Here are just a few of the Lions I had the pleasure of seeing while guiding some clients this season in the Kizigo Game Reserve in Central Tanzania. All of these Lions I turned down to give them another 1-2 years to ensure they are mature enough to take. Very good to see that when Lions are taken care of and managed correctly you are able to look over several nice males during a safari. I have never seen an area in Tanzania before that has such a dense Lion population. The Kizigo Game Reserve is around 2 million acres and I am very strict on our management in these areas and the Lions we did take are beautiful big manned Lions! The future looks bright and all due to excellent past management and our present management in these vast rugged areas.

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Great lions. In the interest of education, why did you turn down the lions in photos 5 & 6?

SBT, A couple of these Lions probably could have been taken and were borderline 6 years old, but for my own judgment and to be safe I decided to give them another year or two. I also had several males on bait at different bait sites and knew that I would most probably get one that I was 100% sure was safe to take. It is just one of those calls you have to make when looking at the Lions in person. Pictures can also be deceiving and may look older in a picture, but when you actually watch the lion in person from different positions and watch their behavior you get a much better idea. Never fully judge and go shoot a lion from only looking at a picture. Take your time and look them over. If you rush a decision on taking a lion, that is when you may make a mistake. Also, never shoot one in low light as they look different as well. If they are a bait, then they will more than likely stay on that bait giving you enough time to be patient and make sure you take the right one. My clients sometimes thought I was crazy for turning down some of the Lions, but they trusted me and understood strict management and were very happy with the Lions that they did take. Unless I am 100% positive that a Lion is 6 years + I simply won't take him, and my clients understood this and were amazed at the quality Lions they had the pleasure of seeing up close and personal.

Adam - You shot 2 lions in Kizigo, correct? Can you post pics and tell us what they were aged at?

It's the way it should be -- but passing on a couple of those would be pretty hard on my aging heart.

Hi Adam

Beautiful TANZANIAN lions! Maybe you could take the time to post Pics of the lions that you did take. For educational purposes it would be very interesting for us to then compare them and be able to see the difference between the "borderline lions" and the definate takers!

I am glad that when you turned down those lions , despite the clients as you mentioned thinking you were crazy, were all 100% on getting better/older cats- that is quiet a feat!

Great pictures, very much hoping to hunt Lion in 2013, what sould i be looking for in a a mature age Lion! Would be very easy to add any of those Lions in the above pictures too the trophy room and be darn proud of them!! Scott

Great photos of superb lions! Kudos on developing a lion management program where lions of that quality can be passed. Still on my bucket list of big game animals...

Photos 1,2,3,4,7,10 probably 12 & 13 are the same Lions?

Number 5 and 6 are great looking cats.

Let me first make it clear that I am no expert on lions at all and simply trying to make sure that my areas continue to have good quality numbers and we can take good quality lions on a consistent basis. This is only my opinion. The only way to do this is to try and be picky on what we shoot and let the lions that we think are borderline or young to have a few more years and continue breeding. It is very difficult to judge lions of age and it simply is a matter of having lion experience and knowing lion behavior, body appearance and your gut feeling. Not even the scientists can age lions exactly, so to judge any lion by an exact age is very hard, but to judge a lion by age with a +- of 6 months is a little more reasonable.

I am sure every PH has their own way of judging or looking at lions and again I am no expert and simply go with my experience and what my guidelines are for me and my PH's to take a lion. In my career so far I have taken 78 lions with clients, and turned down many more, so I do have a little clue on what I am looking at.

For those who are interested here is what I look for. We are not talking about the obvious younger lions and only lions that I would consider to be 5+ years.

1) My gut feeling the first time I see the Lion says a lot to me just due to number of lions I have hunted. If my gut feeling says young lion, then I continue to look over the lion to see why I think he is too young or not ready. You have to be careful though not to talk yourself into changing your mind and turning him into a 10 year old lion! If my gut at first glance says yes a shooter, I still do not rush into a decision and will still look over the lion carefully and may go with my gut and shoot him or may even change my mind and let him go if I have any doubt at all.

2) First of all make sure he is not part of a working pride and that he has no cubs! This is when patience kicks in and being able to take your time. When I have a bait hit, I will put a trail camera on the bait usually, then look at the pictures next morning and see what I have. If a pride is present, then let him go right away. If I do not have any pictures of a pride at the bait and my gut feeling thinks the male is a shooter from the pictures, then I build a blind and sit on the lion. When the lion comes to bait that afternoon and still no pride has shown up, then I want to look him over close up and see his behavior along with his body condition. First indicator to me is how the face looks. Older lions will normally have darker faces and a squarer head. It is very hard to try and describe, but an older lions face and head just looks different than a younger lion. It really just comes down to ones own experience. Also, scares on face, but not always a determining factor. The body should be darker in color and may start to sway a bit. If there are 2 males or more in a bachelor group, you will be able to tell which is the dominant, but this does not mean the dominant one is the oldest lion! One of the lions I took this year was with 3 other males all together at the same bait and it was clear to me that he was the older lion, but the other 3 younger lions were more dominant and because of his age and having a limp he would stay to the side and not fight the others for the food and would wait for them to get their fill before he went to the bait.

