Combining Elephant and Leopard...Foolish or Wise

[BnC 04]

Hello fellow AH'ers

Wanted to reach out to those that have the knowledge and experience in regard to combining a bull ele and a leopard on one hunt. Would be great to plan for both but in my mind, you will be putting miles on the boots all day and then have to sit bait into the night. Not sure how long a body could hold up to that schedule or if it would be plain foolish to even attempt. Anyone done such a combination hunt and if so, how did it turn out for you? Only restraint is trying to accomplish this in a10-14 day trip, as 21 days or more is flat out of the question.
2023 we are chalked for Zambia so this is something for the following year.
Much appreciate your thoughts, ideas and recommendations.

 

[Tanks]

Very doable. I did a leopard, buffalo, elephant last year in 21 days and could have done leopard/elephant in 14. 10 days is pushing it.

It also depends on the area if there are plenty of leopards and elephants around. Which GMA are you talking about?

 

[One Day...]

To be specific, and if memory serves, you did not hunt Elephant and Leopard simultaneously Tanks, correct? as in Elephant during the day and Leopard during the night, 24 hour non-stop. I understand this to be the question asked, but I may be wrong.

A full bag in 21 days used to be the standard, and is still doable, BnC 04, like Tanks did, but these are sequential and successive hunts, not simultaneous hunts, although one can very practically use Buffalo as Leopard bait, so there are some options there.

In practical terms, the answer to your question is that it is unlikely that you - or your PH and crew for that matter - will have the stamina to walk 12 hours/day after Elephant and sit all night awake at the Leopard bait for days at a time, not to mention that checking and refreshing the baits daily is a quasi full time job during the day, which in itself is somewhat mutually exclusive with tracking Elephant...

Check with potential outfitters, but I would be surprised if I was all that far from what their answers will be

I agree with Tanks regarding duration. I shot my Elephant on day 8, so 10 days can works - same for Leopard, especially if you ask for pre-baiting - but most people will advise 14 days for each, in order to build a bit of safety margin...

 

[BnC 04]

@Tanks. At this point no area has been selected.
Was cocerned about combining those 2 but glad to hear it is doable. I'd sure feel better with 21 days but just isn't an option.

 

[BnC 04]

@One Day...
My thoughts exactly but breaking it into 2 dedicated hunts would be about the only reasonable choice.

 

[R.M.C.]

Sounds like a great problem to have lol I say go for it

 

[Buffalo1]

Remember what Dirty Harry said, “A man has got to know his limitations!”

 

[cknwax]

I’m hunted both successfully this year in Zim with Wayne of Nyamazana Safaris. The safari was for 14 days. I had them pre bait for three days on the leopard before I got there. Both hunts were challenging and I got in plenty of walking.

 

[eyedok]

I hunted buff, leopard, bull ele on 14 day hunt in July in Zambia, got my best buff ever on day 2, leopard on day 5, then i hunted elephant for 9 days, never got an elephant but looked over lots of bulls, just not one we wanted to take

 

[One Day...]

The responses illustrate the major point: there is no rule as to how long it will take to bag a good Elephant and/or a good Leopard and/or a good Lion, or even a good free range Buffalo etc.

Some shoot the first day, some shoot the last day, some shoot any day in between, some do not shoot at all.

For example, last week I just shot this Bushpig in the first hour of the first night we sat for it, while the PH had been seating for it with various clients for 2 months unsuccessfully... There is no arguing with luck

The question is what is a reasonable "average" duration to get a reasonable chance at a reasonable shot at a reasonable trophy? Lucky outliers excepted, there are a lot of folks out there, PHs and clients, who seem to spend an "average" of 5 to 10 days on Elephant, Leopard, etc. each.

I am personally not aware of any outfitter routinely booking Elephant or Leopard hunts for less than 10 days, which says something... even though a large number of hunts are indeed shorter... but not all...

And as already discussed, the hunts for different animals are in succession, not simultaneous (Leopard and Buffalo likely excepted because buffalo supplies leopard bait).

 

[eyedok]

My elephant was an add on, no kill no pay, in case we got leopard early

 

[Tanks]

To be specific, and if memory serves, you did not hunt Elephant and Leopard simultaneously Tanks, correct? as in Elephant during the day and Leopard during the night, 24 hour non-stop. I understand this to be the question asked, but I may be wrong.
...

