I am considering a leopard in Limpopo area of RSA. Has anyone had much success in this area with Leopard? I've heard that they are extremely intelligent and difficult to get on bait in South Africa. Is that correct? Are the average sizes large or small compared to other areas of Africa? Are there permit issues? CITES?

I have considered leopard hunting in Limpopo. I can tell you that a permit is required in Limpopo and that they can be difficult to get as they are any so many issued each year. A CITIES permit will also be required if bringing back to the US.

SilentT,

David is correct, a CITIES permit is definitely needed. Each year there is a lottery that allocates the precious few to the lucky winners. Generally a PH/Outfitter won't know he has a permit until late winter/spring of the year the permit is for.

As for the hunt itself. Hmmm. You absolutely need a PH who knows the cats. These are very wise creatures and unless the PH works the things regularly, and in that area, or say a similar area in RSA your chances are drastically diminished. Even with an experienced fellow the hunting can be tough in the least.

This past June i hunted a cat for 18 days. The grass was much higher than normal, allowing the cats to hunt for themselves easier. We also had five days of rain and extremely high winds. While this is not normal at all, it can, and did, happen. The fellow I hunted with made his bones on leopard. In the past four years he scored a cat for all but one client. Me.

My advise to you if you wish to hunt leopard in South Africa is make your desires known to a cat PH. Then, when he secures a permit you go. Be very careful of a PH who has no track record with these critters in this area.

I've hunted Leopard in Limpopo and found them to be very abundant, but also very wary due to their frequent exposure to humans. They can be had, to be sure, but you'll probably not see one during the day and they won't hold long for a light in the dark -- a few seconds is probably average.

As for size, they seem not to be as large as Leopards in more remote areas -- understandable -- but, then, the new World Record for muzzleoaders was taken by Alice Monarch in Limpopo in 2006 -- it was a very respectable Leopard for any method or location.

My personal preference for big Leopard is Northern Mozambique - I hunt exclusively with handguns, so Botswana is out for me - but it is a more costly option.

Success rates on SA leopards is considerably lower than pretty much anywhere else in Afica for a variety of reasons.

Frankly, I'd recommend pretty much anywhere else in Africa rather than RSA. Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana (if you can get a permit!) to name but a few, will all have considerably higher success rates.

SilentT

Who were you going to hunt leopard with in RSA?

Does he have a permit for 2009?

LDK, maybe you want to post a pic of the leopard we have on bait in Limpopo at present... It's still around if anyone is interested.

SilentT, as I write this, I am in the process of downloading my 300+ pictures I took while hunting with Chris Troskie a couple of weeks ago. Limpopo was crawling with Leopards, and we have: A. a permit, B. a very large Tom on bait, C. many trail cam pics of him, which I am in possession of two of said pics. I must scan them, save to my computer then transfer to my host so I can post them here on AR. Unfortunately, I have been very busy since returning and have yet to post my hunting report. I will try and get the pics posted of this Tom within the next 12-18 hours. It is also correct, they are plenty of Leopard in Limpopo, especially this season. We spoke to several landowners who were having real problems with them killing stock and game. I took pics of some tracks and visited the site where the one we have on bait is hitting. I'll do my best to hurry this along.
Cheers,
David

Update:
As promised. We have this Leopard back on bait.

One more: Those that know Leopard will recognize a heavy weight when they see it. Anyone interested in hunting this Tom should call me or contact Chris Troskie.
Cheers,
David

I hunted leopard last year in Limpopo and it was very successful -we had three cats on bait after three days of baiting. I shot my leopard 45min after entering the blind and my guide (Tino Erasmus) said he´d never experienced that before! Contact Tino at TG Safaris if you want to hunt that area, he is very good at hunting leopard

The good news for SA leopard hunting is that there are currently moves afoot to try to restructure, simplify and reorganise the entire permitting system etc.

If they can get away from the ridiculous lotteries etc, it'll make things a lot easier, fairer and far less open to abuse. I'd guess it'll take a while, simply because there are (to misquote John Steinbeck) far too many people pissing in the soup.

I should point out that me previous comments were not meant to criticise any individuals etc. Just that the historical situation of SA farmers having spent the last 200 years or so try to kill leopards by all means possible, has meant that the general spots population are considerably more educated than most other parts of Africa.

