111Kg Leopard killed in Zimbabwe?

Betterinthebush · Sep 23, 2026

HookMeUpII said:
They are far more of a risk than leopards, jaguars, and other similar big cats. The natives in Central America regard the jaguar as not too big a risk. They ask them about "puma" and they are terrified. Them folding with a well placed shot is just a consolation really.

I am still not convinced we don't have them here in NJ. Especially where I hunt.

Oof..! I’ve been off the grid a couple days and got distracted with a different thread for a spell. I didn’t see your post quoting me. Sorry about that.

I see that @Mtn_Infantry has pretty much covered anything I would have said except, when you were in Central/South America which towns and villages of which countries were you in and around?

Shakka · Sep 23, 2026

Doug Hamilton said:
Yes they do. As with.liberals of all types.

Actually, I sincerely believe that liberalism is a mental disorder

Doug Hamilton · Sep 24, 2026

HookMeUpII said:
For sure. Agree completely. Very densely populated country and probably why there is issues.

I have a buddy who moved to Santa Cruz, CA. He sent me a video the other day of a lion roaming the streets of San Francisco. CA is going to "FAFO" really soon with their garbage management program for them. It's going to be fun and game till a kid gets killed. I hope it doesn't happen but videos like the one he sent...not a good trajectory there.

Big cats living next to or in large population centers = not good.

Big cats to me are fascinating. I firmly believe the #2 land predator is the tiger. #1 obviously being the polar bear but I think the tiger and other region-specific subspecies are the real danger.

One of my biggest fears is running into one in the dark here why I live. Where my stand is happens to be very remote. We have tons, and tons of bears which I've had run ins with. I have a bobcat on cam as well as packs of yotes. I always wonder if there are mountain lion here. People have said there are and the state doesn't want to acknowledge it. Lots of tales of getting glimpses on trail cams. Not something I want to run into walking into my stand in the dark.

I grew up in Northern California. Although mountain lions are quite common they are very rarely seen. They are by nature "cryptic" and mostly stay out of sight. In all the time I have spent out in the hills and mountains I've only seen two. One of those flashed through a tiny gap in the chapparal so fast it took me a second to realize what I had seen. One lion killed two horses on my families ranch before he was killed by a county predator control officer. I never saw that one. My cousins son has placed trail cameras around the ranch. He has many pictures of mountain lions. East of Sacramento, in the 90's I think, a woman was killed and partly eaten by a female with cubs. The adult cat was killed and the liberal public raised money to care for the cubs. I live in Western Washington now and have never seen one here but I do find tracks and fresh scat quite often. People still try to claim that mountain lions are an endangered species. They aren't.

HookMeUpII · Sep 24, 2026

Doug Hamilton said:
I grew up in Northern California. Although mountain lions are quite common they are very rarely seen. They are by nature "cryptic" and mostly stay out of sight. In all the time I have spent out in the hills and mountains I've only seen two. One of those flashed through a tiny gap in the chapparal so fast it took me a second to realize what I had seen. One lion killed two horses on my families ranch before he was killed by a county predator control officer. I never saw that one. My cousins son has placed trail cameras around the ranch. He has many pictures of mountain lions. East of Sacramento, in the 90's I think, a woman was killed and partly eaten by a female with cubs. The adult cat was killed and the liberal public raised money to care for the cubs. I live in Western Washington now and have never seen one here but I do find tracks and fresh scat quite often. People still try to claim that mountain lions are an endangered species. They aren't.

It may have gotten worse since you were there. I can't speak to their endangered species status but I tend to agree with you. The last I read, CA wanted to SPEND money to HIRE mountain lion control-agents/trappers vs SELLING tags and MAKING MONEY by selling them to hunters.

It's just mind-blowing. Like I said, it's all fun and games till someone gets attacked.

Same thing with the black bears here. It was fun and games until a woman got attacked just going to her mailbox. Then a kid got eaten, yes, eaten by a black bear. His friends even got it on film when it was biting chunks of flesh off his back. Fun times right?

Then our dem governor actually signed off on reinstating the hunt. I know one of the biologists who petitioned him.

Common sense, not so common in conservation these days.

Doug Hamilton · Sep 24, 2026

HookMeUpII said:
It may have gotten worse since you were there. I can't speak to their endangered species status but I tend to agree with you. The last I read, CA wanted to SPEND money to HIRE mountain lion control-agents/trappers vs SELLING tags and MAKING MONEY by selling them to hunters.

