Leopard and Hippo Hunt
International
I thought, I would share an absolute amazing bow hunting safari in Zambia. For a long time, I’ve imagined what it would have been like hunting in Africa in the early 1900’s. So, I decided to find a hunt that would bring me as close as possible to the early hunting adventures of africa. After a number of shows and research it lead me to Northern Zambia in the Luangwa River Valley. I wanted a truly wild African hunt and that’s exactly what I received and more. This hunt I would be strictly Bowhunting.
This is a picture of the local airport terminal and waiting area. lol
The kids wait by the airstrip hoping for anything. I came prepared with loads of candy. Next time, I’ll be packing loads of clothes and shoes for the kids.
After, we unloaded the plane and passed out candy we took off towards camp. During the drive we went through a couple villages which was an eye opening experience. We also saw a few plains game and small group of elephants.
Eagerly following, can't wait!
It’s going to be a good one :)
Zambia has the best and most consistent leopard hunting. Specifically the Luangwa valley. This should be good.
what a cool experience. i would have liked to have done something like this. certainly, one of the regrets i have.
really looking forward to this. thanks for sharing.
Good thing I’m retired, I’m picturing a less than productive day, unless hitting ‘Refresh’ a lot is considered productive!
Looking forward to the rest, thanks!
Ace. Hilarious
Yeah, come on man. You can’t start a hunt recap and then disappear. Well, Technically I guess you can.
Looking forward to this, thanks for sharing!
Hopefully he is not related to Zim and Bou’bound
Looking forward the leopard hunt
Looking forward to following this one.
Here’s a few pictures of the camp. It’s very comfortable and nice especially considering how far away we were from anything. That night I heard lions and elephants right outside of camp! I mean close close to camp
Some more pictures of camp
I was able to sit by the fire and get some relaxation from the 48hrs of travel. Tomorrow, we’ll head to the river and try for a hippo with my bow.
Thanks for all the excitement. I’ll try and post each day until completed.
Thanks for all the excitement. I’ll try and post each day until completed.
Looks like an adventure of a lifetime.
Who are you hunting with? Looking forward to the story!
That evening, I sat down with my PH to discussed the mornings hunt for the hippo. We talked again about taking it with my bow. He was concerned about the endavour but was willing to try. The concerns were the possibility of eating up baiting and hunting days for the leopard and 2nd was the difficulty of harvesting a hippo with a bow. A hippo hunt with a gun is one of the easiest animals in Africa to take but with a bow one of the most difficult if not the most difficult. The main reason being the sheer mass and the fact the hippo is usually in the water. This was a concern of mine as well. During my research, I noticed a lot of hunters lost their hippo or used a gun to finish it off. I hadn’t see any clean hippo kills so i was nervous to say the least. After picking the brains of people smarter than me, I felt good with my bow and arrow setup.
We left early that morning before light and headed towards the river. To be honest, I was quite nervous because their massive size and how dangerous they can be up close. I would only have one chance and that weighed heavy on my mind. If, I failed it would have to be finished with a gun which would be very disappointing but safety would be our 1st priority.
We found a group of hippos that morning but couldn’t get a good shot on the male in the group. So, we located another group of hippo’s down river. After, getting into position we found another good hippo in this new group. We patiently waited for a good shoot which the hippo finally presented to me at 47 yards. I pulled back my 80lb hoyt and placed my pin on the lungs. The arrow hit its mark and buried to the fletchings while puncturing the opposite side of the hippo.
The hippo took off towards the water and immediately started to spew blood from its mouth and nose. It dove into the deep water of the river and submerged itself for about 30 seconds. All the sudden it raised its head from the water trying to breathe but instead spewed more blood over the brown murky water. It dove quickly down into water and disappeared once again. Not long after, the hippo emerged from the water and ran up the river. We could see blooding spitting and pouring blood from both sides of the hippo. At this point the water was covered in bright red blood. The hippo proceeded up the river like a mack truck plowing its way through the water. It made it about 50 yards before it started to sway back-and-forth. The hippo quickly made a circle and then tipped over creating a large splash and wake. That was his last movement. It all started quickly and ended the same way!! We started high-fiving and screaming. It was a sight to behold, I had taken a hippo with my bow.