That doesn't mean they're impossible, just usually extremely well educated.

My buddy hunted in Messina two years ago for 10 days with no luck. We had pics of a huge tom on the trail camera coming in to feed at all hours of the day. Drove my friend and the PH crazy.

The permit (of you can get it) costs $1000 US upfront.

Save yourself some money and time. Go to Zambia

Silent T

I can only speak to hunting leopard in Limpopo. I did and we had 3 leopard on bait and I took one on the fourth night.

To echo what many have said, it is essential that you hunt with someone who has extensive experience with leopard.

Getting them on bait is one thing, but replenishing the bait properly, setting up the blind, the rifle, even the set up of chairs (silent- well padded) etc. contribute to success.

And, if you happen to wound one, I think everyone will agree that leopard can be very dangerous and you need someone who has followed up wounded leopard before, and who has an experienced team of trackers to assist you.

Although there are several very experienced leopard men in Limpopo, it is also a fact that any PH can apply for a permit and obtain one. Leopard is a nice draw for clients, and I think any PH that gets a tag will try to sell it and himself as qualified to hunt with a client.

I can recommend my PH, Johan Pieterse, who is very experienced in Limpopo. You can ask him, but he has taken many leopard, guiding hunters and as a warden with the Parks Department for I believe around 10 years.

I may have the title, wrong, it may be game warden, but in any event, he is very experienced. I would not take a chance with an inexperienced PH. You should ask their experience, the number of successful leopard hunts they have PH'd, and ask for referenced on the leopard hunts.

Best of luck and you can PM me for Johan's contact info.

To set the record straight so there is no confusion here, the PH we use has been hunting dangerous game since a teenager and has taken many Leopard, Buffalo, Lion, Hippo, Crocodile, Elephant and the lot. I have, and would hunt with him tomorrow (I did 3 weeks ago). References will span decades. You won't be hunting canned Leopard with us either. They are mature creatures of the night and no ones fool. But they have a few bad habits and curiosity killed the cat. Any questions, just call me.
Cheers,
David

I did not realize that Mr. Keith was offering a hunt on this thread...

Who is the PH you will be using for the hunt you are offering?

404 - Check the top of the thread for the PH who is doing the hunt!

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by 404WJJeffery:
I did not realize that Mr. Keith was offering a hunt on this thread...

Who is the PH you will be using for the hunt you are offering?

Picture of the leopard (which initially left the bait but that we managed to lure back 2 days ago - note the date stamp:



We also managed to "draw" a client and this was the result last night:



Sorry LDK - this was actually YOUR cat but we do still have another one on bait + a permit!

Good job Chris and happy hunter! Nice leopard!

jpj3

Ah no worries Chris, that's not my Tom, that's Bernie, Tom's cousin. I still have my name on my cat. This one has 5 spots less than Tom. Bernie was always a sucker for Warthog leg stuffed with Guinea gizzards.
Cheers,
David
PS: congrats to the guys on another great cat!

Chris,

Is that the Leopard whoes monster spoor we crossed whilst looking for Kudu day one ? or another one ?

When I first saw this post I instantly thought of your place and the hills behind you with all that Leopard tucker running around.

Friends, my computer just crashed this afternoon and I'm posting this from a friends. It may be several days before I can resume posting and finishing my Hunt Report. Meanwhile, we have sorted out another Limpopo Leopard permit and Chris will be posting that hunt offer. You are welcome to call me or contact Chris Troskie. Have a great weekend, David

quote:

Originally posted by Code4:
Chris,

Is that the Leopard whoes monster spoor we crossed whilst looking for Kudu day one ? or another one ?

When I first saw this post I instantly thought of your place and the hills behind you with all that Leopard tucker running around.

Nope Code4 - (un)fortunately not... The leopard tracks you and I saw were those of a Tom that was (is still) doing the rounds here in our vicinity.

The one LDK and I posted pictures of was killed on the other side of town where "FT" and I were also baiting...

The one here by us is still around... hopefully not for long...

And as with the one on the pictures we posted - the one here by us is a male as well...

Another PH with frequent leopard success is Jan Dumon (based near Hoedspruit) and he can be reached at mwshumba@mweb.co.za