Location: Save Conservancy, Zimbabwe
Dates: Sept. 17-Oct. 5
PH: Leon duPlessis
Hunters: Ben and Kari Cromeens
Species Taken: Zebra, Impala, Gennet, Civet, Nyala, Lion

The hunt actually began over a year ago. PH and friend Leon applied and was granted a lion on quota for a specific old male that had become a liability to the conservancy. His frequent excursions into nearby villages to kill cattle was becoming a more frequent PR problem in the area. Leon asked me if I wanted to try and kill the beast, and always up for a good challenge, I bit. Chasing this old male proved to be quite a challenge. He had an extremely large range that often kept him wandering over long distances. We assumed this was to avoid the other dominant pride males in the area. He also had picked up the nasty habit of only smashing a bait one time and then walking miles to the next concession. In 2006 I returned home, tired and beaten, by a seemingly unkillable cat.

Leon asked for and was granted on quota the same lion in 2007. When he asked if I wanted to hunt for it again, I jumped at the proposition. I felt a specific desire to settle a score. This time I even convinced my wife to go along.

The calender flipped fast and soon Kari and I were in Zim. This was her first trip and she was quite nervous. Too much news and gossip had gotten to her. I reassured her everything was safe and soon we completed all the miles and were safe in the bush.

Work had begun days before I arrived hanging baits and scouting. On game cameras Leon had already picked up a huge lion with a monster wig feeding on a Zebra quarter. Even though this wasn't our boy it was still a huge lift watching the film of him feeding. The client before me had actually gotten photos of a pair of males also resting in some rocks. It seemed like Lion were everywhere. Then I showed up and every lion headed south out of the concession. It's like They had been told, and all we could find were two day old tracks heading south and east. Frustrated we fell into a constant routine of checking baits and driving perimeters hoping to find that one track.



In the mean time Kari hooked a zebra and an impala. I lucked into a civet one night on the way back to camp. Six days passed with very little change until excited chatter splashed over the radio. Moffit, one of the workers, had been working anti-poaching patrol when he stumbled into an angry buffalo. He escaped luckily up a tree and radioed quickly for help. It took us over an hour to cross the concession and check out the situation. Moffit was fine and Leon was anxious to hook this buffalo. No one knew if he was a large bull or not, but either way he wouldn't see sunset. The bush was thick and he had not traveled far from the scene of the charge. Orbet, head tracker, spotted him under some vines sleeping. We were close, and Leon signaled for Kari to take the shot. The first shot was perfect but the angry beast jumped to his feet. Upon doing so 1000 grains from two .458's quickly struck him in the tail pipe. Amazingly this fueled his anger instead of anchoring him and he quickly spun to attack. I jacked a hot round in the pipe and started settling the bead into his frontside when a pop on my right side grabbed my attention. Instantly the bull plowed nose first into the sod. Kari had beat me to it and flattened him with a shot to the face. Upon closer examination we found the bull to be a giant. Wide, heavy, deep hooks with long tips. He had it all. Some girls have all the luck. The reason for his anger was also discovered. He was suffering from a scrotal wound that had become infested with screw worm. I still say his final words were, "Thank God".



One day we picked up the tracks of 2 lion entering the concession. We followed the tracks but they quickly turned back south and headed out of the concession. Were these the two males the previous client photoed? Examination of the tracks by Orbet told a different story. He believed one lion was our old man. A shifting print on the left front paw and the size of the foot gave him away. The second track was believed to be the one in the pictures we had named "Big Wig". We believed he was stalking the old man out of the area. Hence the quick turn back out of the concession. It was nice to see some action but depressing knowing the real action had gone south out of our reach. Days dragged on and strangley nights got quiet. No lions could be heard calling anywhere. I was starting to question my odds, and Leon was eating Rolaids all day.

