Luangwa Valley Leopard at Munyamadzi

Where: Munyamadzi Game Ranch, Luangwa Valley, Zambia
PH: Thor Kirchner
Agent: Wendell Reich
Dates: 1-16 June 2016
Primary Species Hunted: Leopard
Taken: Leopard
I hunted with Thor back in 2014 on what was originally offered as a late season AR group hunt. When the group idea didn’t materialize I offered to take the entire package. I had a great time and Thor and I got along well. One of the things we talked about was the reopening of cats in Zambia. I told Thor that if he ever had an opening that I would be interested. Unfortunately the nature of my work makes any long term planning problematic. So when I said a leopard opening he knew I meant a short notice opening. Not really expecting much I was shocked when he contacted me in February and said he had that opening I wanted.
I flew Delta to Joburg and overnighted at Africa Sky and then SAA into Lusaka with arrival on 1 June. If you travel to Zambia then I highly recommend that you fly business class into Lusaka and save yourself the hassle of being last in the passport control lines. And SSA allows you to bid on upgrades to business class if you don’t purchase the business class tickets originally. Best $120 you will spend if you are looking at a multi-hour drive.
Once I had my visa I met Thor and his SA buddy Cliff outside in the baggage claim and we headed for camp. I enjoy the drive and the scenery but having made the 6 hour trip four times, I see a charter flight in my future when I return.

To state the obvious leopard hunting is mostly shooting/hanging/checking baits. The first leopard we had on bait was a female. Not exactly what we were looking for but she was there in daylight.

The staff at Munyamadzi is very professional and does a great job both hanging baits. Eliam is not afraid of heights.

The leopards were actually off the feed and we could not figure out why. When the first week went by without a male on bait there was a little concern but we knew there were plenty in the area by the tracks. Although the leopards weren’t exactly jumping on the bait we had some excitement.

Elephants are quite plentiful in the valley and many have a less than pleasant disposition. It became common place to have to run from them. In fact, I’d say the days we did not encounter elephant were so rare that we would actually start to discuss if we would make it to camp without incident.

Elephants killed this lion cub near the river.

Munyamadzi is also home to a number of Zambian or Rhodesian giraffes.

Thor has a great staff and one of the best is Benson. How he produces the quality of food he does in his kitchen is a mystery to me.

Toppings for pizza night.

By the end of week one we were getting a little antsy but knew our luck was bound to change for the better. We hoped some fresh warthog would help.

DAY 8 and 9
When we checked the baits on day 8 it was like a switch had been thrown. We had two males feeding and with the pictures from the trail cameras it was easy to see that leopard #2 was clearly the larger one.

One of the things that really interested me about leopard hunting in Zambia was the old school blinds. I love pop up blinds but there is something about that grass that makes it feel like 50 years ago.

We decided that sitting that afternoon was a good idea. Since Cliff was along we would try and video the hunt using Thor’s camera. We had the guys drop us off a few hundred meters from the bait and actually got into the blind about 90 minutes before dark. Thor would probably have preferred waiting another 45 minutes as the man hates sitting in a blind. Our first visitor was a hyena that set up station right next to the blind. As always happens about 15 minutes after the camera shut down due to low light and maybe 5-10 minutes after legal shooting hours the leopard hopped into the tree. He was quite easy to watch with the binos and after 45 minutes we eased out the back and headed to camp.

On day 9 we were up at 0330 and at the dropoff point around 0445. Removing our boots when we were 500 meters out we snuck in the rest of the way and sat down at 0525. We had a huge and potentially unpleasant surprise about 10 minutes later when the leopard started calling about 40 meters from us. He kept getting closer and was soon 6-7 meters from the blind. We felt sure he would smell or hear us and spook but luck was on our side and he finally worked his way toward the bait tree.

At 0615 he hopped into the tree. Before I could shoot Thor asked me to wait so they could try and set up the camera. That actually took very little time and Cliff gave the thumbs up that he was recording. Thor put his fingers in his ears and I took that as my sign to shoot. Since we have 11 seconds of video I did not waste much time. While the attached video is short it is worth watching. There is real time and then slow motion.

Leopard Video

Although we felt very confident after reviewing the video it was still tense walking toward the tree. Great cat and a relief to have the leopard monkey off my back at last.

L-R James-game scout, Eliam, Cosmos, Cliff, Kenny and Thor in the front with me.

I will admit that once we had the cat down things basically went into take it easy mode. We looked for a bushbuck or puku and spent some time trying to find the wide-horned waterbuck that I should have taken on day 3 and went fishing. Fishing pretty much sucks in the Luangwa. Beer is good though.

Andrew and Steve showed up and we had a pretty good party that night. Then the 4 of us headed to Lusaka. I spent my last day in country helping Thor and John get ready for the next incoming group. First safari I've ever helped load 3 shopping carts with groceries. All good fun though.

Closing thoughts: Zambia is a phenomenal hunting destination. I remember reading about the top 5 leopard destinations in Safari Guide II and Aaron Neilson said the Luangwa was in the top 5 and I think Kafue was as well. I agree. There are a lot of cats and they are not pressured. My cat was 7' 4" long and estimated at 8 YOA. Weight on scales was 150.4 pounds which is much larger than I expected given the heat in the valley. If you seriously want a daylight leopard then look to Zambia.

It was a fantastic trip and hunt. Thor is a great guy and runs a great camp. Meeting other folks from AR was a plus on the trip and I simply love the Luangwa Valley.

Regards,

Don

Trust only those who stand to lose as much as you do when things go wrong.

Posts: 326 | Registered: 28 June 2011

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