Leopard Success Rates

[HankBuck]

I would hate to go on an elk hunt or a deer hunt where the chance of success is 100%.

All I can ask is that there are animals of sufficient number to be hunted in the area that I’m in.

Why should leopard be any different?

Enlighten me.

@Flipper Dude - well for Me< I would never want a “guaranteed Hunt” and that’s why I’ve never hunted behind a fence or in SA….But, I’m not against a High Success rate on Wild free ranging animals. The differences between accepting failure as a strong possibility on Elk or Deer vs. Leopard (for Me) is that I can walk out my back door and hunt deer for free, or fly 4 hours and hunt elk for $10,000 or less. Leopard is much more Travel and much more $$ - therefore I understand (and would want) a very high chance for success. The term ‘Once in a Lifetime’ is over used but for me - and a Leopard hunt….might be accurate

 

[HookMeUpII]

I know that outfitters make all the difference as others have said as well. Doing some reading, the hunt for leopard starts 2-3 weeks before the hunter arrives. Seems like the PH/outfitter is about 50% of the success.

I knew there was 5 permits in Limpopo at least for a few years. But for someone looking at this first Leopard hunt, I am not sure there is a ton of available information and would not necessarily recommend that route.

There should be 500, not 5. But that's a whole other discussion. The cattle farmers there are singing the blues...understandably so.

We had one walk across our tracks in broad daylight. Never saw him obviously.

 

[DLSJR]

We’ve discussed this very topic that @migrabill is asking about multiple times. Killing a leopard isn’t that difficult if a client hunter adheres to a few basic principals and they are:

1. The PH matters greatly
2. The area matters greatly
3. The time of year you hunt matters greatly

Get those 3 things right and your chances of success on a DAYLIGHT leopard are very high, like 80-90+% on killing a good quality Tom.

I’m 3 for 4 on leopards and all 3 cats were killed on our 1st sit/attempt. All were shot during daylight hours.

My .02 on killing a leopard in just one hunt…

PH: personally, I’m hunting with Alan Vincent. But, I’d also happily sit in a leopard blind with Johnny DuPlooy, Thierry Labat, Dave Freeburn, Divan Labuschagne and a few others. These PH’s are all very good leopard hunters. They’re not the only ones, but IMO it’s a fairly short list

AREA: You want a daylight leopard in just one hunt? Focus on The Selous Game Reserve, Luangwa Valley, Niassa Game Reserve, Nuanetsi Conservancy and other areas like that.

TIME OF YEAR: Hunt EARLY! Your best chance on a good Tom will be before it gets to be the hot, dry season and especially before plains game start dropping their young. When it’s a bit cooler baits last longer, the bush is still thicker and it’s easier to sit and stay awake than when it’s really hot & humid. Once animals start dropping young, don’t waste your time on leopards.

The only unsuccessful hunt I had was a Late October-early November hunt in Mlele, western Tanzania. We knew leopard was going to be tough then, but that’s when I could go. Between nearly 100 degree temps, lots of baby bush pigs and warthogs running around it was tough. We had good Tom’s on several baits but they were inconsistent in their routine. Fortunately, the buffalo hunting was really good.

Successful hunts were in May on Deka, June in the Kalahari and August in The Selous. The Selous and Deka Toms were first sit, just a couple hours each. The Kalahari Tom was taken by tracking with Bushmen. The baited cats were killed within the first week of those hunts, but first sit. The tracked car was found the morning of my first day and we were skinning him over lunch.

NOTE: your best chance to kill a Tom will be on your first sit! Each subsequent time you sit, you further risk educating the leopard. After a few consecutive sits your odds go down, even if your PH doesn’t want to tell you that.

Final thought: Do it right and it’s a ‘Buy once, cry once’ affair. Going with someone because you found a deal is a recipe to make leopard hunting a multi safari ordeal. And a whole hell of a lot more expensive.

8:00 AM Selous leopard, first sit.

 

[rookhawk]

The great Lou Hallamore always told me "50 50 on Leopard."

I hunted with Lou and he didn't get the 50 on the first hunt and he didn't get 50 on the second hunt either. It's still hunting and you cannot shoot what does not come to the baits.

Personal opinion: Leopard is the most frustrating of all the DG. If you're passionate about them and half-ass hunt for them on every safari, you'd probably take 3 of them in 10 trips with nearly zero exertion. Its when you put in 110%, sleep out in the cold overnight, pattern them only for them to depart with a female, or that they come to the bait 25 hours after you sit in the blind for 24...it causes a kind of madness.

The less you try, the more you win.