On day 12 Kari left to go back home as planned. I would stay for one more week. The very day Kari left we found his track crossing the boundary headed northwest. We tracked him to a large kopje. Our luck was changing. We had a bait within 300 meters of these rocks. Approaching the rocks the top of a lion's head could be seen. He was watching us, quite comfortable in his suite. We discussed shot probibilities from this position and agreed the safer bet was to refresh the drag and the bait, build a fantastic tree blind and whack him in a controlled situation. By 2:30pm we had completed our chores and at 4:30pm we climbed into our tree blind.

Nothing happened and at 9:40pm the truck arrived to get us. Upon us getting into the truck the loudest lion call I had ever heard shook my guts. The lion was literaly within 50 Meters of the truck. Brief panic broke out on what to do. I climbed on top of the truck with rifle in hand and began looking for the cat. We located him with our binoculars laying under a group of trees. We had really been caught with our pants down. We couldn't determine with strictly moonlight of whether this was our boy or not. Reluctantly we turned on a light and the cat sprang to his feet and was quickly out of sight. No chance for identification and therefore no shot. The trackers didn't understand why I had not fired. To them one dead lion would be just as good as another.

We arrived back at the camp beaten by an unlucky turn of events. The only option was to be back in the blind tommorow.

The next evening everything was perfect and optimism was high. At 5:30pm a big storm hit and we had to retreat due to lightning. What else could go wrong. To make things worse the next morning showed the evidence of the large meat quantities consumed after the storm left. The team wasn't feeling as optimistic, and the hunt was starting to feel jinxed. We searched the area for tracks to see if he had left the area but we found nothing. The only chance we had was to be back in the blind for a third night. We decided we would stay all night if necessary. All night is what we got. He never fed and 3 hours before sunrise we softly heard him calling as he left the area. At daylight we found his tracks marching in a new direction. We all needed sleep so we took 2 hours at the camp and snoozed. We shoved an egg and bacon down our throats and by 10:00am we were standing back at his tracks. There was one last play we had, and it would be a long shot. Track him and kill him before he made it to the neighboring concession. The soil sucked. It was hard and full of stone. Most of the time tracks were light smudges on this orange canvas. We walked and walked. Humidity from the previous storm was abusive but we kept on going. Hours later we stood at the foot of a giant hill. Leon proclaimed he was there on top. We might not get a shot but the son of a bitch would be there. Slowly we started the climb. It was steep, and the trackers found my stamina humorous. At the top everyone looked to the right at a Boabab tree. Nothing. Down to the left nothing. As I swung my head back right I caught the movement as he jumped from a bed beside the tree where previously there was nothing. Instinctivly I shouldered and threw lead in less than 1 second. A hard grunt answered the rifle and the Lion dissappeared over the side of the hill. I immediately recognized the selfish stupidity of my actions. I had no clue were that bullet would hit him on such a shot and briefly I was ashamed of endangering the team. We walked towards the side of the hill and were met by the lion coming back up towards us. We still don't know what caused this strange behavior but before I could put a shot in his face he spun down the hill again. I ran to the edge and saw him trotting straight away. The next shot caught him good and he began to spin and growl. A third insurance shot flew and he expired soon after. We approached with amazement and disbelief. He was gigantic. Scars covered his neck and body. His right eye was sunk in and blind, and one canine was broken blunt. This guy didn't look like a fat cat. He was ripped like a mean old warrior. It was the perfect spot for photos but my camera was miles away. We carried him off the mountian tied to a pole and I watched one of the greatest sunsets ever as I waited for the truck to show up. It truely was an amazing victory.



Back at camp after photos and before the parties started we did some measuring. 9 feet 11 inches and 220 Kilos. Leon and Ben drank proudly that night.

Congratulations on a well earned Lion. That Buffalo is great, well done.

Excellent Congrats

Super report. Thanks for sharing.

Very good report. The old ones are the best to take and hardest to earn. They didn't get that age by being stupid. I know he is going to be beautiful in your Trophy Room.

