not hunted there though a good friend of mine has. He darted a rhino there and spent 3 days looking to photogragh lions...he saw only 2 females and 1 young male at 1000 yds as they trotted into brush.

Wakeup America, Canned Lions are the best thing that has ever happened to the wild Lions of Africa. The wild lions cannot take the hunting pressure that is being put on them and the "canned Lion hunting" takes a lot of that pressure off of them.

Canned Lions will bite you, scratch you and eat you so don't think they are pretty littlel fat dumplings incapable of not inflicting harm.

If you don't agree then that is certainly your perogative and you should not hunt them but letting others who feel diferently hunt them is also a perogative they deserve and to do so without humiliation from others.

I have never hunted Lions under fence but I was born before most of you and got my hunting done before many of you were born, I was fortunate.

OOps gotta go the roping show is on TV.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:

I have never hunted Lions under fence

but I was born before most of you and got my hunting done before many of you were born, I was fortunate.

OOps gotta go the roping show is on TV.

Ray you old gunner (-:

How dare you use your age as an excuse, dont you know that in this PC world of stiffs that they can take you to court for AGE DISCRIMINATION

Anhow I fought in the BOER WAR so am a lot older than you //// God I must be dreaming again, OR is it OLD AGE, I meant the Rhodesian Bush War (-: (-:

Enjoy the roping on TV

Cheers, Peter

Comparing canned lions and wild ones is like comparing apples and oranges.

No one who wants to truly hunt lion - and by "truly hunt" I mean engage in the fair chase pursuit of a wild, free-ranging lion - would ever want to hunt a canned one.

Those who hunt canned lions are a self-selecting group. Some of them would hunt wild ones, if they could, but many if not most don't want to or can't, because it costs too much and the odds of success are too low. Not to mention that it's more difficult generally.

Canned lions are generally cheaper than wild ones. As a result, only a relative few (worldwide) can afford to hunt wild ones. There is pressure, of course, but that comes from poor management practices, not from canned lion hunters.

And unlike the shooting of canned lions, where killing not just a lion but a specific animal is often guaranteed, the success rate for wild lions is relatively low. Most operations will quote you a figure, if you press them, of 40% or less (sometimes much less) on average.

So the canned lion shooters are not doing the wild lions any favors. What's worse, they are giving hunting in general, and truly wild and free-ranging lion hunting in particular, a huge public relations problem.

When the British walk up pheasants and other upland game they call it hunting. When they shoot pen raised and driven pheasants they call it "a shoot" not hunting. IMHO you hunt free ranging lion and go on a "lion shoot" when you take a canned hunt lion. I prefer to hunt my lion.

465H&H

Hope for fast healing.

JJM, about $2K or so for the privelege.

I missed out on doing a very cheap but worthwhile lion hunt in 1988. such is life.

But I don't think things have changed much since 1999 ( ) ie fenced vs wild.