The trackers pulling the hippo to dry ground
Look at the size of the skin and far before you even get to the ribs
Nice work. What was the arrow and BH set up
NICE! Interested in arrow and broad head set up also.
Well that was over so fast, you almost didn't get your money's worth!! The anxiety, pressure and exhilarations must have been intense in that short window! Did you get video of your hunt?
Congratulations. he was pretty scarred up.
What does hippo taste like?
Congrats!
Looking forward to the rest of your adventure/hunt.
Wow! That was quick! Congrats! Curious about your shot placement. On lots of African game, the kill zone is a bit further forward and lower vs North American game. Is that the case on a hippo, or is your shot in the ideal spot (assuming it was broadside)?
“What does hippo taste like?”
I’m pretty sure it tastes like Leopard Bait….
Oooohhhh…. That makes sense…
Very cool so far! Did you see any crocs in river while you were hunting for the hippo? How did the other hippos respond to the wounded hippo?
Dam, that was quick. Congrats now gives you time to concentrate on leopard.
is that a "big" hippo ?? and I'm curious too how edible they are - natives eat it I'm sure? fed a village ?
Will you be able to ship the skull home for a euro? (I don't know the current rules for shipping trophy animals)
Congrats!!!
Looking forward to following this one! Congrats on the hippo
I brought two bows for this hunt. For the hippo my setup was the following.
Hoyt RX5 80lbs Easton axis arrows 750g Lighted Nock “Deep Six off amazon” IronWill Broad Head “150g single blade Buffalo series” Ethics Insert 100g and Ethics collar
On the hippo the broadhead exited the opposite side but didn’t pass through the hippo. The shot was at 47 yards so that makes a big difference on penetration. In this case I was happy with no pass through because the broadhead backed back in the hippo and being a single blade continued to cut and cause havoc on his vital organs while he moved.
Complete pass through and damage is done or continual damage and cutting on the fetal organs???
The shot placement on a hippo is different then your typical african game. Here’s a diagram of the vitals. I chose the route of double lungs. If it can’t breath it can’t stay underwater.
Going the heavier lungs area you also avoid the thicker overlapping ribs.
By going upper lungs and back you avoid the overlapping ribs.
The following night we ate hippo tail!! lol It was fabulous and very tender. They call it the ribeye of the hippo.
I normally like extra hunting days so i can soak in the experience but was more then happy to get one down quick and simply this time. It also gave us more days for baiting. Baiting is a long and tedious process!!
We didn’t see crocs in the area we hunted hippos but we did have crocs in the river next to camp every night. I heard them every night while having dinner and in bed.
Yes, the hippo isn’t difficult to ship back to the states. Now, the leopard can be shipped back as well but does take time and paperwork.
The hippo was a good size animal but I wouldn’t say it was the largest either. We wanted a good size hippo but wanted a good shoot more to increase my odds of being successful. It also saved us time to hunt and bait a leopard. I would love to do it again one day.
After a fulls day of processing the hippo, I set beside the fire reminiscing on an amazing day in the bush.
Very informative posts on the shot placement, anatomy, etc on the hippo. Keep it coming!
Yep- this is great. Thank you and keep those pics and posts coming!
After a fulls day of processing the hippo, I set beside the fire reminiscing on an amazing day in the bush.
We spent the next 2 and 1/2 days setting up leopard bait sites. I found it so interesting how they setup the bait sites. I probably drove my PH mad with all the questions but it was so fascinating. The baiting process was almost as fun as hunting them.
The trackers would climb all the way up the tree barefoot with no rope or safety lines!! A few times, I was extremely nervous for them.
They would cover the bait with branches to hind it from the buzzards.
After they finished hanging and covering the bait they would pour hippo blood and stomach matter over the branch and tree to cover human scent and to also add scent to attract a leopard. After all this they would drag hippo guts up and down the trails leading back to the tree.
