Professional Hunter mauled by Lion

lcq · Mar 8, 2015

Wheels said:
The real courage may not be from dealing with the lion but in stepping in front of a client with a loaded gun in probably the most stressful situation that client has ever been in.

From a clients perspective a big thumbs up to both Reinhardt and Jacques! Happy to hunt with either of you any day!

I profess total ignorance about lions but have a great deal of experience with hunters, target shooters and IDPA and IPSC types. I can't say how I would react being so fast but just the thought of being in front of a couple like those guys with loaded guns scares the crap out of me.

It was handled quickly, bravely and very professionally. And nobody got shot, a minor miracle.

brushmore · Mar 8, 2015

I saw this video on Facebook last week and I didn't realize it was Reinhard. It's hard to see what's going on but two things are clear to me. First is where the "dangerous" in dangerous games comes from and also where the "professional" the professional hunter comes from as well.

PHOENIX PHIL · Mar 8, 2015

Gents,

I must admit that I've not been as forthcoming with information regarding this incident as I could have been. It's a bit difficult to explain fully why, but it's a bit like when race car drivers are involved in particularly bad accidents on the track. They're willing to talk about it shortly afterwards but mostly they wish to move on. Jacques had to take these same clients out the next day afterwards for a 2nd lion. If you can imagine that after having seen his close friend mauled the previous day, he had to put that behind him and go right back out there. If he's got the day's previous events on his mind, well I don't think it's too hard to figure out that he's distracted and that's just not good for anyone involved in the hunt. And life must go on for my PH friend and he will have more lion hunts to conduct.

However, as someone said, the cat is pretty much out of the bag at this point. So, I'll give you the particulars as best I know them. As mentioned Jacques and I discussed this, but it was not at great length. And of course I wasn't there. But here goes:

1. The night before as Jacques was going onto the property for this first time this year, he noted how the cats were acting "grumpy." He even posted this the on FB, something of an eery foreshadowing in retrospect. I'm not sure exactly what he meant by the cats acting grumpy , but he found it noteworthy.

2. On the hunt itself as they approached the lion and came into shooting distance, Jacques instructed the client to shoot. The client hesitated, for what reason I'm not sure. And I'm not trying to throw the client under the bus here, it could be as simple as he did not have a clear view of the vitals and was not confident in his shot, it was after all very thick as can be seen in the video.

3. Now combine an aggressive cat with the shot not being made, you now have a charge. Perhaps because he was in the clearest view of the lion, it made Reinhard the target of his charge.

4. Jacques did get off a shot that connected with the lion prior to the lion reaching Reinhard. It slowed the lion down, but obviously did not stop him.

5. As has been noted, Jacques kept his head and moved in to distract the lion away from Reinhard. Fortunately the lion dropped Reinhard and moved to the side giving Jacques the opening to put one in the lion's head and put an end to this. There's no doubt in my mind that Jacques saved the life of Reinhard as well as everyone else there that day.

That's really about all there is to it.

Royal27 · Mar 8, 2015

Thank you Phil.

Prayers continue for all.

Wheels · Mar 8, 2015

PHOENIX PHIL said:
Gents,

I must admit that I've not been as forthcoming with information regarding this incident as I could have been. It's a bit difficult to explain fully why, but it's a bit like when race car drivers are involved in particularly bad accidents on the track. They're willing to talk about it shortly afterwards but mostly they wish to move on. Jacques had to take these same clients out the next day afterwards for a 2nd lion. If you can imagine that after having seen his close friend mauled the previous day, he had to put that behind him and go right back out there. If he's got the day's previous events on his mind, well I don't think it's too hard to figure out that he's distracted and that's just not good for anyone involved in the hunt. And life must go on for my PH friend and he will have more lion hunts to conduct.

However, as someone said, the cat is pretty much out of the bag at this point. So, I'll give you the particulars as best I know them. As mentioned Jacques and I discussed this, but it was not at great length. And of course I wasn't there. But here goes:

1. The night before as Jacques was going onto the property for this first time this year, he noted how the cats were acting "grumpy." He even posted this the on FB, something of an eery foreshadowing in retrospect. I'm not sure exactly what he meant by the cats acting grumpy , but he found it noteworthy.

2. On the hunt itself as they approached the lion and came into shooting distance, Jacques instructed the client to shoot. The client hesitated, for what reason I'm not sure. And I'm not trying to throw the client under the bus here, it could be as simple as he did not have a clear view of the vitals and was not confident in his shot, it was after all very thick as can be seen in the video.

