Talking about big leopards in Namibia...

I hunted this leopard with my brother-in-law 4 days ago. Our location (far-eastern Kalahari region, Namibia) and circumstances offered me several "cat-hunts" in my life, but this hunt was by far the most exciting and adventurous.
The whole story of this cat's killings, ways and reactions will be published in our site's free Newsletter soon - I still have to sit and write down the story and I am not often at the computer. For those of you interested, you can subscribe here.

Below: My brother-in-law with the heavy cat. This is the biggest leopard I've hunted.



His front paw...



...and teeth.



My brother-in-law and I with the trackers.



Greetings from the Kalahari,

Kalahari Trophy Hunting

Excellent Leopard KH, congrats to all.
LDK

Nice cat. Sounds like a fun and exciting hunt.

How did you hunt the leopard. Dogs, bait etc.

H Kittle

Same question really

I am due last week in August in Namibia for plains games and a leopard.

I have decided to use dogs rather than bait. Any body tried both methods

What are the pros and cons

londonhunter

This cat made several killings over 5 days - the first day a really big Gemsbok of which it ate huge parts.. even the brisket bone! We immediately knew that it is only a big cat that can kill such a gemsbok.

I had a client at the time who just finished his plains game hunt on our ranch and he was excited at the opportunity to add a leopard. Unfortunately it was his last day in Africa - he was with a group and they had a plane to catch home. The day after the Gemsbok kill, we waited late afternoon till ±10 o'clock for the cat to return to it's catch. Just after dawn, I got excited when I spotted something about 100 yards from us - coming in the direction of the killed gemsbok. However, it turned out to be another Gemsbok. Shortly after this we heard her snorting - as they normally do when they sense danger. I heard also the sound of clashing horns and thought that it was two bulls fighting. The next morning we saw that it was indeed the leopard that caught this female gemsbok's calf while we were there - just a short distance away! However, it wouldn't have been able for us to see the cat in the long grass and darkness.

After more killings in the following nights, we decided to take the dogs and track it down. In the Kalahari we have the advantage that we can stay on the tracks more easily because of the thick, red sand. We tracked it on foot for 2.5 miles with two trackers and 4 dogs.

The dogs picked up on him and the one dog was badly bitten and then the chase went on for a further 1000 yards in very thick brush which made it impossible to get a good, clear shot on the cat. We were already very excausted by that time and I realized that the dogs will get too tired and then turn back. My brother-in-law just returned from a holiday and is quite unfit at the moment. He had run out of air and I went back and took the 7 mm from him which I had never shot with before. The only chance on a shot was on 120 yards when the cat was running behind a row of bushes and I saw that he will cross this one specific opening of ± 5 inches. The bullet broke his spine and exited on the opposite side's hind-quarter (as you can see on the picture).

I again learned a valuable lesson: In the future I will stick to my 30-06 with which I would have been able to shoot from a longer distance. The second is that everybody involved in such a hunt, has to be in shape and fit enough to handle any physical challenge.

The dogs really keep it occupied and the wind was in our favor the whole time. If he would have turned on us at that time (as I've seen several times before), the back-up gun would have been not within reach at that moment and I would have to use a gun which was not mine.

The success-rate when using dogs is indeed much higher. But like Greg R said in the other leopard topic: you have to be really fit to keep up when the dogs are starting to go for the cat. It is also of the absolute importance that it's attention do not turn towards you. Then you will have your hands full.

This is very exciting, but one must budget for a lot of unforseen circumstances that can happen.

In my opinion, THIS is the ultimate hunting experience in terms of dangerous game.

I wish this for all true and great hunters!


Kalahari Trophy Hunting

wow great report.

Sounds very exciting and another reason to stay in shape.

The teeth amaze me.

Keith

Beautiful cat, with typical desert coloring. If you look at his teeth, you will see that he is an older, but prime male.

Did you weigh him or measure the skull?

Congrats!!

That's a BIG cat. I would have liked to see him take the big gemsbok bull. Nice coloration too.

A cat that big might take a crack at a eland if the situation was right. That would be a real rodeo.

Beautiful animal and exciting story. I am enjoying much in this wonderful forum. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Oscar