We managed to setup 8 to 10 bait sites during those 2 days. Late that evening a set beside a the fire listings to elephants and lions trumps and roars close to camp. Words can’t describe the beauty and aw I felt that evening. That moment is why i booked a truly wild Africa Safari.
So cool! What an amazing trip!
Sitting around the fire with a drink in hand. Or laying in your tent and hearing elephants, lions, hyenas, leopard, hippos or crocs is worth the trip.
A lion roaring will remind you why you do not stroll around at night. Or even leave your tent at night.
This is completely awesome! Did you bring 2 identical bow set ups? And curious how fast your arrows are travelling?
I'm really liking getting all of this in small pieces, something to look forward to each morning!
Sitting around the fire with a drink in hand. Or laying in your tent and hearing elephants, lions, hyenas, leopard, hippos or crocs is worth the trip.
A lion roaring will remind you why you do not stroll around at night. Or even leave your tent at night.
Could we speed it up please?
Everything about this adventure is phenomenal! Congrats, Brady and many thanks for sharing it here.
I brought 2 bows for the his trip. My hippo setup is above but here’s my leopard setup.
Hoyt RX7 70lbs 450 grain arrow Grimreaper Mech 2in cutting diameter
I think you could go as light as 65lbs for a leopard and would probably recommend that too
That night was a little restless night due to noises outside my tent. I kept hearing noises throughout the night which sounded like walking around my tent. I finally convinced myself it was my imagination and drafted off to sleep.
That morning after breakfast the PH and trackers told me there was leopard tracks in camp and had walked around my tent just a few feet from my front door!!! The movie scene from “Ghost in the Darkness” quickly came to my mind. Those who have seen the movie will know what i’m referencing. lol
I’m interested in how close your leopard blind will be from the bait.
We had a number of hyena’s at the bait sites
We even had a large female climb a tree and feed on the bait.
We had a large female hit the bait with 2 cubs
We had a large female hit the bait with 2 cubs
Here’s the 2 cubs on the bait
We often ran into herds of elephants while checking the baits. We were charged a number of times by females in the herd. I could tell form the trackers nervously beating on the jeeps roof and the PH’s focus it was serious. I couldn’t help but be impressive by the elephant running towards the jeep with dust in its wake.
Another end to a long day of checking baits
Lots of activity at the bait site. Did the lion and the leopard with cubs eat most of the bait?
While driving around, we spotted a very large male zebra with a small group of females. We parked the jeep and the stalk was on. We chose to let me sneak in on them solo and I managed to get within 57 yards. At this point they were all staring at me so I pulled back my Hoyt RX7 and let the arrow fly. It hit its mark and the zebra took off at a dead run making it 100 yards before expiring. It turned out to be a beautiful male with amazing markings.
I friend described the zebra as a black zebra with white strips. lol
While loading the zebra in the jeep, I took this beautiful picture of the sun resting on the horizon.
That is a huge female leopard.
Lions and hyenas will clean up a bait site pretty quickly, and usually that spot is abandoned after a lion takes it over.
Stalking a zebra on foot and shooting it with a bow is quite a feat. They are Very smart and Wiley . I would say it’s in the rare category to Stalk a zebra within bow range
This is a great story and you are having one hell of an adventure.
Those tracks around your tent, would definitely make me think twice of having to relieve myself in the middle of the night.
Those markings on that zebra are amazing.
I’m loving the story. Keep it coming! Leopard tracks around the tent is COOL!
I may have missed it but what type of "bait" are you using for the Leopards? About how far will your stand be from the bait site?
BTW if I recall in the movie (The Ghost and the Darkness) there was one guy that didn't fair to well sleeping in his tent... Good Luck!
I sure enjoy getting these daily updates. That is probably the coolest looking zebra I've ever seen.
Such a great story, can't wait to hear about he conclusion on Leopard
what were the elephants doing in those holes ??
Great stuff!! Can’t wait for the rest
The elephants are digging into the dry River bed sand for fresh water below the surface. They don’t prefer muddy water so like it filtered through the sand.
Plus sometimes of the year. It’s dry and the only way to get water.
This is awesome.
Looking forward to the next update.
