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African Lion - panthera leo
Of all Africa's animals none are better known than the mighty "King of the Beasts" immortalised in many Hollywood movies and adventure hunting novels. The lion exudes majesty and power, always a breathtaking sight to any hunter and rightly so.
No hunter to Africa can ever forget the calm gaze of intent yellow eyes calculating from within dense thorn scrub, the earth shattering roar or the crunching of bones in the darkness. Try hunting a hungry lion that has no fear of man, on foot, in dense vegetation...you'll come away with a new perspective on life...
No matter how we look at it, this is Africa's iconic species, forget the pesty Elephant that everyone fawns over and eagerly empty their wallets to high salaried ' save the african animal' type organisations.
No matter how we look at it, this is Africa's iconic species, forget the pesty Elephant that everyone fawns over and eagerly empty their wallets to high salaried ' save the african animal' type organisations.
A recent CITES scare cracking down on numbers of Lion hunted and a shortage of good Lion hunting areas has resulted in the price of fair chase hunts skyrocketing. Added to this, recent legislation in South Africa closing down the hunting of large captive bred predators has created more demand than there are Lion hunts.
Expect to pay anything from $40,000 upwards for a good Lion Hunting concession in any of the southern and central classic hunting destinations. For the best, like some areas of Zambia and Tanzania, expect to pay from $75,000 upwards of $100,000.
Realistically, amidst all the pressure to close down Lion hunting and the poor scientific research activities of many countries, we believe it is simply a matter of time before these large cats are placed onto CITES I and are in SUPPORT OF THIS INITIATIVE - Lion are under threat no matter how many fancy hunting club funded studies say nay they are stable. I've hunted in Zambia since I was 5 years old and in this time I have witnessed the demise of most of my country's game animals but without a doubt Lion has been the most notable.
Why would you be doing this? - I can hear my fellow fat bellied PH's say - as they rely on the wages of a nice 21 day Lion safari. Well it's simple, I too rely on PH wages and Lion hunts are premium pay - yet once these disappear what will we be doing? Start now before it is too late - seriously, the quality of Lion I have seen being taken of late is disgusting and points to the fact that the big males are slowly being weeded out and PH's are having to drop what little ethics they have to satisfy their clients with inferior younger males.
Why would you be doing this? - I can hear my fellow fat bellied PH's say - as they rely on the wages of a nice 21 day Lion safari. Well it's simple, I too rely on PH wages and Lion hunts are premium pay - yet once these disappear what will we be doing? Start now before it is too late - seriously, the quality of Lion I have seen being taken of late is disgusting and points to the fact that the big males are slowly being weeded out and PH's are having to drop what little ethics they have to satisfy their clients with inferior younger males.
Habits
Lion are widespread throughout Africa occurring where water and food is adequate. They are the only social cats and live and hunt in prides sometimes reaching up to 30. Resting in the daytime, they hunt from dusk, stalking prey downwind before the final rush. Common prey are herding animals such as zebra, wildebeest and buffalo, where confusion and panic can be caused. A 200lb Lioness will think nothing of tackling a 2000lb buffalo bull. Lion tend to follow big herds and it is not uncommon to find Lion spoor when on the track of a herd of buffalo. Although not always successful, Lion are extremely efficient hunters and opportunists, often robbing prey and young from cheetah and leopard.
Lion are widespread throughout Africa occurring where water and food is adequate. They are the only social cats and live and hunt in prides sometimes reaching up to 30. Resting in the daytime, they hunt from dusk, stalking prey downwind before the final rush. Common prey are herding animals such as zebra, wildebeest and buffalo, where confusion and panic can be caused. A 200lb Lioness will think nothing of tackling a 2000lb buffalo bull. Lion tend to follow big herds and it is not uncommon to find Lion spoor when on the track of a herd of buffalo. Although not always successful, Lion are extremely efficient hunters and opportunists, often robbing prey and young from cheetah and leopard.
Lion hunting tips - the hunt
In most countries Lion are hunted with baiting, with the hunter lying in ambush from a constructed blind about 30-50 yards off. The procedure is to first hunt bait, usually buffalo, hippo, zebra or any other large trophy taken, and to then hang or fasten the carcass to a tree in a likely area where Lion would occur. The bait is then checked every day until there has been a hit or strike. A large spoor or long hairs with black tips on the bait signal the building of a blind, on the ground or in a tree nearby where the hunter and PH will lie in wait usually from mid-afternoon or early mornings. The time spent in the blind waiting for the Lion is one of the most interesting and exciting of the chase. Here you have to remain absolutely still and silent, with other game and often the Lion passing so close to you, you can hear them breath.