3) I try not to make any judgment on lions in low light. If it is late evening when he comes in I will look him over the best I can and see what my gut says, then come back in the morning and hope he is still on bait so I can look him over again in better light. You would be surprised how many lions I thought in low light looked old enough to looking like a totally different male the next morning in good light and deciding not to take that lion. Low light will always make the lion look darker and very hard to see any details. So, I like to make sure I have a really good look before I make a decision. My clients this year can tell you how many lions we turned down and how particular we are before we shoot a lion. They did look at me many times thinking I was crazy, but then they realized the importance and actually got into it and enjoyed the process of judging. I would look at them and they would give me thumbs up or down I would either smile and shake my head no or smile and give them a thumbs up. They may not have appreciated the outlook on being strict when they arrived, but they all left understanding the importance and saw such great quality while there, that most all of them have booked to go back again. They now understand that Lion hunting is not a challenge to see lions, but the challenge of finding that right one is what hunting is all about, and understanding that they may go home without one.

Again, I am no expert and don't think that there is a science to lion hunting and it is simply a matter of experience and knowing what you are looking for and at! I am sure every PH has their own method and ways and different laws and standards. I can not even be certain that my ways of judging lions is correct and what I think is a 6 year old shooter may be a 5 year old! So experience, patience, knowledge, gut feeling is all we have to go by in the field. Also keep in mind that the older a lion gets his mane starts to decline as well. I have pictures of a lion we shot this this year that we are confident is 9-10 years old as he has been seen and looked at over the last 6 years and 6 years ago was considered to be a 4 year old lion. This lion was special in that he was all blonde mane, his tail was white, his legs looked like he had white socks on, so no mistaking this lion. The pictures of him 2 years ago, he had a great full mane, and this year he had already starting to loose a lot of his mane on his head and behind the ears. So, some of the older 9+ lions will not have as good of manes as the 6-8 year olds.

Aaron, you asked about age of lions we shot this year? That is a good question and if you can get the so called scientists who is supposed to be ageing the lions in TZ to do his job then we might be able to ship trophies. All of my clients trophies are ready to ship, as well as other outfitters, but we cannot ship anything until this lone scientists ages the lions. This is going to cause a back log in trophies and delays. I see this aging thing from a scientists as going to be a real cluster and delay in trophies.

The Kizigo Game Reserve is huge and is actually 3 blocks together of West, Central and East of which we have all three. Each area has a quota of 4 lions which means I have a total of 12 lions. Since we are strict with what we shoot my management plan is to take 2 per block and if a really old lion is seen after the 2 are taken, then will allow 3 max. As stated in many threads before on lions, as long as you manage them and only shoot the older lions then your numbers and quality will continue to be the same. The genetics in this region is outstanding as well.

Okay here are the lions we took from all 3 blocks.

First one I took with a client on July 9th. estimate to be 7 years. Kizigo Central
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Second Lion I took with client on July 28th. estimate to be 8-9 years. Kizigo Central
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Third Lion I took with client July 30th. estimate to be 7-8 years. Kizigo West
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4th Lion I took with client September 12th. estimate to be 6-7 years. Kizigo East
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5th Lion taken by Ph Georgie Ferreira with client Oct 5th. estimate to be 7-8 years. Kizigo West
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6th Lion taken by PH Ernst Scholzt with client September 20th. This was the lion we are sure will be 9 years. Kizigo East.
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Fairgame - 1,2,3,4 & 7 are same lions at different angles. 12 & 13 are same cat. The rest are different males. I like as a reference 12 & 13 the best though as you can see from picture 13 from trail camera at night the cat actually lookes older than he does during the daytime picture #12. I have many more pictures of lions not taken, but did not want to over bore you.

Amazing cats !!

Adam,
First let me congratulate you and all involved in the taking of these wonderful cats. I also applaud your conservation efforts in attempting to properly age lions and not shooting pride males.

But I have a question in reference to the lion you had watched for 6 years, it being a 4-year-old when you began. What factors caused you to pass him the past few years when you could be certain he was 6+? Was it as simple as he didn't offer an opportunity? Or was he a pride male during all this time? Some other reason, perhaps?