Putting on a stalk like that would make a trip like that Worth Doing. Pulling it off with a stickbow would be even cooler….
How much does a stud like that weigh??
Such great coloration on him, too…. That would make a rug that’s way too pretty to walk on..
cane pole read the whole thread it’s worth it!
It’s the hippo he shot on day 1 for bait.
We are using hippo for bait and placing the stands around 30 yards from the bait.
The elephants at a natural salt lick.
Yep, at the end of the movie Remington was dragged from the tent by a man eating lion and killed and eaten alive.
Here’s some of the blinds the trackers put up for the bait sites. It was pretty impressive to watch and fun learning experience.
Can you see the blind ???
Same blind looking at the front
Same blind looking at the front
Us taking a break during the heat of the day!!
We needed some meat for camp so we decided to hunt a blind.
My PH reading a romance novel while waiting for dinner. lol
My PH didn’t particularly enjoy setting in blinds for long periods of time!! ????
We had a good impala swing by for a nice midday drink. Mistake!!!
Bow hunting for leopard. Not many PH’s would even consider it. They are so elusive and weary. It’s a challenge with a rifle.
At least you’re in Zambia. For the best odds.
Really enjoying this thread! Your PH reading Rules of Prey is funny! That’s not a romance novel, but a very good book;)
It’s not a true adventure without problems!! lol
It’s not a true adventure without problems!! lol
They have some massive trees !!
They have some massive trees !!
We got this young female on trailcam in my favorite looking bait site
Along with this beautiful old male leopard!! When the PH checked the trailcam I could tell from his reaction it great cat!!
Along with this beautiful old male leopard!! When the PH checked the trailcam I could tell from his reaction it great cat!!
When you see a male and female together the difference is obvious.
Here’s a few pictures of the area at this particular bait site.
Here’s a few pictures of the area at this particular bait site.
The blind is very difficult to see but it’s on the left side
The blind is in the center of this picture
Since, we saw the male leopard on the bait yesterday evening, we decided to hunt that evening. The 1st couple of hours were very quiet but we heard a baboon making a racket indicating we probably had a leopard near by. We waited with anticipationbut nothing materialized that evening but we’re confident either the female or male was near by that evening. After last shooting light we headed back to camp.
Before dinner, I sat beside the campfire and had a diet coke and watched a gorgeous sunset. Later that evening, I tried my 1st plate of hippo tail and was very apprehensive of the thought of eating animal tail. Boy was I wrong, It tasted amazing and was very tinder piece of meat. After dinner, I had another night filled with elephant and lions roars that last most of the nigh
That night in bed I played with shot placement on my phone with pictures I took of the trailcam pictures. I thought, if the leopard came back to that bait, I could visualize different positions the leopard might be in. Then, I placed yellow dots where i would shoot if the opportunity presented itself. I played around with that for over an hour before falling off to sleep.
A wounded leopard is a very dangerous and deadly animal. My PH had been mauled 4 years before in this very area by a wounded leopard. He spent 2 weeks in the hospital. I can’t lie and say i didn’t feel the pressure.
That is a very nice leopard, thick neck and shoulders, thick legs, ears on the side of his fat head
How did you get the drawing of the bow quiet enough to be in range of a leopard and draw?
Arrow dragging on the rest.
Bow noise while drawing. Then bow noise at the shot?
Curious if the PH told you the mauling story from the leopard? Great read, btw!!
Great thread ! Lots of good pictures, and that makes it great !
You lost me at Diet coke…JK Dead leopard Plzz …. Even still great stuff
Excellent! Enjoying the photos and commentary! Quite the adventure!
I put in 14 straight days of work doing a mine valuation on a copper mine near Chingola. Zambia in '96. Knew there were some cool parts of Zambia I'd have loved to visited.
But had the bow along and went hunting down in NW Zimbabwe south of Victoria Falls after the work wrapped up. We heard lions and baboons every night. Baboons came into several water holes I hunted....never a big one though. There were crocs down on the Matetsi River 100 yards from camp. Had buffalo sign in some 10' tall grass one day....we didn't follow up, I wasn't hunting them. Stalked a bull elephant to 12 yards one day just for photos. The other hunter rifled a lion close enough to me that I heard the shot. Very memorable trip for me...but the original poster's trip is even wilder!
