The recent hightlights from a great Leopard and Buffalo safari. Thanks once again to Steve and Larry for having me along to capture it all and "Ritchie" Schutlz P.H. and his team for getting us into the scenarios!

Great Safari!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...KkY&feature=youtu.be

congrats! Thanks for sharing.

Wow. Great video. Thank you for sharing. Hunting with a buddy brings a lifetime of memories.

Ski+3

Now I understand the term "Professional Video Footage"

Absolutely top notch!

Thanks for sharing a great hunt.

I always wondered why they only get 4 baits out of a large animal like a Zebra.

I would have thought that you can take the 2 shoulders off the rib cage & the two hind legs off at the joints, leaving plenty of meat on the top of the haunches & then split the skeletal part into the neck & ribs & the rear haunch - getting 6 baits with plenty of meat.

Am I being too stingy?

Excellent Video!!!

Really great bit of film and looks as if you two gentlemen had the most fantastic time.

Congratulations of a very fine Leopard indeed.

Excellent.

Looks like a good time was had by all!

Congratulations.

Great video. Thanks. Where were you hunting?

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Thanks for sharing a great hunt.

I always wondered why they only get 4 baits out of a large animal like a Zebra.

I would have thought that you can take the 2 shoulders off the rib cage & the two hind legs off at the joints, leaving plenty of meat on the top of the haunches & then split the skeletal part into the neck & ribs & the rear haunch - getting 6 baits with plenty of meat.

Am I being too stingy?

Yes, if you were ravenous, how would you feel if you were dished half a bowl of rice and a tablespoonful of Dal Makhani? You would eat it and go look for more elsewhere.

The shoulders on their own do not have as much meat as you would imagine and require to be complimented with their side of the rib cage; the hind quarters are split down the middle of the spine so that each gets half the pelvis.

Last but not least at N.5 would be the entire neck severed at its base between the shoulders.

One cannot be too frugal with Leopard as you want him to have enough to keep him interested for at least 48hrs and that would be cutting it fine if you have a large hungry cat, on any one of those offerings.

Thanks I already knew that.

Not wanting to argue or get into a spat. Just being a nerd!

A Zebra weighs about 650 lbs or more. Gutted carcass without head & skin is about 380 lbs+. Hind legs are about 80 lbs+ & front legs are about 50 lbs+ and the neck into the hump/ ribs should be 50 lbs+ and the rest of the back straps and haunch should be another 50 lbs+ - all ball park rough estimate.

Despite the big bones each bit is about the size of a female impala or much bigger.

I have always wondered what is the cheapest and quickest way of hanging up 10 leopard baits. I guess $100 per bait impala would be cheap. A cow buffalo at $2000 or so may be quicker last longer than 10 impala.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Thanks for sharing a great hunt.

I always wondered why they only get 4 baits out of a large animal like a Zebra.

I would have thought that you can take the 2 shoulders off the rib cage & the two hind legs off at the joints, leaving plenty of meat on the top of the haunches & then split the skeletal part into the neck & ribs & the rear haunch - getting 6 baits with plenty of meat.

Am I being too stingy?

Yes, if you were ravenous, how would you feel if you were dished half a bowl of rice and a tablespoonful of Dal Makhani? You would eat it and go look for more elsewhere.

The shoulders on their own do not have as much meat as you would imagine and require to be complimented with their side of the rib cage; the hind quarters are split down the middle of the spine so that each gets half the pelvis.

Last but not least at N.5 would be the entire neck severed at its base between the shoulders.

One cannot be too frugal with Leopard as you want him to have enough to keep him interested for at least 48hrs and that would be cutting it fine if you have a large hungry cat, on any one of those offerings.

quote:

I have always wondered what is the cheapest and quickest way of hanging up 10 leopard baits.

There lies the main problem to the equation.

Should you ever take the plunge to do a Leopard hunt, you might consider investing in a couple of cases of Whiskas Cat Food (Tuna in Jelly and Duck with Gravy), chuck a couple of bags of Nuggets into the bargain and it won't cost more than a $200.

That is a very well done video, thanks for sharing. Congratulations on a wonderful safari.

Fulvio

I do not wish to get into an argument.

However, I maintain that there is a LOT of merit in my question.

Some elitists can afford to shoot giraffe or hippo or buffalo for leopard bait and not worry. They may also tip the PH $10k or even a double rifle.

I am talking about the guy who makes $60k to $120k a year and has saved for a long time to make one trip that he has dreamed of for 30 years.

Let us take a trip back in time - in the 1950s my dad shot 2 tigers and 2 leopards in South India. He was an officer in Forestry & wildlife with access to camp elephants at times.

He shot the tigers over carcasses of cows belonging to his staff. He shot the leopards - one over a live dog bait and one over a cow kill.

At various stages my dad used goats, dogs and finally settled on donkey as the size was bigger and also cheaper. The only use for a donkey in the village was to carry loads of dirty linen to be washed at the local well or stream.

There are concessions in Africa where donkey, goats etc. may be used as leopard bait even today.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

I have always wondered what is the cheapest and quickest way of hanging up 10 leopard baits.

There lies the main problem to the equation.

Should you ever take the plunge to do a Leopard hunt, you might consider investing in a couple of cases of Whiskas Cat Food (Tuna in Jelly and Duck with Gravy), chuck a couple of bags of Nuggets into the bargain and it won't cost more than a $200.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Fulvio

I do not wish to get into an argument.

However, I maintain that there is a LOT of merit in my question.

Some elitists can afford to shoot giraffe or hippo or buffalo for leopard bait and not worry. They may also tip the PH $10k or even a double rifle.

I am talking about the guy who makes $60k to $120k a year and has saved for a long time to make one trip that he has dreamed of for 30 years.

Let us take a trip back in time - in the 1950s my dad shot 2 tigers and 2 leopards in South India. He was an officer in Forestry & wildlife with access to camp elephants at times.

He shot the tigers over carcasses of cows belonging to his staff. He shot the leopards - one over a live dog bait and one over a cow kill.

At various stages my dad used goats, dogs and finally settled on donkey as the size was bigger and also cheaper. The only use for a donkey in the village was to carry loads of dirty linen to be washed at the local well or stream.

There are concessions in Africa where donkey, goats etc. may be used as leopard bait even today.[QUOTE]



No argument Naki, just banter and chain-pulling

What your Old Man did back in India in the 50's is memorable history in itself will never be repeated - hell man, in India today you can't even own a rifle let alone hunt.

Africa too has changed since the 50's though I can personally confirm the changes I have seen/experienced between the late 60's to date.

I have said it before and will say it again: an African DG hunt today costs a fair amount of money and unfortunately only within reach of those who can afford it; in the next few years to come it will become an activity affordable only to those who don't know what to do with their money.

There are not that many concessions in Africa where livestock is available and/or used as bait, donkeys in particular are the poor man's Land Cruiser; the use of live bait would have you crucified in most hunting circles and one of the reasons why a cat hunt is always complimented with a sufficient quota of plains game which also, by and large, is not overly expensive.

Giraffe/Hippo/Buffalo are not the prescribed bait species for a Leopard but more for Lion and one does not require a truckload of Impala/Warthog/Hartebeest/Wildebeest/Reedbuck/etc. to have the Leopard in the salt provided you go to the right area where Leopard are known to exist.

There is nothing in the world today that is cheap when one compares prices related to the 50's and the golden rule in hunting is beware of those cheap hunts.

quote:

and the golden rule in hunting is beware of those cheap hunts

Or I have this mate in Tanzania ....

Etc etc

Congratulations! Well done.

Great video, really enjoyed watching it. Thanks for sharing.