My client has shot his elephant early in his hunt, and we went back to Windhoek for some plains game hunting. He took a few PG animals, and was ready to fly home. His last morning in camp started like most last mornings in camp, but this time, there was a slight twist…

On the way to the airport, my cook told me that she saw a cheetah next to the road. I reversed, tried to see something, but could not see anything. Then my client alerted me to a leopard that ran across the road about 150 yards in front of us. Thinking that it may have been this leopard that my cook saw (remember, in Afrikaans they call a leopard a tier (tiger), and a cheetah a jagluiperd, (literally a hunting leopard)), I got out of the car to go and look for tracks (without a gun, first mistake). We found a young female leopard lying under a nearby (25 yards) bush, about 60 yards from the car. My client took this picture, and we decided to retreat. One of my trackers, moved about 10 yards to the left, presumably to get a better view. I called him back, telling him that the cat will feel cornered, and that we should really get the hell out of there. He sneaked another look, and I called him again. When he started to move back, the cat charged, and about every one ran for the vehicles. I thought that if I stood my ground, the cat would maybe turn. I reckoned that if I turned and ran as well, that the cat will catch one or more of us before we reach the vehicle. In these split seconds, it is amazing how much time I seem to have had to think! My next thought was to bend down and try and pick up some of the bigger rocks lying around, to maybe throw it at the cat, but my head told me that it will be a bad idea to loose eye contact with the oncoming cat. When she came at me, I kicked her, and with this, she got a hold of my leg with her front claws, and bit me where my buttocks and my leg come together. I went down on her, struggling to wrestle her into a pin down position. Luckily for me, her left back leg was pinned underneath her body when I took her down. I grabbed hold of her right rear leg, and received a few nice scratches for my trouble. I pinned her neck with my left fore-arm, and grabbed first one front leg and then the other with my left hand. I leaned all of my weight into her neck area, trying to suffocate her. This pissed her off tremendously, and made me glad that I had a weight advantage! One of my trackers shouted “Het die baas hom gevang?†(Did you catch it?) from the vehicle, to which I replied something like “Yes, F#@K, come and help me!!!†When 2 of them came to help me, the cat was luckily already dying, but to make sure, I asked one to keep the head down for me, and we ran a knife into the heart of the cat. I got up, virtually in one piece, (I had 27 scratch and bite marks in a fight that lasted less than 1 second), and sighed a big sigh of relief. Luckily the client was a doctor, and he could patch me up out of my emergency kit. I went for tetanus and rabies shots as well, and I am still swallowing my antibiotics.

A few lessons were learned:
1) When in dangerous game territory, carry some kind of fire-arm, in this case I think a revolver would have been adequate. (We were on the way to the airport, the clients guns was in his case; my .450 was behind the seat.)
2) Even though the cat was a small one (about the size of a big Staffordshire terrier), never underestimate them, and NEVER corner them.
3) Always have a well equipped emergency kit handy.
4) Wash all wounds with lots of water, this dilutes the amount of bacteria that stays in the wound, and gives you a better chance to not get infections.


Here is a pic of the cat just before she charged:

Wow! What a story!

Truly an Unbelievable Story !

Seloushunter

Bwana, you were fuckin' lucky there! good luck with the entire recovery preocess (those cat scratches hurt like hell huh?) and esp good luck with the rabies issue.

As you say, never a good idea to walk away from the truck without a firearm!

Note to self:

Never fuck with a man who can kill a leopard with his bare hands and walk away from it.

WOW Karl,

Luckliy she was a small one it could have been a 180lbs cat that you walked into.

Hope the wounds heals quickly.

Eish die baas hy vang die tier met die kaal hand.... haow...

There is a saying or three that comes to mind but one that suites this scenario "fuck my dog"

Its bad enough when the domestic cat at home decides to mall my calf muscle... maar fok n luiperd....

I still cant stop laughing... the whole office is glaring at me..... oh well....

Any pics of your "scrathes"? I suspect that you are understating the extent of your injuries

quote:

Originally posted by miles58:
Note to self:

Never fuck with a man who can kill a leopard with his bare hands and walk away from it.

I agree.

Karl,
Glad you are OK!

Amazing story.

quote:

Originally posted by miles58:
Note to self:

Never fuck with a man who can kill a leopard with his bare hands and walk away from it.

X 10----------YIKES!!!!!!

Great story Karl and a great reminder to never be unarmed in the Bush! jorge

can you show us photos of the cat once it exposed itself, either before or after you slayed it.And also please some photos of the wounds as suggested here previously.I wasnt to know, "The rest of the story!"

I did not take photos of the dead cat, but here is a pic of a simmelar size one that I shot last year, (I am sitting about 1 yard behind it.) Some wounds are on "strategic" places on my body, so I will have to only show the one hand, the deepest gashes where on the inside of my hand.

Karl,

Are you having the carcass tested for rabies?

quote:

Are you having the carcass tested for rabies?

sajkari, I never thought about rabies till taht night, and have not arranged for the brain to be tested. I am however taking the whole profilactic treatment for rabies, which is a pain in itself.

Karl,

You don't say when it happened or what happened to the carcass, but if it's not too late, it'd be a good idea to have it tested just in case.

Thats a hell of a story Karl, and an impressive reaction.

quote:

Originally posted by miles58:
Note to self:

Never fuck with a man who can kill a leopard with his bare hands and walk away from it.

x 10 for me too!

Some other lessons may be added:

6) Wear decent hard boots for more effective kicking.
7) Make sure your client is a qualified medic before tackling a leopard bare-handed.
8) Wear a cricket "box" when in leopard country.

Any more suggestions?

Good luck with the healing and rabies issue.

Photos please and keep us updated.