 

[Rare Breed]

Truer words have not been spoken my friend!!! Wish me luck with Divan in Namibia in August

 

[DLSJR]

Truer words have not been spoken my friend!!! Wish me luck with Divan in Namibia in August

Divan is a really great guy! You’re going to enjoy hunting with him.

 

[Beck]

We’ve discussed this very topic that @migrabill is asking about multiple times. Killing a leopard isn’t that difficult if a client hunter adheres to a few basic principals and they are:

1. The PH matters greatly
2. The area matters greatly
3. The time of year you hunt matters greatly

Get those 3 things right and your chances of success on a DAYLIGHT leopard are very high, like 80-90+% on killing a good quality Tom.

I’m 3 for 4 on leopards and all 3 cats were killed on our 1st sit/attempt. All were shot during daylight hours.

My .02 on killing a leopard in just one hunt…

PH: personally, I’m hunting with Alan Vincent. But, I’d also happily sit in a leopard blind with Johnny DuPlooy, Thierry Labat, Dave Freeburn, Divan Labuschagne and a few others. These PH’s are all very good leopard hunters. They’re not the only ones, but IMO it’s a fairly short list

AREA: You want a daylight leopard in just one hunt? Focus on The Selous Game Reserve, Luangwa Valley, Niassa Game Reserve, Nuanetsi Conservancy and other areas like that.

TIME OF YEAR: Hunt EARLY! Your best chance on a good Tom will be before it gets to be the hot, dry season and especially before plains game start dropping their young. When it’s a bit cooler baits last longer, the bush is still thicker and it’s easier to sit and stay awake than when it’s really hot & humid. Once animals start dropping young, don’t waste your time on leopards.

The only unsuccessful hunt I had was a Late October-early November hunt in Mlele, western Tanzania. We knew leopard was going to be tough then, but that’s when I could go. Between nearly 100 degree temps, lots of baby bush pigs and warthogs running around it was tough. We had good Tom’s on several baits but they were inconsistent in their routine. Fortunately, the buffalo hunting was really good.

Successful hunts were in May on Deka, June in the Kalahari and August in The Selous. The Selous and Deka Toms were first sit, just a couple hours each. The Kalahari Tom was taken by tracking with Bushmen. The baited cats were killed within the first week of those hunts, but first sit. The tracked car was found the morning of my first day and we were skinning him over lunch.

NOTE: your best chance to kill a Tom will be on your first sit! Each subsequent time you sit, you further risk educating the leopard. After a few consecutive sits your odds go down, even if your PH doesn’t want to tell you that.

Final thought: Do it right and it’s a ‘Buy once, cry once’ affair. Going with someone because you found a deal is a recipe to make leopard hunting a multi safari ordeal. And a whole hell of a lot more expensive.

8:00 AM Selous leopard, first sit.
View attachment 771509

I didn't realize that you could track them on foot, that sounds like a lot of fun

 

[Philip Glass]

Bo

I am a planner. My first trip to Africa in 2024 was booked 2 years in advance. My second trip is already booked and I do not go until June of 2028. So.... I am already thinking about a 3rd trip in 2029. Both trips so far have been to South Africa. The first trip I took 8 different plains game species. On my second trip I have on my list a Cape Buffalo and 5 more plains game species. For my 3rd trip I am kicking around the idea of Leopard. Leopard is the one animal that I see a fair amount of people returning without one. I would hate to lay down 20K+ and not get one. If you go with a good outfitter, what success rates do they typically have? Can you hunt them in South Africa, or would another country be better? I see many advertised leopard hunts say bait is included. I assume that means if they have me shoot some plains game animals for bait, I don't get charged the trophy fee. But would I still be able to bring those hides, heads, and horns back home?

Book with @DALTON & YORK SAFARIS and you will have a very good chance of success. Prebaiting is recommended.

 

[DLSJR]

I didn't realize that you could track them on foot, that sounds like a lot of fun

It was very interesting. We found a fresh, good sized track the first morning of a 24-day safari and my PH, Cecil Riggs, asked if I wanted to shoot a leopard my first day. I replied something to the effect of he couldn’t be that sure we’d even see the leopard let alone shoot it. He assured me that if I wanted to shoot my leopard the first day we would have this leopard in the truck before we headed back to camp, so I told him I’d believe it when I saw it. He whistled and 2 trackers jumped down from the truck and took off jogging on the track. It was very sandy, so easy tracking. When a tracker tired, he’d call out and one of the other trackers (we had 4 on the truck) would jump down and take his place. They literally tracked at a jogging pace. About three hours after we took up the track we caught up to the leopard, bayed him against some brush and I shot it. It was interesting as hell, but not terribly sporting. It was a long, lean and pale Tom. 7’4” between pegs but probably only 130-140 pounds.