It's just mind-blowing. Like I said, it's all fun and games till someone gets attacked.

Same thing with the black bears here. It was fun and games until a woman got attacked just going to her mailbox. Then a kid got eaten, yes, eaten by a black bear. His friends even got it on film when it was biting chunks of flesh off his back. Fun times right?

Then our dem governor actually signed off on reinstating the hunt. I know one of the biologists who petitioned him.

Common sense, not so common in conservation these days.

Yep. I was still there during both of the ballots that effected mountain lion hunting. I wrote a number of Letters to the Editor of local papers. Logic has little effect on Animal Rights Fanatics (ARFs). One buddy of.mine lost a sheep to a cat. The game warden (an obvious DEI female hire) drug her feet but eventually had to give Don a deprecation permit to take the cat. He wired the sheeps.leg to a fence then sat within range of his 12 gauge and 00 buck. He had a varmint light on a tripod and at around mid night he heard the fence creak. He said he gave it about another minute then flipped on the light. The cat looked up from the sheep and Don killed it.

If you can prove that you have lost livestock to a mountain lion attack they are required to give you a deprecation permit, but if you kill a cat you are required to contact Fish and Game immediately and can keep no part of it.

TheGrayRider · Sep 25, 2026

Great book and true tragedy.

Summation: Liberal Boulder, Colorado residents turn vigilante against mountain lions after high school jogger is killed and eaten by a mountain lion above town.

Politicians and wildlife officials warned these citizens that mountain lions and mule deer are wild predators/animals and should not be fed in town.

Sadly, history is quickly repeating itself in Colorado with attempted prohibitions on predator hunting and control like California.

Good luck this season and happy hunting to all, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

JAh · Oct 7, 2026

wow, congratulations on the big cat. I shot one two years ago in Tuli block botswana. Just north of the South African boarder. It was a problem leopard and took me 2 trips to final land it. I didnt weigh it but would like to know what you guys would estimate it in weight and age

Beck · Oct 7, 2026

Betterinthebush said:
It was taken in Zim, indeed. The PH/Houndsman was Adrian Salter of Adroda Safaris. Adrian sent me the video the day he caught the cat. It was caught in a communal area. I was actually offered the hunt and turned it down due to having committed to my moose hunt.View attachment 791920

Very proud that it was Adrian and his hounds that caught this giant.

Jesus, look at the size of that thing. Is that some kind of record?

Shakka · Oct 7, 2026

JAh said:
wow, congratulations on the big cat. I shot one two years ago in Tuli block botswana. Just north of the South African boarder. It was a problem leopard and took me 2 trips to final land it. I didnt weigh it but would like to know what you guys would estimate it in weight and ageView attachment 797990

Wow!! That is a once in 5 lifetimes leopard!
He's a monster, but best of all, he is REALLY OLD. I bet 12.5 yo, which is very rare for a big cat, especially outside of game reserves. Look at his lower canines, the round molar, and the yellowing. Do you have any more of the teeth and skull? Did you measure the skull?

As for weight, that is the most debated question in Africa. 90% of people, including PHs, overestimate leopard weight....by a lot. The PH wants a monster cat, so does the client, so they add 30-40lbs to it and everyone is happy. There are so many variables, how tall/big is the tracker holding it? Is he 5'4" or 6'4"? Did the cat just gorge 20lbs of meat or was his stomach empty etc

That said, yours is a massive cat and we know that he is ancient. He is thick with a thick neck, shoulder's, body, and head. All in all, he is massive. And unless the tracker is a midget, he is long too

That said, with all the above in mind, I would say that he is AT LEAST 180lbs and maybe even more. Too bad the PH didn't have a scale, but I think that most don't so this way they send everyone home with a 160-180lb cat

Yours is a true 180+lb cat

I hope that you realize what you accomplished and cherish it

HankBuck · Oct 7, 2026

Shakka said:
Most Leopards killed in Africa are not weighed, and by the time the hunter gets home, they weigh 180lbs. It is said that even PH's overestimate by 40%

For one of my Leopard hunts I bought a scale with me, and before weighing, I asked my very experienced PH what he thought it would weigh, he said, "160." I said 150. When we put it on the scale, it weighed 121.0lbs. He looked so much bigger. Plus a biologist estimated the age to be 7.5-8.5 years ols, so he was a fully mature, territorial male.

120-130 is most likely the average weight of Leopards taken in Africa. That puts some perspective on how massive a 180lb Leopard is.