3. Now combine an aggressive cat with the shot not being made, you now have a charge. Perhaps because he was in the clearest view of the lion, it made Reinhard the target of his charge.

4. Jacques did get off a shot that connected with the lion prior to the lion reaching Reinhard. It slowed the lion down, but obviously did not stop him.

5. As has been noted, Jacques kept his head and moved in to distract the lion away from Reinhard. Fortunately the lion dropped Reinhard and moved to the side giving Jacques the opening to put one in the lion's head and put an end to this. There's no doubt in my mind that Jacques saved the life of Reinhard as well as everyone else there that day.

That's really about all there is to it.

Thanks for a clearer version of what happened.

gizmo · Mar 8, 2015

Thank you, the way I see it both are hero's. I hope both are able to recover physically and mentally from the incident. They both have my continued prayers.

Hank2211 · Mar 8, 2015

Like airline pilots, this is what you train for, even though you hope it never happens. On my first buffalo hunt, I made a poor first shot, and as we were following up in very thick bush, the buffalo charged. My PH saved both our lives with his quick and accurate shooting.

Hats off to true professionals. As Phil noted, Jacques had to go out and chase cats the next day.

billc · Mar 9, 2015

It is amazing how calm Jacques handled the whole thing and did his job. He is one of the ph'sI have hunted with who I can say is at the top of his game.
Glad to see it looks like all will be ok in the end.

I hope all hunters take something from this and realize that dangerous game can be real serious. Hunters owe it to the ph to be ready and able to do this kind of hunt with no doubts in there mind.

Witold KrzyÅ¼anowski · Mar 9, 2015

Thank you for sharing.
All the best to him.
Witold

vgruan · Mar 9, 2015

Good evening everybody,

I firstly would like to thank each and every one of you guys that had Reinhard in your prayers and that thought and supported us through this very unfortunate event. I am so grateful to have been able to help Reinhard in such a situation and I know if it was me on the ground with the lion on top of me, Reinhard would have done exactly the same for me. The dear Lord saved a life that day and he kept us all in His hands.

The story has been told on the thread and I certainly do not want to stretch it out any further but I would like to make a quick point. I have hunted many lion in my life and professional hunting career. It is my way of making a living and I am really passionate about hunting lion the ethical and correct way. That being said I want to come to the point here quickly for some of the guys that had doubt on what happened and why the lion got through to us that quickly.

From my experience with lion over the last 10 years hunting on a average 30 to 40 cats a year I have never seen a lion do what this one did! This cat never even gave me the slightest hint that he would charge us.... Usually a lion that is agitated or getting ready to fight will show some signs. Some of them show their teeth first and then growl with their tails twitching. Some will run away while growling a couple of times before charging or even attempt to charge. When lion do this you as the PH in the lead automatically know to be more careful in not coming on to the lion's too aggressively or fast and also not to enter their comfort zone or push him any harder at all.

Well let me tell you this lion did absolutely NOTHING of any sort. We bumped him where he was sleeping while tracking buffalo, he stood up looked at us for a while and then turned and walked away slowly. We were all ready and armed and I instructed everybody to be ready as I knew these lion in the area where more aggressive than the usual lion we hunt (no one knows why?) as they tended to charge trucks etc. I wanted the lion to move off before we started moving as we will then have the advantage. The cat then turned walked in behind a bush and I then just saw his tail flick a millimetre. I saw him turn through the brush and immediately shouted to everyone that he is coming!

He did not present any of us especially Reinhard and the client a clear shot as he was coming from behind some brush and trees. I only shot the lion when he was about 5 yards from me as I was a little more to the right and in front of the party as I was with the trackers when we bumped the lion. As I hit the lion square in the chest, because of my angle there was no way I could have hit the lion in the head. I knew I needed to turn the cat away from us or break the neck. My shot was a little lower than expected and the lion just stumbled a bit but carried on, my shot broke the right front leg that is why he stumbled a bit. I guess everybody else shot but unfortunately we could not get the lion down before he got on top of Reinhard. The little tree behind Reinhard saved his life in my opinion, if that tree was not there that lion would have had him on the ground and immediately broke his neck.