Been following since you started this thread. Great job with the pics and commentary.
I haven’t told many this story because of how scary it was but here goes.
We woke up at 230am to have breakfast and start the hour drive to our bait site. We wanted to be in the blind by 430am which should give enough time for everything to settle down. During the drive, we stopped for a quick pee break. The PH told everyone to stay close to the truck. I walked 10 to 15ft from the truck to take a leak. I walked back to the truck and sat in my seat. The PH came back to the truck and said he needed some toilet paper. He walked in front of the truck and went about 30ft from the truck. A few minutes later all hell broke lose!!
This is not an appropriate time to leave us hanging!
We’ve all had that moment when you need toilet paper and then all hell breaks loose. Don’t need to be on an African adventure to relate to that.
Hippo tail does that to me every time!!
I think they all must’ve died:)
The PH came running out of the darkness with his flashlight flickering up and down yelling lion!! When he made it to the truck his face was ghost white and his eyes were as big as silver dollars.
He didn’t go far into the darkness to take number 2. After, completion he started walking back to the truck when his hair stood on its back and he heard a snap. He quickly turned around and point his flashlight towards the sound to see a female lion charging him!!! By the grace of God the flashlight blinded the lion and veered off and ran past him. There’s no other way to put it, besides DEATH was 2 sec from taking him.
He was quiet but I could tell he was still in shock for some time after. He handle it like a professional but still he realized he was close to leaving this life behind. After, a few minutes he started the truck and drove off heading towards the leopard blind from yesterday.
Wait, he didn't clean his soiled britches before he got in the truck and drove off? Ewww!
“Never get out of the boat”
Good thing he finished his nature call before the lion charged....
Can't make this shit up. Real deal.
We made it into the blind and sat in the pitch black for about an hour before we heard a baboon. A few minutes later we heard a cat at the bait. We could hear It breaking bones and making all kinds of noises. It even started to purr like a house cat!!
A few minutes later we heard a hynea approach the bait and that didn’t go over well with the male leopard. The hyena left afree awhile and the leopard ate for a little while longer and left the bait before shooting light.
Later that morning, we had the female come into the bait but the male wouldn’t walk into the bait. We sat until 1130am and decided to call it a morning. We went to check a few other baits before heading back to the blind for the evening hunt.
Cool and exciting stuff!! Is it not possible or practical to bow hunt with a light? Or just too big a risk for shot placement?
I saw one wild leopard laying on a big limb, in Botswana and it was definitely the most beautiful and impressive looking of all the cats.
In a number of countries they hunt them at night with a green light and lighted sights. In Zambia it’s not illegal to hunt leopards at night.
HF, I'm wondering if you intended to use a double negative in your last post or if that's an auto-correct from a phone? I'm guessing you meant to say "not legal", but I could definitely be wrong...
This is really fun following this hunt. It's a dream hunt for me that will never happen, so following along vicariously through your story is great fun. I appreciate you taking the time to share all of the pics and info. Keep it coming!
English is my second language. Okiehoman is my first. With that said would “not illegal” technically be a double negative? I am not sure.
Hunt forever is the perfect handle for this thread.
John-- yes it would be. "Illegal" is the opposite (i.e., negative) of "legal". ... and "not" is "not"...
“ il” is considered a negative was not sure. Earl’s point is this thread isn’t not slow. ;)
Haha John-- no it isn't (another double negative).
Yes, sorry not legal is what i meant. English is my 2nd language.
That afternoon we got back into the blind by 2pm. Around 3 o’clock we heard a soft growl sound from a leopard. The sound didn’t seem far way, a few hundred yards away. Twenty minutes later, we heard another soft growl in the bush. This went on and on for a couple hours. I could tell De Bruin was getting frustrated. He leaned over and whispered “I think they’re mating and the male is doing his thing”. I responded with a look of bewilderment and said really? He slowly shook his head. I thought to myself maybe the female will walk in with him in tow. We sat there until the sun started to fade behind the tall trees. Suddenly, I heard a growl beside me just outside the blind. As, I peaked through the grass of the blind, I could see the head of a large male leopard just feet away looking in my direction. It didn’t appear to see me or the blind. He slowly turned and walked towards the bait. I motioned to De Bruin, and silently said Big Cat!!! At 1st he saw the female but she had the big male in tow.
