Leopard hunting: bait vs hounds

[mark-hunter]

I am not hunting leopard yet!
This is just for my education, To be considered for some of my future hunts.

You guys who hunted leopard, can you tell me pros and cons of hunting leopard on bait, versus hunting leopard with hounds?

Success rate one vs another?

What is the package price difference one vs another?

Any legal constraints in some countries for these two types of hunt?

Timing? Days to be booked for leopard on bait, vs leopard hunt with hounds? (Most baited leopard packages are 2 weeks, that I have seen, what about hunting with dogs?)

Anything else that you can think of about the subject?

Edit: I made mistake on title, it was meant to be bait vs hounds... I asked moderator to change....

 

[PANTHER TRACKERS]

Please read this opinion knowing it is not intended for sales or promotion!
It is a personal reflection, and I’ve tried to separate it as much as possible from my professional objective.

Leopard over bait has its own allure, especially for hunters who appreciate the art of trapping. Setting a bait, assessing the wind, working the blind placement, and ultimately ambushing a predator at a food source is a discipline in itself. It takes knowledge, patience, and a measure of skill. In most ways, it aligns closely with the principles of trapping – manipulating an animal’s natural instincts into a controlled set-up for a clean shot.

But when I ask myself what truly defines a hunt, my answer has always come back to one word: pursuit.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “hunt” as: “to chase and kill (wild animals) for food or sport.”
The essence of hunting is in the chase, in the pursuit, in the physical and mental effort of discovering, then staying on spoor until you come face-to-face with your quarry.
Anyone who has tracked buffalo or elephant with skilled trackers holding a line for several kilometers knows exactly the sequence I mean:
spoor visually discovered, followed patiently across natural environment, closing ground step by step until you are standing inside the animal’s striking distance. That is pursuit.

Compare this to luring a leopard (crocodile, lion, hyena, etc) to a bait station and waiting from a blind. The outcome is the same, an animal killed, but the process is fundamentally different. It is closer to trapping than to the classical definition of hunting.

Hounds, on the other hand, advance leopard hunting into the clearest form of pursuit. They hold the track over great distance, forcing the hunter to follow, often through brutal terrain and thick cover, until the cat is brought to bay or treed. Again the hunter steps in, on foot, within striking distance of one of Africa’s most dangerous animals. The risk is real, the engagement is immediate, and the definition of hunting as “pursuit” is fulfilled in its purest sense.

The same logic applies to other examples. Shooting an elephant from a helicopter delivers the same carcass as shooting one at 50 meters on foot. The difference lies not in the result, but in the story – in whether pursuit and engagement were part of the process.

After more than twenty years in this industry, I can say with conviction that pursuing big cats behind hounds is the only method that meets the truest definition of hunting.
It is not a dismissal of other styles! bait hunting, trapping and calling each has its place, and each holds meaning for those who choose it.
But for me, when the word “hunt” is stripped to its essence, hounds are the only method that fully embodies the pursuit of dangerous game.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[mark-hunter]

Which countries legally allow hunting leopard with hounds?

 

[PANTHER TRACKERS]

Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
South Africa with a specific permit.

 

[mark-hunter]

In average, how many days are booked for hunt with dogs, vs hunt on bait?

I know most hunts on bait, recommended is about 14 days, 2 weeks?

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I’ve hunted leopard over both bait and hounds. I really enjoy both, but for me, personally… leopard over hounds is far more adrenaline pumping. When pushed long enough, the leopard eventually WILL charge. One word of warning is imperative here- For hunting leopard over hounds, being armed with a double rifle is almost mandatory. Either that or a double barreled or semi automatic shotgun (loaded with Brenneke slugs or copper/nickel plated heavy buckshot) . A bolt action rifle is the worst thing you can be armed with for this type of hunt. If your first shot doesn’t manage to stop the leopard, then it WILL reach you before you have a chance to cycle the bolt and get off a second shot.

In my opinion, the best spots for hunting leopard over hounds… are in the Kalahari in Botswana. In the past, I’ve also hunted leopard over bushmen trackers there in 1976. If my memory serves me correctly, it was the white hunters of Safari South who introduced leopard hunting over hounds in Botswana. The white hunter was either Willie Englebrecht or Douggie Wright.

For the novice, I recommend hunting a leopard over bait first. Equip yourself with an accurate flat trajectory magazine rifle fitted with a low power telescopic sight (not too high magnification)… loaded with high velocity soft points. When the leopard comes to feed, aim for any of the rosettes behind the shoulder. If your shot is placed correctly, things will go pretty straightforward.