This Leopard at 244lbs, unless it's a hoax, is a unicorn

@Shakka - Agree, most Guides “Never” weigh any Cat (or Bear) and estimates are always “generous”…always wrong and Always Heavier. I saw this on an Idaho Mt. Lion hunt, friend killed big Tom (huge head), guide “estimated weight” 180lbs — scaled weight was 152 lbs —- still a huge Mt. Lion, a Bear in Maine killed, Guide estimated 400+lbs - scale weighed 355, Canada Quebec Bear hunt guide estimated black bear at 300lbs — scale weighed 155. Sometimes it is not possible or practical to weigh game but at Bear Camps - where the bear is always recovered and brought back to camp ‘guts in’ the only reason they either have no scale or don’t use == Estimates make hunters “happy” and a Scale can ruin a good story

Rare Breed · Oct 7, 2026

375Fox said:
If you want PHs and hunters to hold out for 6+ year old cats the question is what day rate would you like to pay to offset unsuccessful hunts or how many extra days should be booked? I’m not knowledgeable on leopard aging or distribution of age class, but the principle is no different than buffalo hunting. Everyone wants an old 12+ bull, but reality is 8+ is a mature, nice trophy, and economical age to take them. I don’t see a difference with leopard hunting. Consensus seems to agree that’s about 4 years old. If you’d want an old cat it would take the right area and come at a higher price or a lot of days in a lesser area, either option will end up costing a lot more than a standard hunt unless a lot of luck is involved.

Just me I would never imagine a leopard this size coming to bait, ever, it has been educated and to clever for that. This is where hound hunting on fresh tacks he cannot hide eliminated his cleverness. It is also why on my third attempt in May I want the advantage of overcoming a leopards cleverness with hounds

Shakka · Oct 7, 2026

Rare Breed said:
Just me I would never imagine a leopard this size coming to bait, ever, it has been educated and to clever for that. This is where hound hunting on fresh tacks he cannot hide eliminated his cleverness. It is also why on my third attempt in May I want the advantage of overcoming a leopards cleverness with hounds

That's a very good point. Maybe due to his old age he was finding it harder to make kills?
He looks nice and fat, but who knows, maybe he couldn't pass up an easy meal

JAh · Oct 8, 2026

Shakka said:
Wow!! That is a once in 5 lifetimes leopard!
He's a monster, but best of all, he is REALLY OLD. I bet 12.5 yo, which is very rare for a big cat, especially outside of game reserves. Look at his lower canines, the round molar, and the yellowing. Do you have any more of the teeth and skull? Did you measure the skull?

As for weight, that is the most debated question in Africa. 90% of people, including PHs, overestimate leopard weight....by a lot. The PH wants a monster cat, so does the client, so they add 30-40lbs to it and everyone is happy. There are so many variables, how tall/big is the tracker holding it? Is he 5'4" or 6'4"? Did the cat just gorge 20lbs of meat or was his stomach empty etc

That said, yours is a massive cat and we know that he is ancient. He is thick with a thick neck, shoulder's, body, and head. All in all, he is massive. And unless the tracker is a midget, he is long too

That said, with all the above in mind, I would say that he is AT LEAST 180lbs and maybe even more. Too bad the PH didn't have a scale, but I think that most don't so this way they send everyone home with a 160-180lb cat

Yours is a true 180+lb cat

I hope that you realize what you accomplished and cherish it

Thank you, we worked really hard for him. I do not have anymore pictures of the skull but easily can get some. The tracker is about +180cm as he just a few cm shorter then me.

Shakka · Oct 8, 2026

JAh said:
Thank you, we worked really hard for him. I do not have anymore pictures of the skull but easily can get some. The tracker is about +180cm as he just a few cm shorter then me.

WOW GOOD FOR YOU MY FRIEND!! I am so happy to see your success, and what I great job yoiu all did!!

The best part is that you took out an ancient male! It;s is rare to see tooth wear and damage like that

I would LOVE to see more pictures of him

What do you think it weighed?

Mtn_Infantry · Oct 8, 2026

Rare Breed said:
Just me I would never imagine a leopard this size coming to bait, ever, it has been educated and to clever for that. This is where hound hunting on fresh tacks he cannot hide eliminated his cleverness. It is also why on my third attempt in May I want the advantage of overcoming a leopards cleverness with hounds

It depends where you’re hunting.
In cattle country, yes they’re relentlessly persecuted and extremely smart because of that BUT as they get older (beyond their prime) their ability to hunt/feed becomes harder and they start making mistakes. Additionally there are outfitters hunting cattle areas where it abuts close to or even against a NP, Safari area, photographic area or other type of sanctuary that doesn’t get persecuted in the same way. A good/smart outfitter will use that to their advantage. Dogs are a tremendous help in areas like that but there are also outfitters above found tricks to get around that. Using cattle or donkey so the leopard thinks he found another cats fresh kill, etc. spending the same on a calf you would on an old cow so you can use a hole animal as bait etc.