Wow!. Great Stories on the buff and the lion. Super trophies! These are memories that will last a lifetime. Congratulations and Well Done!

congrats - what a trophy, better to take an old timer like that than anything else

Great story and great hunt, thanks for sharing.

A good story well told. Congratulations on a great hunt and tremendous lion.

Congrats on a great hunt! Very nice trophies and a well told story. LDK

What a great hunt. I enjoyed your report very much.

Congrats on getting a great cat after all the miles and hard work. A trophy truly earned with sweat and miles.

Congratulations on a very successful safari. Your lion is superb. Special congrats to your wife for a beautiful buffalo. I always like to see other "huntresses" in the field!!!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Congratulations to you and your wife...

And thank you for sharing your exciting detailed story!!!

Safe Hunting!

AWESOME buff!!

An exciting lion hunt, excellent buffalo, and great ivory tips on the nyala. Well told story too.

Where did the first shot hit on the lion? Did you take any close-up's of the lion, I am curious what that eye looks like although the blindness is apparent from the pict you posted. Did you measure the skull? Any estimate on age? Who's area did you hunt in the Save?

Sounds like a great hunt... you truly earned your cat. Congratulations!

Excellent read...Love those ivory tips on the nyala...Tracking a lion down to me is the way to go... Never ending memories...

Mike

Excellent report and GREAT Trophies.

Steve

Congratulations, you got three of the most desirable animals. Thank you for sharing your hunt with us.

Regards
Aziz

Very nice!

Howdy,

Sorry I was away on business for a feww days. Thanks for all yall's compliments.

Bill C,

First shot struck right shoulder and exited base of the neck on the right side. It then reentered on the bottom of the right jaw and was recovered between the right top canine and incisor. Amazingly it did not damage the skull. Let the Warren commision explain that one. Second shot was the fatal one. Entered left flank and was recovered at the right base of the neck. Third shot hit a small tree dead center before striking the cat in the middle left side. That bullet was recovered directly opposite entrance and suffered the most loss of mass. The eye looked shrunken and deflated with a black base color that had been hazed over. Leon has just had the skull measured and it is 25 8/16. I do not know the age of the cat and I really don't even know how to estimate them so if I gave you a number there I would be bullshitting you. Sorry. I believe there is a biologist that does pre-molar bisections there and he may come up with an age estimate I can provide you later. I hunted with Save Valley Safaris. Leon duPlessis and his wife Judy run the outfit. Leopard are exceptional and so are buffalo. Plains game is very abbundant. I have also killed a 7 foot four inch cat there and a 45 inch buffalo there. Many of my friends also hunt with Leon. They typically kill 7 foot plus cats and most buffalo are crowding the 40 inch mark.

Good luck to all you hunters out there.

Ben

You did it the HARD way...Tracking him down.

Congrats on the hunt and the memories of a lifetime!

Lance

Congratulations on a very successful safari. Your lion is superb. Luckily the bullet didn't shatter it's teeth, it would have ruined the trophy ...

Howdy Bill C,
Just got back from Reno, and saw Leon there. He notified me that the cat was aged off a tooth at 8 years old. I was informed that in the concervancy they had killed two other cats that were aged at 7 yrs. this same year. Hope this helps although I do not know exactly how long lions can live. Hope everybody did great at the shows and I will try and include some pics of the mount when it is completed.

Adios

great photos looks like a great trip, hope you had a good time in reno. jj

Congrats and thanks for sharing!
Any photos of the genet and civet?

wELL DONE. tHANKS FOR SHARING. i WOULD LOVE TO HUNT A LION BUT I AM ELEPHANTAHOLIC AND WHEN I HAVE TO CHOOSE I JUST CAN THINK IN ANYTHING ELSE THAN ELE´S. YOUR LION IS MAKING ME THINK TO TRY FOR A LION. wHERE WOULD YOU GO FOR IT? COUNTRY CONCCESION PH....

Great report.