He motioned for me to stand up. So, I slowly stood and got into my shooting position. At this point the female was on the branch while the male stood broadside at the bottom of the tree. I got ready for the shot but he quickly walked under the tree. He positioned himself broadside again but again moved this time onto the leaned up log pushing the female off the bait.
He started eating the hippo bait and presented a beautiful shoot so I pulled back and took aim but he suddenly moved presenting me with no shot. I let the bow down and waited again. I tired to stay focused and claim while waiting for another opportunity. Finally, he presented another shot so I pulled back my bow and placed the pin just behind the shoulder and squeezed my thumb on release. I watched the green lighted nock hit its mark then continue behind the leopard into the woods. He quickly jumped into the air and landing on all on of his feet. He just started walking away not running but walking. I was in disbelief at the leopards reaction to my shot. I began to wonder if it was a bad shot? It looked and sounded good but I was now getting very nervous. He went a few feet and I lost sight of him due to my angle and the window in the blind. The PH could still see him and walking away.
All the sudden, I heard a loud moaning sound like what a bear makes when dying. Oh could it be??!!! We set there quietly for less then a minute but it felt like an eternity. The PH looks at me and says stay in the blind. Now, I’m even more worried and confused. He rushes out of the blind with his gun. I stood there looking out the window thinking what is going on. I see the PH through the blind window with his gun aimed and my heart dropped. Then all the sudden he looks back at me and yells he’s dead!!
I rush through the blind door running towards the PH to the sight of the leopard lying just 15 yards from the bait!! The PH and I started High Fiving and hollering. After, our male bonding, I slowly walked towards the beautiful leopard laying on the ground. I was in awe at the sight of such a magnificent animal that I had taken him with my bow. I felt blessed to have taken it cleanly and with no issues. Their such an amazing and beautiful animal. It’s difficult for me to express the feelings i had at that very moment but it was probably the greatest hunting experience of my life!!
My PH holding the cat up!
Incredible, and worth the wait!
The hippo story was great on its own, but as a precursor to the leopard, I just can't fathom the uniqueness of those two experiences wrapped into one hunt. Thanks for sharing!
That is one hell of a feat. Shooting a leopard with a bow. Let alone a mature one like that. That is as big as they get.
It’s hard to stay quiet enough with the blind at 60-100 yards for rifle hunting.
You Da Man!!!! Wow! Incredible thanks for sharing.
What an experience! Thanks for sharing and congratulations on a beautiful leopard.
Wow! Congrats to a truely magnificant overall hunt. All trophies with excepcional good shot placement. Well done!
what a great experience that must have been. congrats, and thanks for sharing.
That is awesome! Beautiful leopard. Congratulations.
Congrats on an incredible adventure! Excellent recap as well.
Wow, congrats on a beautiful leopard!
Thanks for the pictures and recaps of your hunts and adventure.
That looks like a huge cat. Great hunt and story, thanks for sharing.
Awesome!! Congratulations!!
Congrats, what an incredible experience. Thank you for sharing.
What an incredible recap! Thanks for sharing it with us and congrats on a couple of great animals!
Congrats on the hunt of a lifetime! This was an amazing story and you told it so well...thank you!!!
Huge congrats! Thanks for sharing with us
Outstanding! Congratulations!
That was certainly worth the wait! Thanks for sharing!
Congratulations!! I only wish there was more to come as it has been a pleasure to read the daily updates. Thanks for sharing with us.
Congratulations on your cat!!!!!
Excellent! Great Leopard! Exciting as heck! Well done!
Sounds like a great hunt! Certainly wouldn’t not be fun!
Congratulations! Beautiful cat!
WOW, just WOW.