P.S: As much as I love hunting leopard over hounds, this type of hunt does carry one inherent disadvantage for a client determined to bag all of his own game. There will always be a chance that the leopard will get shot by someone else in the hunting party other than yourself. If you still want to hunt leopard over hounds, then you have to learn to be okay with this.

 

[Green Chile]

I've done the classic bait hunt for leopard...without success like many others. Some get a cat on their first hunt but you can research the archives here as I have posted topics to get feedback and there are a lot of hunters who have to come back at least once if not multiple times for a leopard. Personally, I loved the strategy and tactics of baiting but we were chasing a ranch cat and they are pressured and educated. I'm hoping to get a cat on my 2nd attempt and did a LOT of research before making a decision to hunt with Panther Trackers and their highly trained dogs in Moz.

 

[dogcat1]

Have done both. Over hounds is a serious rush. We booked 14 days on both. Checking baits is boring, sitting is boring but when the cat shows up or the hounds get the scent, it is game on.
If I do it again, it will be over hounds.

 

[mark-hunter]

Have done both.

Which rifles did you use on each occasion? Double, or bolt action?

 

[Cme1983]

Don’t pinch pennies when you are going on a leopard hunt or you will be paying for the hunt again and again. If you bait hunt, find a wild area with no people or villages nearby, so a truly wild ares (no cattle ranches), and you will see your chances go up tremendously. Botswana seems to provide the best chance for getting a leopard with hounds. The best advice I could give someone looking to hunt a leopard is to save for one or two more years so that you can go to a prime area and kill your cat on the first hunt instead of going multiple times without success.

Hunting leopard over bait does give you the ability to hunt other animals such as buff and plains game along the way. The bait route and leopard hunting in general can be very monotonous.

 

[Pondoro]

Personally, I would have used my 9,3 x 74R double rifle on a hunt for leopard over hounds..as Hunter Habib points out..they are lightning fast.. I dont like baiting..it is not hunting.. Hunting them over hounds can get pretty hairy I imagine..

 

[Betterinthebush]

I think I have read every thread on this site on leopard hunting. Before I boarded the first plane on the route to Windhoek, I knew I was going to hunt leopard. My PG safari was an opportunity to ask questions and learn and, to a certain degree, interview my PH.

I’ve reached out through DM to several forum members here on advice, expectations and training for a hunt over hounds. The responses from each of them were helpful and I’m very thankful for all their time answering questions.

The post by @PANTHER TRACKERS is awesome. My most sincere thanks to him for his time and thoughtful breakdown.

I elected to hunt leopard over hounds for my first attempt. I will be in Zimbabwe in May. After months of severe introspection, I concluded I simply don’t believe I can pull off a traditional baited hunt successfully. I have sinus issues. I can see myself suffering in a blind and clearing my throat, coughing, sneezing at the wrong time and blowing up the hunt. I could take not being successful on a hound hunt. But, if I wasted a PH’s and his crews time and my time because of a cough..well, I’d be embarrassed beyond words.

 

[BeeMaa]

Sounds like leopard over hounds is going to also require a hunter that is physically fit to a higher level in order to maintain the pursuit along with delivering a proper shot.

I’ve done drills at the shooting range where I do jumping jacks and squat thrusts to get my heart rate up, then try to take a shot offhand at a 50 yard target. Not the same as being calm and shooting off sticks.

Prepare accordingly, and let the range officer know what you are doing so they don’t think you’re crazy.

 

[Altitude sickness]

I learned during my wife’s Leopard hunt that bait hunting is not for me. (I did enjoy shooting the bait) Perhaps when I’m older or can’t walk long distances I would be content with all the driving and sitting.

My wife enjoyed it and would definitely hunt Leopard again. Good thing we all have choices.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Leopard hunting is so fun. I have only leopard hunted with hounds in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. I would like to return again for that hound hunt and also try a baited leopard hunt.

A baited leopard hunt probably takes quite a bit more patience. Good luck to everyone who sets out for such a unique trophy.

Please check out the new Epermitting System on US Fish and Wildlife website if you plan to import your trophies back to the USA. Easy process to upload all of your documents as .pdf documents for the CITES Appendix 1 import permit. Fairly quick turnaround also.

