Hunting Leopard with Dogs

[RayAtkinson]

One of my favorite hunts is Leopard with dogs. Two of the Zim Safari Companies I do business with do this and the success rate is 80% as compared to about 60% on bait..

It is an exciting hunt and you certainly get more action and more charges with dogs, as the cats can only be pushed so far then they turn and fight. These hunts are an adrenaline rush IMO..

I grew up hunting Mt. Lion in the Big Bend of Texas with dogs as a part of the ranching business (preditor control) and we had many as they came out of the Big Bend Nat. Park and Mexico..but Leopards and Lions are a whole nuther planet with dogs!

 

[hound_hunter]

It's a dream of mine to hunt all the cats in Africa with hounds!! Hopefully next time I make it over there it will be with a pack of dogs.

Anyone have any pictures or stories to hold me off until im able to make the trip?

 

[JVR]

Dear Hound Hunter

Have a look at our Pictures posted. All Leopards listed were hunted this year with our pack of hunting dogs.

For now no more permits will be issued for Namibia but from february 2010 new permits will be issued.

Pls. do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.

Regards

Sylvia

 

[gillettehunter]

Hi Sylvia. Nice looking cats. Are #3and 4 Cheetahs?

 

[JVR]

Hi Gillettehunter

Yes 3 & 4 are Cheetahs but not hunted with dogs I must add. We have plenty of them causing a lot of damage and it is pure luck if you get to shoot one as they are so fast.

 

[gillettehunter]

My only safari was to Namibia. The landowner and PH echo you about the cheetahs being a problem. His blesbucks were almost completely wiped out by them. While driving down the main road we saw 2 of them trying to get a gemsbuck calf from its mother. Someone else's place so no chance to "interfere". I had a quick glimpse of one on his place while hunting, but didn't get a shot. Again you're right, they are FAST. His place was a shoot on sight deal. One of his neighbors had tanned a bunch of the hides and was using them on all of his bar stools.

 

[JVR]

We are in the fortunate position to have a Taxidermy combined with the Hunting Farm and what we normally do will extra skins that we have is make Hunting Chairs as per underneath.

 

[AndresRam]

Osonjiva, I am in the process of planning a Safari for 2010 and Namibia or Zimbabwe are likely to be where I end up next year, so I was wondering if you could give me some info on your operation, of course including the leopard hunt with dogs since this I intend to do in either place I end up choosing. I am very new to this, just joined you're wonderful hunting community a couple of hours ago, so be patient with me please; should I post my contact info of can you get my e mail from my profile, please let me know. I will check this during the course of tomorrow, because as I write this its 1:43 in the morning here in Mexico City!

Thanks from a friend and good hunting everyone!

 

[JVR]

Your message

Dear Andres

Thank you for your message. I will get your contact details from your profile and mail all relevant info to you.

Thanks

Sylvia

 

[Calhoun]

...Nice looking Cats!! Never hunted Leopard but after watching a couple programs on Leopards being hunted by dogs - it looks exciting as heck!! I always dreamed about hunting Cheetah but that probably will never happen unless the USF&WS get their heads on straight & allow us hunters to import Cheetahs!

 

[JVR]

Cheetah

Hi Cal

Yes it is unfortunate but you must remember that the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia gets a lot of sponsorship from the US and I believe should they allow Cheetah to be imported into the US then it might damage that relationship. It would be like saying on the one hand yes save the Cheetah and on the other hand yes we agree to hunt them.

We had this discussion at the last Napha meeting when we had to vote on closing Cheetah and Leopard Hunting in Namibia and CCF was also present.

I might be wrong with regards to the above but where is the big difference between Cheetah and Leopard. But then again I have seen some strange things with regards to exporting animals to certain Countries especially being in the Taxidermy Industry also.

But then again your dream might come true that while being on a Leopard Hunt you might have the chance to shoot a Cheetah!!! But oh what to do with the skin???

 

[Cleathorn]

I love the chairs!!! I am planning on tanning some elepahnt hides and Zebra skins to make some chairs as well. Great Job!!

Are the chair bases something you make or can they be bought online and shipped? I live in the US so if there was a US equivelent that would be great.