Thank you in advance.

jjbull, Yes this lion had been observed and seen with a pride until about 2 years ago and to make sure he was no longer part of that pride any longer he was not taking. The last 2 years he was only seen on his own and was going down hill very fast and really don't think he would have lasted another year!

Adam,

One thing is clear, your clients return empty handed or with a trophy of a liftime !! Congrats.

How is Steve Kaufman doing ? If you see him send him my regards, we had a great time together when he visited my country a couple of years ago.

Lorenzo

quote:

Originally posted by Adam Clements:
Aaron, you asked about age of lions we shot this year? That is a good question and if you can get the so called scientists who is supposed to be ageing the lions in TZ to do his job then we might be able to ship trophies. All of my clients trophies are ready to ship, as well as other outfitters, but we cannot ship anything until this lone scientists ages the lions. This is going to cause a back log in trophies and delays. I see this aging thing from a scientists as going to be a real cluster and delay in trophies.

Ya, I think we all figured that was gonna happen.

The lions you guys shot, all look very nice! It will be interesting to see how they "age", along with other lions taken throughout the country. I sure hope it does not turn into a huge problem for anyone invloved.

Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by Adam Clements:
Fairgame - 1,2,3,4 & 7 are same lions at different angles. 12 & 13 are same cat. The rest are different males. I like as a reference 12 & 13 the best though as you can see from picture 13 from trail camera at night the cat actually lookes older than he does during the daytime picture #12. I have many more pictures of lions not taken, but did not want to over bore you.

Thanks Adam and first class trophies you have there. You must be doing something right.

Wow- stunning cats well done indeed!!!

Adam,

"Hongera Sana" for some really impressive cats !

'Lakini' I somehow find it demeaning the client when placing oneself before the client, ie. it is after all the client who "took" the animal and not the PH

Adam, not only great pictures but a great overview on your lion hunting methodology. I found it quite educational as well as informative.

Adam for the 6 Lions you took this year in the above area's how many lion hunts were sold and conducted?
Thanks
Mac

quote:

Originally posted by Adam Clements:
Here are just a few of the Lions I had the pleasure of seeing while guiding some clients this season in the Kizigo Game Reserve in Central Tanzania. All of these Lions I turned down to give them another 1-2 years to ensure they are mature enough to take. Very good to see that when Lions are taken care of and managed correctly you are able to look over several nice males during a safari. I have never seen an area in Tanzania before that has such a dense Lion population. The Kizigo Game Reserve is around 2 million acres and I am very strict on our management in these areas and the Lions we did take are beautiful big manned Lions! The future looks bright and all due to excellent past management and our present management in these vast rugged areas.

Adam,

One of the main reasons Kizigo blocks have produced such potential is because of TGTS and Wengert Windrose management in those areas for more than a decade. They deserve a lot of the credit.

You received those blocks this season after they were forced to down scale as a result of new legislation.

But as you say...it is very good to see that when Lions are taken care of and managed correctly you are able to look over several nice males during a safari. Bwanamich and the gang done good! And those who have poo-pooed Bwanamich's conservation comments on this forum...should take notice of these lions.

Adam,

One of the main reasons Kizigo blocks have produced such potential is because of TGTS and Wengert Windrose management in those areas for more than a decade. They deserve a lot of the credit.

You received those blocks this season after they were forced to down scale as a result of new legislation.
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And for how long will ACTS have these meticulously well groomed lion concessions remains to be seen.

#5 would be hard to let walk away.

Adam, I take my hat of to you.
Well done!!
If only we can get the same going in Zambia, we shall also increase the numbers in the areas.

ZAWA gave us 8 Lions in our one area alone and we had a huge fight with them because we wanted only 2. They see the $$$ Dollars and we have to manage.

Well done again.

Very Nice work indeed.

Jeff

+1.

Adam:

Did Osprey film any of these hunts?

Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by McKay:
Adam for the 6 Lions you took this year in the above area's how many lion hunts were sold and conducted?
Thanks
Mac

Excellent question! Adam?

And...the reason those lion were there in the first place was due to TGTS and Wengert Windrose management for the preceding decade. They did not magically appear this year. I applaud Adam's continued good stewardship however.

ledvm - You are 100% correct about TGT and their management of these blocks for last decade, and why I took the risk in my investment as knew the quality of the areas and that they had been looked after! I was not sure they wanted to be mentioned on this public forum, but now that you have I will for sure give them the credit due on these great areas. I am continuing on with some of the same programs and strict anti-poaching myself and will continue to be strict on the age of the the lions and conservation.

Larry - Yes Osprey filmed 3 safaris with us this year and got some great footage. I will have a good promo by them as well. Feel free to ask Tim about these areas and my operations there and the quality he saw and my conservation.

