AR brain trust,
If TAHOA has initiated a measure binding members to a minimum of 6 yr. old Lions and the threads we have reviewed on "How Old is this Lion" picture recently with differing opinions on the age, how do you gauge a Lion in the field for age. Examining molar wear is a little risky!!!! What is the field judging criteria?? I believe this is the same criteria in Botswana. I will be in Tanzania in July '06 and I know trust your PH is one way. What are the others?
Robert

I think, as you said, "trust your PH" is the only choice you'll have. He's the one that will have his job on the line, that will have the experience necessary to make the call, anw will have people looking at pictures of the lion and second guessing his in-field judgement. You will no doubt be giving your opinion and possibly making your case, but the final decision will only be his.

This lion age thing really interests me. Robert I think in your case you know what a lion looks like when he is mature and you have a picture in your head of what you want. That lion in your head is probably 6 years old anyway and with Adam's help you'll get that big Masai lion.

On the other hand a guy on his first lion hunt has a 400 LB. cat with a full collar of hair come to the bait in daylight. The guy sees this truly magnificent animal feeding completely undisturbed at 40 yards and he is excited as he should be. He's going to want to shoot that cat.
I think to really put this 6 old regulation into effect is going to be tricky to say the least.

One of the things I wonder about is the overall trophy quality. If you can use Alaskan sheep as a comparison the bigger the curl regulation got the larger the more big sheep there were. Would that apply in Tanzania if nobody shot any 4-5 year olds?

Also what about the lions that are right on the edge of legal. Will the PH discourage you from shooting eventhough the lion has everything going for him? Could be some way pissed clients. Maybe the client who is already looking through the scope just says "F--- it" and applies that litte extra bit of pressure to the trigger? Then what happens.?

Regards,

Mark

Mark,
That is my concern, also. Elephant minimums with tangible length or weight can be verified.
How do you age a Lion? Physical attributes can be blurred between 5 1/2 and 6 years. This could lead to a lot of controversy both ways.
I agree that moving the mean age of harvested Lions up will help the long term trophy quality.
What is the definitive means of ageing a Lion??
Robert

Why don't we just dart them, estimate age based on tooth wear, weight and other physical characteristics, then color code them with spray paint. Only shoot the green lions

how about making it really sporting. First we wrestle him into submission. THen we pull a tooth and send it to a dentist in timbucktoo and when we find out in a year or two that he's old enough, then we shoot the bastard

Robert,
This is also a subject that I am very interested in. As of today. there IS NO way of determining the exact age of a lion EXCEPT if you know his d.o.b. as in some cases of lion in the Serengeti where the whole pride structure has been followed for years and they can trace the family tree down to several generations. All we have is a set of criteria that show some relation to the ageing process.

In the field, that becomes even more difficult, especially on lions that come from hunting areas where they are not as "tame" and do not allow you a good look.

The 6 year old rule came about when lion researcher Craig Packer and his team made some computer simulations showing how offtake of males of various age groups affect the pride structure and lion population over time. It was determined that a lion in the 6 year old bracket is the best lion to hunt and shows the least negative effect to a prides' structure and population longevity. Lions in the 3-4 (which consisted of the majority of lions being hunted in the wild)age bracket caused the most harm to pride structure causing an eventual population crash within a few years. Taking 4-5 year olds would take longer to affect pride populations but would eventually do.

Researchers are trying to determine an ageing process by x-raying the small tooth next to the canine. The root cavity of this tooth tends to "fill-up" with age and is normally at its' smallest by the age of 6 years and older. This can only be done once the animal is dead and the tooth extracted! At the same time, age determination can only be done as an approximation i.e. probably to the nearest few months.

What no-one has come up with yet (including the game department of Tz) is a clear set of criteria that needs to be adhered to by everyone in the field. So despite there being a regulation as to the minimum age of a lion, they don't have a definitive way of measuring this themselves. Obviously, as a direct consequence of this lack of certainty, lions in the 3 - 5.5 year bracket are still being shot and the trophies being exported without consequence to the hunter, ph or outfitter!

IMO, this is not so much a question of the Game Department establishing a set of rules for hutners to adhere to as it is for the individual outfitter to educate himself for the benefit of good game management which ultimately leads to better trophy quality and quantity. This doesn't happen overnight and takes several years to produce the desired results of being able to consistantly offer quality lion trophy at a high rate of success.

there are many variables which would adversely impact such a program. The most critical one is that everyone has to be on the same track. A few outfitters that don't play the game can spoil it for everyone and those that are entirely profit motivated will always be around to everyones' detriment.