Also, pretty good 1 hour free seminar/class at the SCI Convention every year which has some helpful information on permits and importing the CITES trophies. Good luck and happy leopard hunting to all, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

 

[Altitude sickness]

I think Hunter-Habib’s point about baiting being similar to trapping is a good point.

I used to love trapping as a kid. If I was at home and hanging bait and hunting Leopard on my own. Perhaps I would enjoy it more.

But when in Africa I felt I was missing out on the tracking hunts.

 

[BeeMaa]

I think Hunter-Habib’s point about baiting being similar to trapping is a good point.

I used to love trapping as a kid. If I was at home and hanging bait and hunting Leopard on my own. Perhaps I would enjoy it more.

But when in Africa I felt I was missing out on the tracking hunts.

Agreed. But the beauty of a trap is that it’s always hunting…and I don’t have to sit and watch it.

Hunting from a blind is similar, but can be exhausting in its own way.

 

[MaxXSaker]

I am not hunting leopard yet!
This is just for my education, To be considered for some of my future hunts.

You guys who hunted leopard, can you tell me pros and cons of hunting leopard on bait, versus hunting leopard with hounds?

Success rate one vs another?

What is the package price difference one vs another?

Any legal constraints in some countries for these two types of hunt?

Timing? Days to be booked for leopard on bait, vs leopard hunt with hounds? (Most baited leopard packages are 2 weeks, that I have seen, what about hunting with dogs?)

Anything else that you can think of about the subject?

Edit: I made mistake on title, it was meant to be bait vs hounds... I asked moderator to change....

Baiting is more common and methodical. You wait in a blind for days. Higher success rate in good areas. Most packages are 2+ weeks. Legal in most places.

Hounds are more active and physical. You track a specific leopard. Can be more expensive and is illegal in some countries. Often requires fewer days but is more intense.

Your choice depends on preferred style. Consult a Professional Hunter in your target country for the best advice based on local laws.

 

[HankBuck]

Sounds like leopard over hounds is going to also require a hunter that is physically fit to a higher level in order to maintain the pursuit along with delivering a proper shot.

I’ve done drills at the shooting range where I do jumping jacks and squat thrusts to get my heart rate up, then try to take a shot offhand at a 50 yard target. Not the same as being calm and shooting off sticks.

Prepare accordingly, and let the range officer know what you are doing so they don’t think you’re crazy.

@BeeMaa - Agree, you should be somewhat physically fit to follow Hounds chasing any Cat and the Better shape you’re in - the more you will enjoy the hunt….you can’t be “too fit”. Physical fitness on a Hound hunt is “at least” as important as your shooting ability and likely more important.
While I’ve never hunted Leopard over hounds - have done 3 Cougar Hunts w/Hounds (2 Idaho, 1 British Columbia) and one Lynx Hunt w/Hounds (BC) walked many miles on 3 of those chases, was in good shape but still huffed & puffed, broke a soaking sweat, and all my hunts were in Snow and temps well below Freezing. If a Cougar is Treed, with hounds at the base of the tree - there’s often plenty of time to catch your breath, get steady and then make an “easy” close shot (unless Cat obstructed by branches etc.). A bad shot on a Cougar might result in it jumping from the tree and running off - possibly tearing up a dog on the ground if badly hurt but little risk to Humans. The Cougar will often tree again after a short chase.
But, I would think wounding a Leopard is a Very different matter and a ‘charge’ & injury to a Hunter would become High Risk. Others that have Guided for Leopard over Hound Hunts can better relay the danger. Be in the Best Shape you can be for any Hunt, put in at least 3 to 4 months of walking & a stair master type exercise before your Hunt - it is very transferable to the fitness needed for hunts that require long walking, uphill terrain, and keeping up a “pace” that’s above your normal walking speed. Most Cougar Guides have never had a Hunter injured by a Cat but All have stories about Out-of-Shape Hunters that could Not even get to the tree to kill a treed cat and one told us about client dropped dead of heart attack while walking into the tree. Always a good idea to get a full Cardio work up by your Doctor before engaging in any physical activity above your normal routine.

 

[revturbo9967]

I'm hunting over bait for my first leopard hunt but did give hounds a close look. I have hunted with hounds many times for bear and really enjoy the speed of the hunt. One thing I didn't want was to hunt in an area where you could hunt at night. Yes it really increases your chances of getting your eyes on cat, but I don't want to spend every night sitting in the dark waiting till the wee hours of the morning, that's not my thing. So I'm going the harder route, daylight cat on bait.