Biggest Lion in Africa

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Wanted to share with you an email that I received over the weekend from a game dealer in South Africa, the subject line reads "BIGGEST LION IN AFRICA". It came with a price tag of a 100.000 Euro! No other info except, "Here is the biggest Lion in Africa for hunt". I'm interested to hear what the members think about this?

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Jerome I didn't even want to comment on this because there is little point. I have seen enough posts from far too many to know that how I feel about these things is..........or I should probably say has, become the minority opinion. The only thing that would stop oh so many 'hunters' from pulling the trigger on this cat is that they do not have that kind of disposable income.

Shopping for trophies is becoming far more common than many want to admit. With the fenced lion hunts, as with others, the animals are a well known quantity when it comes to size and mane quality and it all factors into the asking price. Realistically there is no difference between a hunter paying a known price of $5000 for a lioness on a fenced hunt or $100K or Euros for that beautiful specimen of feline testosterone. A specific animal for a specific price in a contained hunting situation. The only difference is the depth of the pockets of the prospective buyer.

It is exactly the same thing as the tyros hunting elk behind high fence and they are paying an agreed price for a specific bull that scores a specific amount.

I can tell you that if I had a 100,000 Euros to spend on a hunt it would be a 21 day hunt in Tanzania for a wild lion of unknown size and quality........and the NOT insignificant side benefit of hunting in WILD Africa.

What most fail to consider is the irreparable damage this does when it hits the media and is read by the majority of people out there who are non-hunters but not anti-hunters. Anti-hunters are against it in all forms and use these things to further their cause to be sure............but the non-hunters are usually people who are riding the fence and really do not have strong opinions one way or the other. These sorts of things are what turn some of the fence sitters into anti's.

In the long run...........these specific examples of free enterprise are harmful and undeniably distasteful to some hunters and most assuredly to all non-hunters.
 
Fancy Beast... When only the best will do!

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Truly hope yours is not a minority opinion Kelly.
 
In this case I believe "game dealer" to be a misnomer. Lion Broker may be more appropriate.
If I won the lottery and had 100,000 Euro to burn, I would much rather share a campfire with Kelly in Tanzania.
Ty
 
A real massive & a handsome LION , seems to be in his prime what region does he rule ??? Do agree with Kelly on this advertisement business.

Monish
 
Hello,

The only reason i reckon that this lion costs so much is because from the picture it has a very dark mane that runs below his stomach and these lions are believe to be extincted ( Cape "black-maned" Lions )

Wikipedia: Cape Lion
 
I have to agree with Kelly on this one. I realize that this is how many (but not all) things operate not only in Africa, but here in the U.S. as well. But for me I take much more pride in a 130" 4X4 whitetail that I scouted, set up stands and played cat and mouse and then maybe get a crack at with my bow vs. a 160" 5X5 that somebody else did the "work" for me.

Regardless, that is one impressive looking lion.

Just my $0.02.

nd
 
Jerome...
as beautiful as that specimen is, to me, it is not a LION! That is a PET! For that amount of money, one could have a hunt of a lifetime for a more worthy lion, plus three buffalo, leopard, hippo, crocodile and numerous others all inclusive in a 28 Day Hunt that would blow your mind away and keep you telling stories and feeling the pride into your last days - and you would still be smiling about it :) The lion you would get would have so much more character as well.
 
Ryan,
if I had the money I would certainly pick your option.
 
I don't think the opinion of a canned hunt being repulsive and pathetic is in the minority here. Some differ, but it seems the vast majority that frequent this site are for fair chase hunts. Being able to pay up front for a specific animal makes one wonder about the ethics of those involved in all aspects of the setup.

The lion himself is fantastic - truly a rare gem among rare gems. A national, possibly Continental treasure. His head, size, coloration, MANE ... it's all there. If the ad had said,"Superb lion for sale as breeding stock to re-populate hunting concessions with legacy offspring...." then, well, OK. For sale to the highest bidder to snipe at one's leisure without spilling the cocktail at-hand is repugnant. :twocents:
 
Ryan, once again you've hit the nail on the head!

It's a great picture tho'....

- browningbbr
 
. . . "as beautiful as that specimen is, to me, it is not a LION! That is a PET!"

Very well said Ryan. I see little difference in going out to shoot that 'zoo specimen' than to shoot a domesticated animal in a fenced back yard. Sadly, someone will come along and do it.
 
That thing is hidious.
If I had 100,000 euros to spend, I'd rather spend it shooting springbok and blesbok on a 3K acre paddock in RSA for a full year than pull the trigger on that hair ball. And I ain't into shooting springbok OR blesbok! if that says anything!!
Who would pay for that thing?
 
I think it is a beautiful beast. Worthy of being king. However he most likely has nothing to be king over. No pride and weekly feedings make for a tame lion. I am sure someone with more money than brains will come to africa, for the first time, and pay the "trophy fee" and probably get him on the first day, and then have a rather uneventful rest of his trip. He will come home the glorious conqueror. He will tell the story of how it almost sprung on him and he dispatched it from 2 meters, when in reality it was from 150 meters. He will put it in his New York or San Francisco apartment, and we will have one less lion left in the world.
 