I’m not sure anyone is presently hunting them with Bushman trackers. Glad I got to experience it when I did.

 

[Beck]

It was very interesting. We found a fresh, good sized track the first morning of a 24-day safari and my PH, Cecil Riggs, asked if I wanted to shoot a leopard my first day. I replied something to the effect of he couldn’t be that sure we’d even see the leopard let alone shoot it. He assured me that if I wanted to shoot my leopard the first day we would have this leopard in the truck before we headed back to camp, so I told him I’d believe it when I saw it. He whistled and 2 trackers jumped down from the truck and took off jogging on the track. It was very sandy, so easy tracking. When a tracker tired, he’d call out and one of the other trackers (we had 4 on the truck) would jump down and take his place. They literally tracked at a jogging pace. About three hours after we took up the track we caught up to the leopard, bayed him against some brush and I shot it. It was interesting as hell, but not terribly sporting. It was a long, lean and pale Tom. 7’4” between pegs but probably only 130-140 pounds.

I’m not sure anyone is presently hunting them with Bushman trackers. Glad I got to experience it when I did.

That sounds like fun

 

[revturbo9967]

I’m headed to Zim for leopard in 2028. It’s roughly double the price of some of the advertised end of year deals elsewhere, but I’m paying for the experience of hunting the Zambezi, not just checking a leopard off a list. Nothing wrong with booking a last minute hunt, but if you’re going to book that far in advance, do so for best success, as well as experience, not based on price.

 

[Rare Breed]

Bo

Book with @DALTON & YORK SAFARIS and you will have a very good chance of success. Prebaiting is recommended.

I was there with Philip when he took a nice tom

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Really good idea. But all my PG hunting as been in South Africa which is not conducive to Leopard hunting.

Easiest solution is for you stop hunting South Africa, and start hunting wild areas in other countries with dangerous game and leopard on quota. Unless you’re just trying to check boxes, you likely haven’t taken all that much PG wise over your 2 hunts and you’ll need to take many more Impala, zebra and potentially a hippo for bait. Most leopard hunts I’ve seen and looked into don’t include bait, and pre-baiting costs extra.

I’m 1 for 2 on Leopard Hunts and lack the experience of many commenting. Both my hunts were for ranch cats, BUT I didn’t want just any Leopard; I wanted a giant one (see avatar photo) and specifically hunted the Matopos Area for a reason. In my opinion, the best odds of success require multiple things. With two or three you have an above avg change of success but with all of them you immensely stack the odds in your favor.

1) Quality Area w/ a high density of Leopards - A good “cat man” can’t pull a cat out of his a*s

2) Timing - helps with bait preservation, encourages cats to feed, and gets the cats moving. Weather changes and moons can cause changes to feeding patterns as well. Wrong time of the year and there’s plenty of natural bait.

3) PH - personally I think this is less important if you’re hunting in a high density area with unpressured cats (Niassa, Luangwa, Selous, Nuanetsi, etc). An average PH has a good chance of getting a cat on bait in those areas. If you’re hunting in a pressured area (even a high density area like Matopos) your PH choice matters greatly.

My next Leopard Hunt will be a hound hunt as I’d like to compare it to a blind hunt.

 

[kpoynter]

I see repeat good advice about location and timing
One simple point is avoid cheap leopard hunts.
They directly reflect probability.
Luangwa and Niassa are almost certainly THE best high probability areas.
Other good areas in Zim…
Hound Hunts are cool but different snd exoensive
Tanzania is more expensive than Zambia/luangwa and Moz/niassa but highly productive

I’ll be on my third a leopard hunt in two weeks myself.

 

[3chunter]

When I was in Namibia 2 years ago, couldn’t step out the truck without seeing leopard tracks.

 

[Cme1983]

So a leopard hunt in Luangwa or Niassa is going to cost you 40k all in give or take. You will kill your leopard on that hunt 99% of the time. A cheaper leopard hunt or cancellation leopard hunt is going to cost 22-25k all in. That’s a hunt where you are most likely going to have to hunt leopard again because of low success rates. Do the math on if it is cheaper to do 2-4 cheaper hunts or one high quality leopard hunt.