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

Good luck on your healing and glad that the damage wasn't more severe. What a story!

quote:

Originally posted by Andrew McLaren:

Any more suggestions?

Only approach dangerous game

when wearing a suit of armor,

or when "wearing" a SHERMAN TANK,

or when Karl Stumpfe is with you!!!

Karl,

I hope you heal quickly and completely!

You are truly a tough guy and I hope

to meet you one day and shake your hand.

Oh F#&K. I talked to guy that did it with a big stick but not bare handed. Won't be trying to top that one.

Wow , That was scary. Glad you are recovering.

Holly Sh#*, What an experience.

I can see the eyes of your grandkids getting larger and larger as you pass along this tale of days gone by.

You could watch my back anytime.

Karl, you shouldn't do stuff like that, all your other clients will expect it.

Heal quickly and be careful.

First, glad to hear you came out on top.

I'm curious as to what happens to the leopard at this point. Is the carcass just left there, does fish and game take it, does somebody skin it to have mounted . . .

Geez Karl, I'm glad you came out as well as you did. That shook me at every word. Just this morning I was explaining to a friend that wild animals are not from Disneyland, and park animals do not behave like those in the wild. I'm going to save this one. I wish you a speedy recovery and keep us posted. Damn is all I can say right now.
Your friend,
David
miles58:
"Note to self:
Never fuck with a man who can kill a leopard with his bare hands and walk away from it."

Brother, I think you just said it all!

Was your tracker fair dinkum when he called out 'have you caught it' or does he just have a good sense of humour ??

Edit: Flushing wounds like those in clean water is the best first aid followed by mild compression bandages and elevation if possible.

Lucky you had the MO with you.

Hi Karl,

I pray for a safe and speedy recovery my friend!

I've never heard of anything like this before and to see you even standing in that photo after the incident is nothing short of a miracle! That photo you posted of the cat for comparison ain't too small of a cat at all...You're one tough and blessed brother!

Aloha,

Roland

When I get to Africa I know who I'll book with. What the H do you do for an encore? Flip a charging buff and tie up his feet like a rodeo cowboy?

I cannot imagine. Damn!

Hi Karl,

Thanks for sharing this story!

Hell, you guys from German descent are really unique. You think nothing of catching leopards with you bare hands, but display all sorts of evasive tactics when confronted with the "threat" of having you old hairy perforated buttock shown on the internet.

Great story buddy. I hope everything heals well soon - and thanks for not posting a picture of your hairy one!

Karl "Tarzan" Stumpfe, just wanted a pair of leopard spot undies.

Well done Karl, a man among men.

Thanks to all for the well wishes. My wounds seem to heal very well, and I am leaving tomorrow on a buffalo hunt. I sure as hell will try and avoid getting too friendly with old Syncerus!

As to some of the questions:
my tracker obviously had a sense of humor (actually, it was one of Francois's regular guys).
I have taken the cat to the taxidermist, as we where on our way there anyway, to drop off the clients PG trophies. I need to register the skin at MET (Ministy of Environment and Tourism), and will be allowed to keep it as a problem animal. Seeing that the skin is not exported, no "hunting permit" or CITES are needed.

That skin will bring back a lot of memories for sure! Glad to hear that you're healing up and soon to be out for buffalo.

quote:

Posted 12 September 2008 11:05 Hide Post
Thanks to all for the well wishes. My wounds seem to heal very well, and I am leaving tomorrow on a buffalo hunt. I sure as hell will try and avoid getting too friendly with old Syncerus!

As to some of the questions:
my tracker obviously had a sense of humor (actually, it was one of Francois's regular guys).
I have taken the cat to the taxidermist, as we where on our way there anyway, to drop off the clients PG trophies. I need to register the skin at MET (Ministy of Environment and Tourism), and will be allowed to keep it as a problem animal. Seeing that the skin is not exported, no "hunting permit" or CITES are needed.

First:

Should you be less than successful at avoiding the hand to horn combat with a buff none of us will ever forgive you if there is no video.
And I speak for us all when I say we want all the details.

Second:

If I am hiding in the car when you wrestle leopards (or anything else) DO NOT assume I have a sense of humor should I ask "have you caught it". The safe assumption is that I haven't found a gun and ammo that match yet.

Karl S.,
Your story reminded me of a picture in AFRICAN HUNTER (the Mellon one). It's of another Karl only this time spelled with a "C". Look at page 160. The caption reads, "The late Dr. Carl Akeley with leopard he killed barehanded."

There's no story about what precipitated that incident. He's quite a bit more chewed up than you are but then although he looks tough he's kinda scrawny. Anyway congrats on joining such distinguished company.
Rich Elliott

quote:

Originally posted by Karl S:

As to some of the questions:
my tracker obviously had a sense of humor (actually, it was one of Francois's regular guys).

I'm betting that it was Gottfried, he has a heck of a sense of humor.

Karl,

Don't ever let anybody tell you a couple extra pounds in bad for your health... You have first hand knowledge..
Glad it ended well without serious injury..


Mike

Karl,

We have our wish list of PG animals when hunting with you next year. Do we now have to come up with our wish list of DG animals we'd like to see you strangle?

Mike (the best behaved client ever!)

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:

quote:

Originally posted by Karl S:

As to some of the questions:
my tracker obviously had a sense of humor (actually, it was one of Francois's regular guys).

I'm betting that it was Gottfried, he has a heck of a sense of humor.

Frank, no i was Seun, Gottfried is my driver/ tracker, he just helped Francois out on your hunt.

quote:

Karl,

We have our wish list of PG animals when hunting with you next year. Do we now have to come up with our wish list of DG animals we'd like to see you strangle?

Mike (the best behaved client ever!)

Mike, I hope not!!!!