Well when they went to ground the lion were looking straight at me... Felt like he looked right through me with those yellow eyes and small black pupils. I knew I had to get the lion of my friend as soon as I can otherwise he will be killed. I then ran towards the lion shouting at it, he left Reinhard and wanted to charge me as that is what I wanted him to do... As soon as he left Reinhard and his head was high enough of Reinhard for me to shoot safely I shot and my bullet hit the mark and he went down.

I immediately moved my attention to Reinhard and called my hunting truck in to where we were to start firs aid on Reinhard as I needed to stop the bleeding. I take my hat off to Reinhard as he took the pain like a beast and kept calm throughout the whole ordeal with all the shock and pain. I am glad I could help my fellow hunter and very close friend so he could that today he can go back to his family to provide for them.

My point here is that with any dangerous game safari, does not matter how much experience you as a guide or hunter have, the unexpected can happen at any given moment so as a PH and client always be prepared and have your rifle with you at all times when hunting in a area with any dangerous game.

I truly hope that this unfortunate event opens up a couple of eyes in the hunting industry... A lot of people including outfitters and PH's take our South African lion hunts lightly and more of a joke. These lion are dangerous and will kill you, they are not pets out of a petting zoo! Handle and hunt every single lion with respect, if you don't you will pay for it one day maybe sooner than you think.....

I once again thank each and every person that sent a prayer up for our very dear friend! I am very happy to report that he is doing well as I just spoke with him a little while ago. He will be heading in to the theatre again tomorrow and hopefully will be going home later this week.

We all truly appreciate you guys a lot! Thank you again our AH community and friends!

Best regards,

Jacques

PLM · Mar 9, 2015

Thanks for the story of what happened and how it went down. I saw the video and it was amazing how fast everything happened. Great job and great reflexes by you to act so quickly to get the lion's attention and save Reinhardt. We are all glad to hear the positive reports on how he is doing. Will be proud to be hunting with you and your guys soon. Philip

Hank2211 · Mar 9, 2015

Well said.

billc · Mar 9, 2015

I hope this shows all those people who think raised lions are pets. You do the lion hunt in SA with the right outfitters it is a hunt not like must like to make it out who don't like SA lion hunts.

vgruan · Mar 9, 2015

PLM said:
Thanks for the story of what happened and how it went down. I saw the video and it was amazing how fast everything happened. Great job and great reflexes by you to act so quickly to get the lion's attention and save Reinhardt. We are all glad to hear the positive reports on how he is doing. Will be proud to be hunting with you and your guys soon. Philip

Thank you sir I appreciate your kind words and we are all looking forward on having you guys in camp soon!

PaulT · Mar 9, 2015

It's great to hear that Reinhard will recover and hunt again, i'm sure all here sincerely hope that there are no residual effects and that he makes a full recovery with, at worse, some impressive scars to show off at the bar at night after a fun days hunting.

My hat off to you Jaques for holding your nerve and controlling the situation as best possible, that's why you get paid the big bucks

Sheesh, you guys make buffalo hunting look like a walk in the park picking mushrooms :E Crazy Eyes:

.

KWALATA SAFARIS · Mar 9, 2015

Hartzview Hunting Safaris said:
Good evening everybody,

I firstly would like to thank each and every one of you guys that had Reinhard in your prayers and that thought and supported us through this very unfortunate event. I am so grateful to have been able to help Reinhard in such a situation and I know if it was me on the ground with the lion on top of me, Reinhard would have done exactly the same for me. The dear Lord saved a life that day and he kept us all in His hands.

The story has been told on the thread and I certainly do not want to stretch it out any further but I would like to make a quick point. I have hunted many lion in my life and professional hunting career. It is my way of making a living and I am really passionate about hunting lion the ethical and correct way. That being said I want to come to the point here quickly for some of the guys that had doubt on what happened and why the lion got through to us that quickly.

From my experience with lion over the last 10 years hunting on a average 30 to 40 cats a year I have never seen a lion do what this one did! This cat never even gave me the slightest hint that he would charge us.... Usually a lion that is agitated or getting ready to fight will show some signs. Some of them show their teeth first and then growl with their tails twitching. Some will run away while growling a couple of times before charging or even attempt to charge. When lion do this you as the PH in the lead automatically know to be more careful in not coming on to the lion's too aggressively or fast and also not to enter their comfort zone or push him any harder at all.