 

[Russ16]

So a leopard hunt in Luangwa or Niassa is going to cost you 40k all in give or take. You will kill your leopard on that hunt 99% of the time. A cheaper leopard hunt or cancellation leopard hunt is going to cost 22-25k all in. That’s a hunt where you are most likely going to have to hunt leopard again because of low success rates. Do the math on if it is cheaper to do 2-4 cheaper hunts or one high quality leopard hunt.

I was looking at Niassa. At the end of the day it was a good bit more than $40k. Closer to $60.

Part of that is you need bait so might as well make it a buffalo/leopard hunt to use the buff for bait. But even if just using PG animals the trophy fees on the bait add up.

I still agree with you. When I do my leopard it will be Niassa. I decided to prioritize elephant first.

 

[Cme1983]

I was looking at Niassa. At the end of the day it was a good bit more than $40k. Closer to $60.

Part of that is you need bait so might as well make it a buffalo/leopard hunt to use the buff for bait. But even if just using PG animals the trophy fees on the bait add up.

You don’t use buff for leopard bait. If you want to add and hunt buff yeah it will make the price go up. In Niassa you are going to use impala and zebra. When you add other species etc 60 is a true price. But for leopard and the leopard bait its 40 all day.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I was looking at Niassa. At the end of the day it was a good bit more than $40k. Closer to $60.

Part of that is you need bait so might as well make it a buffalo/leopard hunt to use the buff for bait. But even if just using PG animals the trophy fees on the bait add up.

I still agree with you. When I do my leopard it will be Niassa. I decided to prioritize elephant first.

@Cme1983 knows what he’s talking about pricing wise. Which outfitter and area in Niassa were you looking at?

If leopard is your focus, I’d suggest using Zebra and Impala for bait instead of Buffalo. You’ll get your bait shot quicker and more bait sites up earlier. If you’re hunting buffalo, you’re tracking and you don’t just want to shoot the first bull you see. Every day you don’t shoot is one less day you’ve got baits swinging, and if you shoot other bait first it’s time away from checking bait sites, looking at trail cams, scouting for tracks or a new potential bait site.

If you’re hunting early season the more baits you have hanging early the more likely you are to jumpstart cats feeding as they move around their territory. More baits also gives the options of multiple leopards rather than the first legal male on bait. Later in the season, you’ll likely hang baits where the outfitter has already been baiting and potentially had females or legal males feed.

Think about it this way, trophy fees in Niassa are
Buffalo is $5-7k (4 baits per)
Impala is $500-700 (1 baits per)
Zebra $2500-3000 (4 baits per)
Hippo $5-6k (6-8 baits per)

Depending on outfitter (in the better blocks) your day rates will be $18-25k for a 12-14 Day hunt. Leopard Trophy Fee is $8-10.5k depending on outfitter/area. Add in 8 baits plus 2-3 to refresh a feed and you’re at $40k +\-. Add in an observer (many outfitters will let them hunt PG off your license at the observer rate) and you have one of the best priced Leopard Hunts with a realistic 90-95% or more success rate.

 

[Russ16]

@Cme1983 knows what he’s talking about pricing wise. Which outfitter and area in Niassa were you looking at?

If leopard is your focus, I’d suggest using Zebra and Impala for bait instead of Buffalo. You’ll get your bait shot quicker and more bait sites up earlier. If you’re hunting buffalo, you’re tracking and you don’t just want to shoot the first bull you see. Every day you don’t shoot is one less day you’ve got baits swinging, and if you shoot other bait first it’s time away from checking bait sites, looking at trail cams, scouting for tracks or a new potential bait site.

If you’re hunting early season the more baits you have hanging early the more likely you are to jumpstart cats feeding as they move around their territory. More baits also gives the options of multiple leopards rather than the first legal male on bait. Later in the season, you’ll likely hang baits where the outfitter has already been baiting and potentially had females or legal males feed.

Think about it this way, trophy fees in Niassa are
Buffalo is $5-7k (4 baits per)
Impala is $500-700 (1 baits per)
Zebra $2500-3000 (4 baits per)
Hippo $5-6k (6-8 baits per)

Depending on outfitter (in the better blocks) your day rates will be $18-25k for a 12-14 Day hunt. Leopard Trophy Fee is $8-10.5k depending on outfitter/area. Add in 8 baits plus 2-3 to refresh a feed and you’re at $40k +\-. Add in an observer (many outfitters will let them hunt PG off your license at the observer rate) and you have one of the best priced Leopard Hunts with a realistic 90-95% or more success rate.

I probably misiderstood on Buffalo as bait.

That said when I go I won’t express any opinion on what to use as bait.thats what the PH is for, he knows what better than I the best way to do it.

Thanks for the feedback.