South African lion Question?
International
Local business tycoon just returned from South Africa with a gorgeous, big, black-maned lion.
OK, Africa experts is there much free-range lion hunting in South Africa? What are the manes usually like on the truly free-range lions in South Africa?
Just curious is the stories I've heard from the guy are legit.
Thanks
I don't know about the manes, but to my knowledge most all South Afrrican lion hunts are high fence, and canned to some degree. I have no knowledge of this particular hunt or hunter. It is my understanding though that most all lions in South Africa are hunted on ranches, not truly wild.
For truly wild free ranging lions you need to go to Tanzania or the like. That is my 2 cents, and not necessarily the concrete facts.
--Jim
I believe that Jim said it well. I do not know of any free range lion hunts in South Africa.
I did just shoot a lioness in South Africa a month ago. It was not free range. It was also not easy. In any event, I have seen people present their hunts as one that came over from Botswana.
I am highly suspicious. I believe you could find someone to tell you a nice story if you asked around enough.
Pat got a gorgeous lion in South Africa about 8 years ago and it is on one of the live hunts in the archive. There is videos the kill. Pretty intense deal as he stalked in on that thing
Link to Pats lion. I thought there was kill shot video in there at one point but for the life of me can't find it now.
There are no free range lions in South Africa. Lions are pen raised until they released to the hunting area maybe 2 days or 2 months before the hunter comes. Lions are used to human presence.
The client often picks up preferred male lion from a "catalog", this is especially true with extra fancy trophies like big black maned lion.
I doubt that many if any black big maned lions still exists in free range areas.
Exactly.A customer of mine just killed two,a large,black maned male and a huge female.It was exacly as Gretch described.It can still be dangerous and there is some "hunt" to it.Those cats aren't afraid of people,when push comes to shove.
I thought SA put rules into place several years ago that required lions be be released at least 6 months prior to a hunt?? This was from something I thought I had read.
I thought I read that wild free range lions are sometimes available as they wander off of Kruger and at in from Botswana to the most northern Transvaal.
Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't these fenced concessions thousands of acres? Never been , but this is what I read. Educate me!
All lion hunts conducted in RSA will be high fence hunts. The size of the properties hunted will vary greatly with the repuability and quality of the experience the outfitter can offer. The concessions my outfitter uses to conduct his lion hunts up in the Kalahari are huge. The largest property being somewhere around 8-9K acres. Lions, by law are required to roam freely on the property at least 90 days prior to hunting them. These are wary cats that will be very challenging and dangerous to hunt especially with a bow... Any outfitter who guarantees you a specific cat within a couple of days of hunting is probably not reputable and will not be providing you with a quality hunt or a challenging experience. The quality outfitters utilize huge properties and drag the roads to look for tracks. The cats are located by fresh tracks and the hunt takes place on foot from there. A minimum of 5 days is necessary to ensure a quality ethical shot opportunity with a bow.
Please feel free to PM if you would like more info and details on the hunt.... Glad to help if I can...
Firehuntfish has supplied good info here.
Just because its high fence doesnt mean its going to be an easy hunt....especially with a bow.
What happens after the lion is release and it is not taken during the hunt? Would it remain in the concession or recaptured or is it something that if you hunt for 10 days you will get an opportunity? I can't imagine there is a 100% success rate but I could be wrong. Just curious if someone knows.
ExtremeZ7,
That's a valid question. I cannot speak for all outfitters, but at Limcroma, we offer a 7-day male lion hunt with rifle or bow that is done on a huge concession up in the Kalahari region. At any given time, there may be several huntable trophy caliber males and females on the concession at the time. We have never had a client not get a shooting opportunity in 7 days of hunting, however, that being said, it's ultimately up to the client whether or not to shoot any particular trophy animal. Most first-time lion hunting clients will take the first opportunity at a mature male(5-6 years or older). Other clients may opt to pass, holding out for a particular cat that is know to be on the concession. In those circumstances, we have extended days on hunts for certain clients holding out for a particular animal.