I am generally interested in free-roaming hunting. But on occasion I have to engage in fair chase hunting That is a personal chioce and I am glad I stil have the option to hunt free roaming animals and to do it in most places aound the globe. But I have to, very respectfully, disagree with some of the posts on this particular thread. Not because I want to or would hunt this particular lion, but because of intelectual honesty.

Fair chase is an SCI created moniker for animals that are hunted in areas where they can maintain their basics instincts and have a reasonale chance to escape the hunter. As I recall, and ssomeone will urel corect me if I am wrong, but I think SCI then defines "fair chase" as any hunt that occurs on more han 12,000 acres - even if the 12,000 acres is high fence. So "fair chase" and free-roaming are not the same thing. Most of the hunting is RSA and increasing amounts arounf the world are "fair chase" but that is not free-roaming. The size of the fence is arbitrary and could as easily be 20,000 acres or 5,000. Someone just made up the rule. I ive in the Eastern US where whitetails rarel range more than 40 -100 acres and fair chase could easily be considered 1,000 acres or less. it is a matter of degree and the social acceptance of continuously changing standards.

For those who hunt in RSA, including me, we are almost certainly hunting in a high fence situation and only the size of the fence distinguishes beween fair case and canned hunting. Most ranches have stock management programs, bring in new breeding stock from time to time and release the best mture bulls when its time for new breeding stock for good genetic diversity. That is just sound game management. Those great animals are usualy great trophies for someone. I know of at least one operation in RSA that promotes its ability to deliver on a 60" Kudu. A very sought after trophy and a well run and respected operation. But there is more too it han just being lucky to own an area with good Kudu stock.

The issue with lions seems to generate more of a negative reaction, probably because its more transparent than other species and the cost involved. Few people would express such passion about stocking and then hunting trophy impala. High fencing, animal ownership, supplemental feeding, food plots, breeding stock, segragated animals to promte horn growth before introduction into the herd are all part of commercial hunting around the world.

My point not critisize anyone's personal views on hunting in general of this particualr lion. Personally I think it is a magnificent specimen of what a Lion could be, and what might have roamed Africa generations ago. I put that Lion inot the same catagory as New Zealand Red Stags where the new SCI world record and #2 stags are currently up for bid. It is the product of genetic breeding to obtain the most desired attributes using the best avaible agricultural and wildlife breeding/management practices to produce animals that would never achieve such attributes in a truly free-roaming situation in what is left of the wilderness of the today. Personally I would neither pay $100,000 to hunt it, or any other lion. But I am sure some will.

I would like to say, again without offending anyone, that we should all be careful about how we judge the hunter who takes that Lion or any other like it. We have created distinctions within the hunting community between free roaming, fair chase and estate hunting and have special rules, scoring system and acceptable parameters for each. But it is becoming increasingly more difficult for any of us to say that we only hunt truly free roaming game. That being the case, the non-hunters are not likly to "accept" the distinction we regularly make between free roaming, air case and estate hunts.

We all are entitled to our own opinions and that extends to the manner in which we hunt. As long as the applicable laws, rules and regulations are followed, we are all part of the hunting community and should not be to quick to condem the methods of take used by others less we come under attack for our preferred method of hunting.
 
Cleathorn i fully agree with you.

I personally think that closing hunting if canned lions was a mistake. If you look at it in a neutral perspective canned lions saved the wild lion population, because the world demand could be covered which if it had to be covered by the natural population they would be close to extinction. I agree that some people where abusing canned lion hunts by shooting 100+ lions a year but imagine if 100+ wild lions where shot! Also a canned lion was breed for the sole purpose of being hunted and never experienced the true wild and most probably could not survive anyway. Another point is that breed lions are just as aggressive, if not more, because they are used to humans and will not run away when they see one (and they do not become tame like some people here mentioned). And lets all be honest most of us would prefer to shoot a MGM lion than some beat up maneless rogue lion. This is just my opinion and im sure there are people out there that will disagree with my mentality. Dont get me wrong i would never pay that amount for that lion, and im not saying that i want to hunt canned lions but im stating some facts about how canned lions saved the wild lion population.
 
Cleathorn. This is well said.
 
And lets all be honest most of us would prefer to shoot a MGM lion than some beat up maneless rogue lion.

I agree that a full maned wild lion does indead look great nailed to the wall. But having hunted lions on three previous occasions count me in the supposed minority as one who in all honesty much prefers the experience of hunting a rogue lion which may in fact end up to be beat up and mane-less.

With regard to the particular lion in the photo above I still think it looks like a 'zoo lion', ie; a pet. In my humble opinion it is therefore only fit for the trophy room of a barnyard hunter.

Please count me in the minority.
 

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