I did hunt them simultaneously, as a matter of fact we ran into the tracks of the leopard we shot while hunting elephant and put up bait I had shot earlier right away. We had bait at a few other sites at that point.

That being said, it was not a 24 hour endeavor. Once the sun went down we were done at the bait site due to Zim Parks' rules (community area rules might be different).

Last month I shot my elephant on day 2, so if I were hunting a leopard we would have used it for bait, as it is we gave the legs to another hunter at camp that was hunting a lion.

 

[BnC 04]

Appreciate all the input gents. I think the logical approach is to focus on ele and "if" one is fortunate to kill early than see what time is left and if recommended you could shift to leopard. If not, there is always another trip that needs planned down the road.

 

[Tanks]

@Tanks. At this point no area has been selected.
Was cocerned about combining those 2 but glad to hear it is doable. I'd sure feel better with 21 days but just isn't an option.

If the area is good then I don't see a problem. However, if you are looking for a 60+ lbs a side elephant bull then you might need more time.

I booked a 14 day elephant hunt for October 2023 specifically for a big tusker.

 

[Rare Breed]

Very doable. I did a leopard, buffalo, elephant last year in 21 days and could have done leopard/elephant in 14. 10 days is pushing it.

It also depends on the area if there are plenty of leopards and elephants around. Which GMA are you talking about?

Good question. I am doing elephant and Buffalo along with PG in 10 days in Zim next year. Can’t imagine leopard and elephant in less than 14 days

 

[wildwilderness]

I’m actually contemplating the same thing-

Looking at 14 days with leopard as a priority and Ele as a “non-trophy bull” to make it easier. Will opportunistically add Buff and/or Lion. Plains game as needed for bait, and if an exceptional trophy presents.

 

[One Day...]

...However, if you are looking for a 60+ lbs a side elephant bull then you might need more time.

I booked a 14 day elephant hunt for October 2023 specifically for a big tusker.

My point entirely...

 

[IdaRam]

Appreciate all the input gents. I think the logical approach is to focus on ele and "if" one is fortunate to kill early than see what time is left and if recommended you could shift to leopard. If not, there is always another trip that needs planned down the road.

I would probably look at it the other way around. Leopard first and then see how much time you have left for ele. The reason being, you’re going to need to shoot bait animals and place baits for the leopard and if you hunt ele first and don’t score early on, you won’t have time to get baits up and animals hitting with enough time left to have a reasonable chance at leopard. Not to say that it can’t happen, it certainly can, but the odds are most definitely not in your favor. With leopard I would try to get ALL the possible odds in my favor.
The 2 other major considerations in my opinion are, what are your expectations for an elephant bull? And what area you ultimately choose. Not necessarily in that order. You must choose a very good leopard area and if your expectations are fairly high for ele bull, you really need a great area for both ele and leopard.
The right area and the right outfitter are really going to be key for your success I believe. It just really depends on your expectations I guess. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself and your outfitter and you’ll enjoy your trip a lot more.

 

[Scott CWO]

Hello fellow AH'ers

Wanted to reach out to those that have the knowledge and experience in regard to combining a bull ele and a leopard on one hunt. Would be great to plan for both but in my mind, you will be putting miles on the boots all day and then have to sit bait into the night. Not sure how long a body could hold up to that schedule or if it would be plain foolish to even attempt. Anyone done such a combination hunt and if so, how did it turn out for you? Only restraint is trying to accomplish this in a10-14 day trip, as 21 days or more is flat out of the question.
2023 we are chalked for Zambia so this is something for the following year.
Much appreciate your thoughts, ideas and recommendations.

It is entirely possible, especially in Botswana right now. I recommended an outfitter in Bots to a good friend this year for both elephant and leopard. He went on a 10 day hunt with an option to extend to 14 days. He got a 65 pound bull and a great leopard. These animals had not been hunted in seven years in Bots prior to 2021. There are lots of elephant and leopard where he went. I will send you a PM. Let me know if you want pictures and to talk with my friend.

 

[Tanks]

I’m actually contemplating the same thing-

Looking at 14 days with leopard as a priority and Ele as a “non-trophy bull” to make it easier. Will opportunistically add Buff and/or Lion. Plains game as needed for bait, and if an exceptional trophy presents.

Adding animals of the big five, especially in Zim is tough. Most lion hunts are sold as 21 day hunts and depending on area 2-3 years in advance. I wanted a second buffalo this year, but no quota was available.