If you understand the area and understand the PH to make the most informed decision possible you can enhance your odds on both a bait hunt and a hound hunt.

HankBuck · Oct 9, 2026

Shakka said:
That's a very good point. Maybe due to his old age he was finding it harder to make kills?
He looks nice and fat, but who knows, maybe he couldn't pass up an easy meal

@Shakka - just a guess but thinking that a Leopard that Big & Heavy is NOT the fastest/best hunter and would also tree or bay up more quickly than a younger/lighter Cat? I know nothing about Leopards but comments from houndsman and Guides on U.S. & Canadian mountain lion hunts have consistently said that the Bigger Older cats tire quickly and tree faster. Would be interested if that holds for leopard?

Betterinthebush · Oct 9, 2026

If cats were sports; Leopard are the cat world equivalent of a major league baseball shortstop. They are phenomenal athletic animals and are individual. They are capable of anything.

Mountain lions are the cat world equivalent of high school girls softball right fielder.

It’s unfair to compare the two in any way.

HankBuck · Oct 9, 2026

Betterinthebush said:
If cats were sports; Leopard are the cat world equivalent of a major league baseball shortstop. They are phenomenal athletic animals and are individual. They are capable of anything.

Mountain lions are the cat world equivalent of high school girls softball right fielder.

It’s unfair to compare the two in any way.

@Betterinthebush - I like your creative athletic analogy and if the point is that Leopards are tougher than Mountain Lions = likely correct. A single Mountain lion can kill a mature Wolf (and have) large deer, and Elk —- according to Guides I’ve hunted with and some things I’ve read (never witnessed it)….I don’t think any Girl ‘softball player’ can do that?

Betterinthebush · Oct 9, 2026

HankBuck said:
@Betterinthebush - I like your creative athletic analogy and if the point is that Leopards are tougher than Mountain Lions = likely correct. A single Mountain lion can kill a mature Wolf (and have) large deer, and Elk —- according to Guides I’ve hunted with and some things I’ve read (never witnessed it)….I don’t think any Girl ‘softball player’ can do that?

They both are built for success in their respective environments. They are both competent killers and highly successful.

But, the biggest and most obvious difference is this: bears and wolves don’t actively hunt down, harass, exhaust and kill mountain lions.

Lions, wild dogs, hyenas and other leopards will and do. A leopard, through his life of experience will weigh his chances of fighting vs. treeing/baying up. But if the fight goes to the ground, something is going to die. A mountain lion will fight hard, this is true. But it is far more likely to tree up and wait it out.

ETA: even a girls softball right fielder will occasionally get on base.

HankBuck · Oct 9, 2026

Betterinthebush said:
They both are built for success in their respective environments. They are both competent killers and highly successful.

But, the biggest and most obvious difference is this: bears and wolves don’t actively hunt down, harass, exhaust and kill mountain lions.

Lions, wild dogs, hyenas and other leopards will and do. A leopard, through his life of experience will weigh his chances of fighting vs. treeing/baying up. But if the fight goes to the ground, something is going to die. A mountain lion will fight hard, this is true. But it is far more likely to tree up and wait it out.

ETA: even a girls softball right fielder will occasionally get on base.

@Betterinthebush - my guess is also that a Leopard is much tougher than a Mountain Lion and harder to kill, more risky to a pack of hounds that a dog or two may die trailing and attempting to tree (or bay) a Leopard vs Mountain Lion. We treed & took a very good Mountain Lion in Idaho - it was treed less than 10 minutes from when the 2 hounds were released on the track AND only a single Hound was needed (the other hound ran off in the wrong direction. The Cat treed and rested on a low limb just 12 feet above the ground with a single hound baying at the base and holding that cat in the tree. We gathered at the base of that tree and watched a very “relaxed” and heavily panting big Mountain Lion for 15 minutes before the Hunter was able to get to the tree and take it. That cat was capable of killing that hound in an instant and at anytime ….but never attempted to. I know nothing about Leopard Hound Hunts but wouldn’t think a Leopard would behave like that.

111Kg Leopard killed in Zimbabwe?

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