If they are of your own making (the base chair, not with the hide on it) can you please let me know how much you might charge to make 2 or 3 and ship them to the eastern US? Since the skins will already be here and I cannot import the elephant with any kind of modifications it has to be done in USA.

Sorry to be so redundant but I really lie those bases. Do hey come in a settie style as well?

I am looking for a 2nd leopard opprotunity and I would like to hunt PG in Namibia as well (Oryx, trophy Kudu and Zebra) so please keep me posted, by private PM is fine, about what you see goging forward over the next several years with Leopard as well as your rates, packages, etc.

Thanks for the photos - nice cats.

 

[Calhoun]

..Sylvia...That was one of my big concerns , but maybe a few nice pictures & a guy could get an oil painting to kind of replace the skin!! If the price on Cheetah isn't to high I might really consider that! By the way those pictures of those chairs are Gorgeous! I really like them!!

 

[Wildcat]

RAY I have hunted with hounds here in Idaho from the late 80s on. Some of it for an outfitter. Once when things went bad I ended up in the middle of a wounded MT Lion and my pack of dogs, first thing the cat did was grab a hold of my leg and sink all of his digits in as far as he could and give a good rip. Lucky for me I had thick wool pants on and it only took 4 stiches to fix.
I have always wanted to do a leopard hunt with hounds, me being me, I cant imagine doing it with out hounds. Price tag keeps me from doing it !
Have also looked into other hound hunting in africa for other small cats ( poor mans hunt) but most dont seem to interested in spending a week doing it. Any ideas ?

 

[dwerner]

I would like to clarify some points. Blesbuck is a plains game species, indigenous to the grassplains in the central parts of South Africa. They are an exotic in Namibia and are not suitable to bush country. Its like releasing a pronghorn antelope in the boreal forests. That is why cheetah prey heavily on this easy prey. Cheetah have huge home ranges, up to 200 000 ha or more (~500 000 acres) which is typically patrolled by 1 to 3 male cheetah. They patrol these areas and stay in one area for a while where the feeding is easy and good like e.g. preying on blesbuck in the bush savanna and move on. What people typically see is a lot of activity of the same individuals for some time in one area, not many cheetah.

 

[Thunder head]

Sylvia,
Do you have an pictures of your hounds? We would like to see them in action.

 

[Thunder head]

Thanks Sylvia,
I just love dogs espically the working variety. Cooling down in the mud is my favorite pic.
When i get my fill of plains game hunting Lepoard with hounds is definately on the list.

 

[JimD]

Great pics! Thanks!.

 

[wagnerwwh]

Keep in mind when planning you hunts for hunting Leopard and cheetah with hounds that Namibia currently has a moritorium on hunting Leopard and cheetah totally. It is also expected that when they do lift the moritorium that hunting with dogs will be banned totally.

The sad thing is that all Namibian outfitters know this fact yet some are still out marketing the hunts in Dallas, Houston and Reno.

Don't look for Leopard and Cheetah to open for 2010.

Another thing to watch out for is the Zimbabwean's or South African's who offer hunts in Namibia. They are not licensed to hunt in Namibia. They can not be licensed unless they are Namibia citizens. If you hunt with a outfitter or PH that is not licensed and you get caught you risk losing any trophies that you shoot as well being reported to SCI. The Namibian Professional Hunters Association has well as the government ministries have taken a hard stance on this. There are already some investigations in process regarding illegal hunts taking place.

Another thing when hunting Leopard or Cheetah in Namibia make sure that your outfitter has taken out a license to hunt that species prior to the hunt.

 

[Roy Sparks]

Hi Wildcat, I hope you dont smell like a cat or my hounds will be all over you if you leave a trail anywhere in my neck of the woods.Since we can't hunt leopard in Namibia with our hounds for now anyway we are back to our home territory and running our hounds on what they were always used to hunting "CARACAL ". How long do you want to spend trailing these cats ? This is about all I do, 5 - 6 days a week.Makes no difference to me if you and your buddies want to join us.I have two teams of hounds and handlers.You can watch hounds and listen to hound music all you want and take some caracal trophies as momento's of your experience. Contact me or look at my add in the " Great hunting deals " on this site. Yours sincerely, Roy Sparks.