A human wouldn't stand a chance against something like that.
What would a cat like that weigh?
Thank you for posting. If you have more pics, please post them.
Absolutely amazing adventure and leopard, congratulations and thanks for sharing!
Congrats. Pretty exclusive club you’ve joined! Thanks for sharing.
Beauty of a cat, congrats!
Very, very impressive! What an absolutely beautiful animal! Also, if English is your second language, you write better than most who are only English speaking. Bravo in all regards!
Nicely done congrats to you and thanks for sharing.
Congrats and thanks for sharing
Well done! Great pictures and story telling.
So very awesome! Congrats on making a great shot on a great animal!! Appreciate you taking us along with the recap!!!
Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your awesome hunt!
Nice write up. What's the cost of a trip like that?]
I learned the difference between a leopard and a cougar.
Apparently a leopard can draw something twice its weight up a tree.
A cougar can drag something half her age into bed.
Fantastic recap of an unbelievable adventure! Thanks so much for taking the time to let us enjoy the hunt for three gorgeous animals! Well, maybe the hippo isn’t gorgeous, but still pretty darn cool!
Amazing adventure, thanks for taking us along.
Congratulations and thanks for sharing your adventure with us.
I was teasing about english not being my second language lol
It was their largest cat in 8 years. We guessed the weight to be around 160lbs. It was very difficult for me to hold him up for more than a few seconds at a time.
They had to take measurements and other items to age the cat.
He had old worn down and broken teeth
Wow! When it happened it happened! I figured it would take quite a few hunts!
Great job!
I inspected the cat before they cleaned the inside of the cat. I was able to determine the location of the vitals.
The hearts and lungs are within the yellow square.
Wow!! Congratulations on an awesome cat! That’s for bringing us along.
fantastic - I like the autopsy photos - more of those !
did locals eat the meat ?
I've eaten mountain lions - which was absolutely fantastic - I assume the leopard would be similar??
A great shot under extreme pressure! Congratulations!! And thanks for writing.
The hearts and lungs are within the yellow square.
Yes the locals eat everything
Here’s a neat video i made on instagram of the hunt.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-NQyFKuQ0E/?igsh=Y3RuYzQwb2M5YmZj
In the US they would be touting that cat as 200 lbs :>))))
HUGE congrats!!!
Thanks for the great story telling, pics and write up!!
Mark
I would be curious how the meat compared to Mt lion, because Mt Lion was delicious
Here’s a neat video i made on instagram of the hunt.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-NQyFKuQ0E/?igsh=Y3RuYzQwb2M5YmZj
Congratulations Brad!!! Fantastic hunt and story. Thanks for sharing. I did this hunt back in 2017 - took leopard, hippo, hyena and a bunch of bait impala in the Valley (Chanjuzi Concession). Then moved out of the valley and took some unique Zambian Plainsgame - Puku, Kafue Lechwe, Defassa Waterbuck, Oribi, Lichtenstein Hartebeest.
As you’ve described, it was one of the greatest adventures of my life - Luangwa Valley is one of the last true vestiges of Wild Africa. Like you, the elephants encountered were the most aggressive I’ve seen anywhere in Africa. We also had a few lion encounters but my most hair-raising were in the SAVE in Zim and Tete in MOZ.
Who did you hunt with and in which conservancy?
Congrats on a fantastic hunt. Great pics and two very fine animals.
What an adventure !!! Thanks for bringing us along!!
Haha Brady’s first language is Arkansas Redneck Southern Drawl :) :) had to go to college to speak and write English correctly.
Great year for Brady, he has a bunch of other hunts that went amazingly well that maybe he will share!
I waited for the story to be complete so I could sit down and read it all at once. Whan an outstanding adventure! Congrats and thank you for sharing all the pics and stories here!
Great write-up and photos! Thanks for sharing a taste of your epic adventure!
Thanks for all the nice comments!!! It was a hunt to remember. I wish i could afford to do it every year
Thanks for all the nice comments!!! It was a hunt to remember. I wish i could afford to do it every year
Amazing adventure. Beautiful cat. That Zebra to me is just freaking awesome!