What are the field judging criteria? Well there are several and all of them are interlinked and a combination of some or all of these need to apply in determining the (approximate) age. Remember, we are not talking of determining the age of a "mature" lion as a lion is "mature" by 3 but rather determing the age of a "past-mature" or "aged" lion! What is "past-mature"? In my definition, a lion that has past it's peak reproductive stage within a pride and is "on his way out" to use a common term. Below are some of the common criteria used to determine the field age of lions (in no particular order):

1- Any signs of "spots" on the belly, inside of the front and rear legs are an indication of young age.
2- Undeveloped mane. Here i have heard lot's of stories about mane genetics greatly varying from area to area, etc. While this might be true to a certain degree a young male lion's mane is quite different from an old lion's mane. How? Difficult to explain and I guess one "just knows" when he sees it!
3- Skin coloration of the body and mane. a "uniform" coloration of the body and mane indicates young age.
4- Nose coloration. It has been shown that there is a correllation between old age and "blackness" of a lions' nose. A lion's nose will generally appear more than 60% "black" by the age of 6 and over.
5- Full crown. A lion whose mane between his ears has not developed into a "full crown" is still youngish. Full mane development is normally achieved by the age of 7-8 years.
6- Scars, Broad face and "puffy" nose. As a lion ages, its' nose starts to appear "swollen" or "puffy" and its face will often bear numerous scars from fights with other males. It's bottom jaw lips sag more than younger animals.
7- Body size. A fully grown aged male lion will weigh close to 500lbs whereas younger males will be closer to 350 and 400 lbs.
8- Teeth wear. While lions lie panting, one can sometimes get a good look at its' canines. A smooth, worn out tip is a clear indication of old age.
9- Overall body condition. If you can clearly notice poor body condition or the "bumps" of the spinal column or even protruding hip bones than you can be sure that is an old animal.

These are just some of the criteria as I use. in addition to these which relate to age determination, i have at least one more which is not necessarily related to age but makes all the sense in the world to me and that is:

1- Do not shoot males form a pride ESPECIALLY if the pride contains cubs or sub-adult animals.

In hunting conditions, one might not have an opportunity to go through the "check list" so what then? My suggestion? Don't shoot until you have.....No one should end up shooting a lion under pressure or without a reasonable attempt at age determination unless they have absolute certainty it is an old animal.

When someone asks me the question "how do you know when its' the right lion to shoot?" I answer, "You will know when you see it!" some lions are just too obvious and a decision can be made instantly. Few and far between I'm afraid.

Lion hunting will have to evolve and success rates will go down as a result of these measures. Seriously though, it isn't much different than other hunting. Why would you want to shoot an impala with 18 inch horns still curving inwards? Why would anyone want to shoot a young zebra with a "furry" coat and brown stripes? why would you want to shoot a soft bossed buffalo? Why would anyone want to shoot an eland without the scruffy forehead and thick neck? Why would anyone want to shoot a young/mature lion without a fully developed mane?

Nothing is going to change very quickly or drastically in the hunting industry vis a vis lion hunting. I am quite sure that we will be seeing the same number of pictures of 3-5 year old lions shot as previous years, in Tanzania and elsewhere!

Happy hunting!

bwanamich

One thing about the criteria you have laid out that I don't understand is how do you know that a lion or pair of lion you run on to are not on a walk for awhile away from the pride? It has been explained to me that the pride male will quite often take off for awhile and leave the pride alone. It would seem in that case that it really is impossible to determine if a lion is the pride male unless he is with the pride.

Comments?

Mark

Bwanamich,
Thanks for taking the time to do a credible overview of "In the field" ageing assessment.
I did not think there was a definitive ageing method that had passed the test of the scientific community. You are not the first person to state "you will know one when you see one" regarding quality and aged Lions. Sometimes a trophy is in the eyes of the beholder and this makes Lions even more difficult to manage. Analogies to other trophy game are always good to groung ourself in does this make sense or not. Mark's question on pride structure and Male Lions leaving the pride is also a concern. Assessing all these factors for someone who has spent many safaris trying to be successful for a Lion is tough when you sometimes have minutes or even shorter to make a shot after days in the blind or running BAIT as a pasttime.
I think moving the standard up is the key to this issue and I hope the pride behavioralist that chose a "6" yr. age were right and that all Lion prides have read the article!!!!!
Good Hunting.
Robert

Mark,
In a few cases where one has had a concession long enough one has a pretty good idea of how many prides can be found in it and sometimes a rough idea of their various territories. In this way, one can have a good idea of whether or not a particular male is one from the known prides or not.

In between the established prides one finds the "nomads" and these are the ideal ones to hunt (provided they are over 6 ,etc).

In Tz, 99% of lion hunting is over bait. While checking a bait that's been hit one can determine if there is females or young or cubs involved by looking at the tracks left behind.

The other side of the coin is as you have stated, bumping into a lone lion while hunting. You cannot know if there are females with young 1 or 2 miles away from this male. IMO one should still try to determine if they are accompanied by looking around them for a while. If there are no signs of a pride, you go ahead and take him. No problem. The point is to make an effort. Not drive round the corner, see a lion under a tree on the side of the road, take a 5 second look through the binos and take him!

Again, this is MO only.