Dates: Oct. 18-29
Outfitter: SS Pro Safaris
PH: Scott Van Zyl
Hunted: Leopard, unsuccessfully

Spent most of the days checking baits, hanging new baits and shooting bait animals. We had three active baits, one being hit by a female leopard, another by a female and a small male leopard and the one hunted being hit by a big male leopard.

I did not get my leopard but mainly due to my own fault. On the third day of the hunt a local farmer was shot and killed by an illegal Zim immgrant. Everyone around including farmers, PHs and police spent the day tracking down the shooter and found him late in the afternoon in some reeds by the river. We had some of the police over to camp for dinner and drinks, some of the officers could barely walk when it was time for them to leave. With everything that happened that day we decided to skip sitting in the blind, what a mistake. The big male leopard showed up from 11:00 to 11:30 and was posing for the trailcam.

On the fourth day we ended up leaving the blind earlier than planned due to some problems with the mike we had set up so we could hear the leopard come in. The mike started picking up a local radio station so we left to fix the mike. A little over an hour after we left the leopard came into the bait.

The leopard never showed up to the bait again probably because later in the hunt we found a hartebeest calf that the leopard had killed and had in a tree not too far from our bait.

On my last day in camp and since my flight did not leave until 9pm we went to a property nearby to see what we could get into and quickly spotted a 60 inch kudu. But this kudu did not get that big by being stupid and it took off for the thickest parts of the property. We did catch a few more glimpses of him but no shooting chances. Maybe he will be 65 inches by the time I get to go back.

Here a few photos of what I did shoot, hope my pasty white legs do not blind you.






I am having the zebra skin and the horns from 5 impala sent back. I will probably have something made from the impala horns like a coat rack or lamp, any good ideas anyone has will be appreciated.

Welcome back.
Nice looking animals,maybe next time on the Leopard

Good shooting and love the mane on the zebra.

Mike

Ouch, on the leopard. The evils of drink.

Leopard hunting is, to my mind, the very best of hunting -- very difficult; very time and energy consuming; and, very unpredictable.

And, in the final analysis, it's the hunts where the Leopard wins the contest that make the successful hunts so fantastic. I feel so strongly about it that I actually feel sorry for the few guys that take their 1st Leopard after 20 minutes in the blind. They miss the best of it.

You're now set up for a big success! Time to plan the next hunt!

Don't worry about the Cat you have paid your dues and success is around the corner . That Zebra will make the ladies dream. Congrats

Sorry about the leopard. I feel your pain. It took me 5 hunts to get one.
I was ready to give up. Alister Norton in Zambia was my good luck charm.
Better luck next time.