Leopard Hunts.... How much bait did you shoot?

[rcgarcia84]

There’s a lot that can come into play. If the weather is warm, you will have to replenish baits more frequently. I’ve had 14 days of hunting Zim in September where we had to kill 3 zebras and 10 or so impala (not including 1 zebra for prebait). I’ve also had another hunt in June where all we had to kill was one zebra and two impala (including prebaits), but we were successful on night 6. I highly recommend the cooler months if you want to keep your bait costs down.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Zero. They pre-baited before my arrival and the other two hunters here are PG hunting and doing a good job of supplying bait and food for the entire camp. Currently on day 12 of 14 day hunt in Namibia.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I’ve hunted more than a few lions & leopards on bait over the years. At different times, different quantities of bait have been required. The very first time I successfully bagged a leopard, we needed a zebra & two warthogs. I got him when he had come to feed on the zebra. The gents saying that zebras make for the best leopard bait… are 100% correct in their assessments.

On a related subject, nothing draws in lions like a hippopotamus bait. The smell draws lions in from greater distances than the smell of any other bait animal I’ve ever observed.

In humid weather, the baits should be treated with a salt rub in order to prolong “Shelf Life”.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

On my 3 leopard hunts I have shot from 3-12 bait animals ranging from hippo to impala. They prefer Zebra.

HH

 

[DLSJR]

On the right edge of this photo you can see both a Zebra leg and Buffalo leg. We hung the Zebra and that Tom ate nearly the entire leg in first night, so we hung the buffalo leg to go with it. He liked both baits.

 

[lhook7]

When putting together a budget for a leopard hunt, I include $2k for bait and that is in addition to prebaiting.

 

[buffybr]

I shot my Leopard in Mozambique where they had pre baited him. When I got to camp, I shot a Warthog for camp meat, and we used 1 shoulder for fresh bait. That night both my PH and I fell asleep and returned to camp early. My outfitter was furious.

The next day the trail camera got this pic of my Leopard at 6 AM. We hunted that morning and I shot a Baboon for additional bait, but didn't hang it that night. Both my PH and I took a nap that afternoon, then got into the blind by 9 PM. I shot my Leopard at 11 that night.

The Baboon sat in a bucket in 90* heat in the back of the truck all day and that night. The next morning we didn't need it for bait so my Outfitter gave it to the camp staff who cooked and ate it.

 

[Philip Glass]

Considering booking a Leopard hunt in Zimbabwe for 2027 and another post about bait pricing made me start thinking about bait volume.

So for those of you who have hunted Leopard(successful or not) what kind and how many bait animals did it take to complete your hunt?

It will depend on the time of the year. I hunted in April years ago and the baits rotted in a couple days due to the heat. I had to shoot hippo after hippo not to mention countless impala on that hunt. In August, on my hunt two years ago, the baits lasted a good while. It is hard to estimate the amount of bait you will need. It just depends on whether you can get one early in the hunt or not. The 14 day hunt is ideal for leopard and there is a reason for that length. Cat movements change all the time and you may need time to get one on bait. I would pose the question to @DALTON & YORK SAFARIS who have a fantastic success rate on leopard.

 

[Philip Glass]

When putting together a budget for a leopard hunt, I include $2k for bait and that is in addition to prebaiting.

That might work in Namibia but for other countries you would have to shoot very early in the hunt to get by with $2k.

 

[lhook7]

That might work in Namibia but for other countries you would have to shoot very early in the hunt to get by with $2k.

In 3 leopard hunts I have never gone over that budget for bait. That does assume that the outfitters has bait animal pricing versus trophy pricing.

 

[Philip Glass]

In 3 leopard hunts I have never gone over that budget for bait. That does assume that the outfitters has bait animal pricing versus trophy pricing.

One hippo is $5k and that is what is used often in the areas that have them and little other game. Just FYI

 

[lhook7]

I’ve generally shot warthogs, impala, or female kudu for bait at $250-$350 per bait animal. I have usually got another dangerous game animal on quota, but I don’t include that in my bait budget because I am going to hunt it regardless. I’ve never been interested in shooting a hippo, so I’ve never used one for bait.

 

[Happy Myles]

I’d say Impala is the most common bait followed by warthog. They are usually handy if you find leopard sign and want to drag and hang in a hurry attempting to hold the cat in the area. But like Lou Hallimore says Zebra works great and there is lots of meat.

 

[lhook7]

To further clarify, I have used zebra and buffalo for bait, but I was planning on hunting them anyway, so they went in my trophy budget not my bait budget.

 

[MarkB]

I say its too difficult to arrive at a real answer. There are so many variables.

Time of year, baits last longer when its cold vs hot and they rot.
Length of hunt, my shortest leopard hunt was 16 days and did not get one, bait bill was large. Zim early 2000's. Impala were $200, female kudu $300 and zebra $400. Those amounts are long gone.
Maybe outfitter has left over bait site or maintains bait sites, you arrive to an already feeding cat.
How vast, wild is area, locals disturbing area, baits, cats? Wild PG is more expensive than goats.
Are there other animals eating your baits, lions have consumed my bait, I had an elephant rip down and drag away 2 baits, had to replace, both issues were in Zim and never did get a cat on those hunts.
There are many more variables.

I say ask your PH for the answer, they will give you the max if all goes wrong and the min if all goes right. You can always have a big PG bag and then not worry. Shoot your PG animals and use as bait. I had 2 zebra, for rugs, but best baits, extra impalas for friends at home and extra pigs for tusks. Talk to the outfitter, my baits were free in Namibia, shot 42 animals in 18 days, 5 "bait" warthogs one afternoon, rabies kudu were also free, not consumed by humans but leopards liked them. In the end I shot a big male leopard after we found and sat on his natural kudu kill.

You must know when the PH says you need bait you must be able/willing to shoot them. Plan costs for the worst based on what outfit tells you are bait.

MB

 

[Surgeon1]

In Sava Valley Zim (2025) took 2 Zebra first day for bait ($1000 ea) and hung 5 baits that day. That nite the trail cam caught a big Tom and a female. Shot the Tom Day 2 at 8PM and hunt was over. Took all the baits down and the left-over zebra and made bait sites for Hyena and other predators. Shot a big spotted hyena on bait and had several female lions hit some of the baits. Game camera caught several other predators including a Brown Hyena (protected) but no African porcupine which I desperately
want.
In the Caprivi Strip Namibia (2024) you can't hunt at night, nor can you use game animals shot there for bait!
Was able to shoot a Kudu and 3 Wart hogs on a private ranch halfway to the Caprivi from Windhoek and we were able to get about 6 baits hung which lasted about 5-6 days as it was frankly cold at night.
From that point on we used Donkeys that we bought from villages for $100ea. We would go and shoot them, load them up and take them into the hunting area! I think they worked as well as Zebra.
We had multiple baits each nite hit by leopard, but with the no night hunting restriction never got a cat in 14 days, even had several cats that hit bait within minutes of us leaving the blind. Until Namibia changes the rules, I won't be back there to hunt cats! Leopards like most predators are night hunters so the rule is just stupid! I also know that many of the ranch hunts get by with violating the rule but not in the Caprivi Strip