Mckay - We conducted 9 Lion safaris in total with 3 Lion safaris per block, which as I mentioned above would be max. number allowed to be taken in each block if they met the full requirements. The reality of lion hunting though and being strict I suspect that we will probably take 1-2 per block if they meet the requirements. Again, there is no exact science and what I may think is a 6-7 year old lion maybe a 5 year old lion! We are all still learning from this aging process from the ground and doing our best to get things right and be strict, but if everyone goes by the same standards and does their best to be strict, then we are headed in the right direction. I may be off on my judging criteria and may have to change and be even stricter!? It is also up to clients to understand as well, and know that the challenge is to find that right lion and it may not always be able to go home with a lion.

quote:

Originally posted by Fritz Rabe:
Adam, I take my hat of to you.
Well done!!
If only we can get the same going in Zambia, we shall also increase the numbers in the areas.

ZAWA gave us 8 Lions in our one area alone and we had a huge fight with them because we wanted only 2. They see the $$$ Dollars and we have to manage.

Well done again.

Odd statement? All Lion quotas were reduced last year and this year the quotas have yet to be announced. Nkala is surely secondary? Or should be.

And the PH that you have not heard of hunting your concession was Peter Fisher who by all accounts shot a semi mature cub.

Adam:

Murray Osborne filmed some of those hunts. He also films mine. He told me about the lions in that area in October when he filmed my last hunt.

Most impressive.

quote:

Originally posted by Adam Clements:
ledvm - You are 100% correct about TGT and their management of these blocks for last decade, and why I took the risk in my investment as knew the quality of the areas and that they had been looked after! I was not sure they wanted to be mentioned on this public forum, but now that you have I will for sure give them the credit due on these great areas. I am continuing on with some of the same programs and strict anti-poaching myself and will continue to be strict on the age of the the lions and conservation.

The post came across as if ACTS had managed for these quality lion. Just wanted people to know that it was TGTS management that made these blocks great.

Again...I applaud you continuation of their good management practices.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by Fritz Rabe:
Adam, I take my hat of to you.
Well done!!
If only we can get the same going in Zambia, we shall also increase the numbers in the areas.

ZAWA gave us 8 Lions in our one area alone and we had a huge fight with them because we wanted only 2. They see the $$$ Dollars and we have to manage.

Well done again.

Odd statement? All Lion quotas were reduced last year and this year the quotas have yet to be announced. Nkala is surely secondary? Or should be.

And the PH that you have not heard of hunting your concession was Peter Fisher who by all accounts shot a semi mature cub.

Fritz, I agree with Andrew! That's a very odd statement, as there's NO WAY that ZAWA gave 8 lions on quota, in any-one GMA/concession, in one year?

Lunga Luswishi, Kasonso Busanga and Mumbwa are now all listed as "Primary" areas, thus allowing a maximum of 3 lion on quota per year. And also as Andrew mentions, the Zambia lion quota was reduced last year, NOT increased???????

Boy oh boy.
What is wrong with you all?
I never said that it happened last year. We got the Nkala, Bilili and Namwala GMA's in 2005. That was just after Zambia opened up again after Mwanawassa became President. They gave us 8 Lion on qouta for Nkala that was considered a prime area and Bilili that was a depleted area.

Abie du Plooy did the first 2 years hunting for us. He was with us when we fought the quota.

ZAWA even gave us a Yellowback Duiker on quota. I would like to know when last was one spotted in those areas. Not even the villages knew what we were talking about when asked if there were Yellowback Duiker in the area.

Please guys.
Before you jump on someone - make sure that you have all the info and facts.

Fritz - Easy man, no one jumped on you, Andrew and I just said that sounds very odd?

First off, Zambian hunting in full, re-opened in 2003, thus 2012 is the final year, of the current 10 - yr leases on the GMA's.

Now, even from the beginning, I never saw a GMA that received more than 5 lions on quota, and only the couple that did, were in the valley. The highest quota in the Kafue region was 4 per year, as I recall. And yes, I know that ZAWA does do goofy things. that's why we said it sounded odd, not that you are outright - wrong! I know of at least two other Kafue GMA's that were also given Yellow-Back duiker on quota?????

I NEVER said that we have 8 Lions on quota. I said that they gave us 8 on the quota setting and that we refused the setting. We now get in all three our areas combined only 3 Lions.

Thanks Fritz for clearing that up. It obviously read different to the spoken word.

Note Aaron is conducting a survey of Lion and I am a volunteer in the LCTF and any pictures or records of Lion from the South Kafue would be well received.

Cheers

Andrew

..and now back to the thread. Apologies to Adam for the small deviation.