Well let me tell you this lion did absolutely NOTHING of any sort. We bumped him where he was sleeping while tracking buffalo, he stood up looked at us for a while and then turned and walked away slowly. We were all ready and armed and I instructed everybody to be ready as I knew these lion in the area where more aggressive than the usual lion we hunt (no one knows why?) as they tended to charge trucks etc. I wanted the lion to move off before we started moving as we will then have the advantage. The cat then turned walked in behind a bush and I then just saw his tail flick a millimetre. I saw him turn through the brush and immediately shouted to everyone that he is coming!

He did not present any of us especially Reinhard and the client a clear shot as he was coming from behind some brush and trees. I only shot the lion when he was about 5 yards from me as I was a little more to the right and in front of the party as I was with the trackers when we bumped the lion. As I hit the lion square in the chest, because of my angle there was no way I could have hit the lion in the head. I knew I needed to turn the cat away from us or break the neck. My shot was a little lower than expected and the lion just stumbled a bit but carried on, my shot broke the right front leg that is why he stumbled a bit. I guess everybody else shot but unfortunately we could not get the lion down before he got on top of Reinhard. The little tree behind Reinhard saved his life in my opinion, if that tree was not there that lion would have had him on the ground and immediately broke his neck.

Well when they went to ground the lion were looking straight at me... Felt like he looked right through me with those yellow eyes and small black pupils. I knew I had to get the lion of my friend as soon as I can otherwise he will be killed. I then ran towards the lion shouting at it, he left Reinhard and wanted to charge me as that is what I wanted him to do... As soon as he left Reinhard and his head was high enough of Reinhard for me to shoot safely I shot and my bullet hit the mark and he went down.

I immediately moved my attention to Reinhard and called my hunting truck in to where we were to start firs aid on Reinhard as I needed to stop the bleeding. I take my hat off to Reinhard as he took the pain like a beast and kept calm throughout the whole ordeal with all the shock and pain. I am glad I could help my fellow hunter and very close friend so he could that today he can go back to his family to provide for them.

My point here is that with any dangerous game safari, does not matter how much experience you as a guide or hunter have, the unexpected can happen at any given moment so as a PH and client always be prepared and have your rifle with you at all times when hunting in a area with any dangerous game.

I truly hope that this unfortunate event opens up a couple of eyes in the hunting industry... A lot of people including outfitters and PH's take our South African lion hunts lightly and more of a joke. These lion are dangerous and will kill you, they are not pets out of a petting zoo! Handle and hunt every single lion with respect, if you don't you will pay for it one day maybe sooner than you think.....

I once again thank each and every person that sent a prayer up for our very dear friend! I am very happy to report that he is doing well as I just spoke with him a little while ago. He will be heading in to the theatre again tomorrow and hopefully will be going home later this week.

We all truly appreciate you guys a lot! Thank you again our AH community and friends!

Best regards,

Jacques

True....
Jacques you left out video anylists, that's all I can add.

Wheels · Mar 9, 2015

Thanks for explaining the situation Jacques.

My hats off to you. It looks and sounds like you handled the situation as well as it could be handled.

Especially glad Reinhardt is improving and looks to be able to go home soon.

God Bless and safe hunting.

AfricaHunting.com · Mar 9, 2015

Jacques, I don't think that anyone could have handle this situation better than you did. I am so glad that Reinhard will come out of this. Take care.

vgruan · Mar 9, 2015

Thank you guys I appreciate all the kind words....

vgruan · Mar 9, 2015

PaulT said:
It's great to hear that Reinhard will recover and hunt again, i'm sure all here sincerely hope that there are no residual effects and that he makes a full recovery with, at worse, some impressive scars to show off at the bar at night after a fun days hunting.

My hat off to you Jaques for holding your nerve and controlling the situation as best possible, that's why you get paid the big bucks

Sheesh, you guys make buffalo hunting look like a walk in the park picking mushrooms .

I wish it was big bucks my friend, haha would have retired by now fishing and drinking beer everyday....! On another note I just bought a .500MDM from Michael, I would appreciate it if you could send me a short message and share your experience with the calibre and rifle especially on the buff.

Thank you my friend!

Best regards,

Jacques

Professional Hunter mauled by Lion

lcq

brushmore

PHOENIX PHIL

Royal27

Wheels

gizmo

Hank2211

billc

Witold KrzyÅ¼anowski

vgruan

PLM

Hank2211

billc

vgruan

PaulT

KWALATA SAFARIS

Wheels

AfricaHunting.com

vgruan

vgruan

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