In most countries Lion are hunted with baiting, with the hunter lying in ambush from a constructed blind about 30-50 yards off. The procedure is to first hunt bait, usually buffalo, hippo, zebra or any other large trophy taken, and to then hang or fasten the carcass to a tree in a likely area where Lion would occur. The bait is then checked every day until there has been a hit or strike. A large spoor or long hairs with black tips on the bait signal the building of a blind, on the ground or in a tree nearby where the hunter and PH will lie in wait usually from mid-afternoon or early mornings. The time spent in the blind waiting for the Lion is one of the most interesting and exciting of the chase. Here you have to remain absolutely still and silent, with other game and often the Lion passing so close to you, you can hear them breath.
The best shot to take is on the shoulder blades at the vital organs. Due to the mane, head and neck shots are not recommended. Sometimes the "Texas heart shot" is very effective as lion are not heavy bodied.
It is illegal to hunt with the aid of a light in most countries. In Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia special permits can be obtained.
Lion hunting tips - the calibre
Lion are soft-skinned animals not requiring large bore calibres and solids. Anything from a .300 Magnum upwards with a heavy grain soft-nosed bullet is more than enough and shots are never at a great distance.
Lion are soft-skinned animals not requiring large bore calibres and solids. Anything from a .300 Magnum upwards with a heavy grain soft-nosed bullet is more than enough and shots are never at a great distance.
Lion hunting tips - the trophy
To the hunter, the ultimate quarry is a large maned lion even though the SCI Measurement is based upon the size of the skull. Mane does vary according to habitat with lion in open savannah or desert-like regions growing larger manes than those found in thicker bush. Often large-bodied Lion do not sport a mane of significance and hunters often mistakenly keep trying until they eventually get "The King".
To the hunter, the ultimate quarry is a large maned lion even though the SCI Measurement is based upon the size of the skull. Mane does vary according to habitat with lion in open savannah or desert-like regions growing larger manes than those found in thicker bush. Often large-bodied Lion do not sport a mane of significance and hunters often mistakenly keep trying until they eventually get "The King".
Lion hunting tips - where
Recently the proliferation in safari hunting has resulted in many younger male lion being taken. As a rule the number of large maned lion hunted each year is decreasing with hunters having to accept lower trophy standards. Tanzania saw this effect in realtime when they embarked upon their splitting of the concession areas to gain more revenue. The quality of their Lion trophies dropped almost within a year and they are only just recovering this year.
Recently the proliferation in safari hunting has resulted in many younger male lion being taken. As a rule the number of large maned lion hunted each year is decreasing with hunters having to accept lower trophy standards. Tanzania saw this effect in realtime when they embarked upon their splitting of the concession areas to gain more revenue. The quality of their Lion trophies dropped almost within a year and they are only just recovering this year.
Botswana has always had good lion and after a long period of closure Lion hunting was reopened in 2005 and then closed again at the end of 2007. Prices were sky high, in the $100,000 range!, and some very good trophies were taken. This was probably Africa's best remaining truly "fair chase" Lion hunt as all hunting is done on foot by tracking with no use of baits.
ZAMBIA is currently the best country for the traditional baited Lion hunt and prices have not skyrocketed like Botswana yet they are not cheap either. Expect to pay around $75,000 all in for a decent hunting concession while the best areas and operators are demanding in exceess of $100,000.
Prime concessions still yield large bodied, black maned lion for the hunter who has patience and determination. BUT recently some of the southern Luangwa GMA's have not fared as well on trophy quality and success. A recent reduction in Quotas of Lion and Leopard may mean less pressure on the Lion in these areas and could see them producing better results in the next few years.
In the early 1940s livestock farmers in Zambia suffered severe losses to their cattle from the high incidence of lion attacks. In those days, the city of Lusaka was, literally, a one street town and lion parading down the main street were not uncommon. To this day, some of the old timers still talk about a man who helped them get rid of the lions on their farms. His name was Blik Oosthuizen and it is said that he had shot well over 300 lion in his hunting life with his 8x57 mm mauser. What made him so well known was his manner of hunting the lion once they had killed a cow - he would lie down next to the carcass and wait for the lion to return and would then either shoot the cat from a lying position or stand up and shoot if there were more than one.... |
The "canned lion" story surfaced in the British press in the "Cook Report" in 1998 when a journalist accompanied a South African PH on a lion hunt. The video footage was indeed one-sided and propagated, but did show a lioness being shot from a vehicle inside a very small enclosure (which was true). A few clips of meowing cubs were added for emotional effect. The furore led to the suspension of all SCI Record Book entries for lions taken from South Africa and Namibia and rightly so. The South African government has recently placed restrictions on the hunting of large predators in the country which will result in the "canned hunting" method dying out. However knowing the South African set-up, you will still get those outfitters offering Lion for hunting and it remains to be seen what penalties will apply to these transgressors.
the bottom line
Realistically, one only has to look at the game ranching and hunting set-up in South Africa and Namibia, to realise that it is very unlikely that free roaming Lion would still exist on a huntable scale
Realistically, one only has to look at the game ranching and hunting set-up in South Africa and Namibia, to realise that it is very unlikely that free roaming Lion would still exist on a huntable scale
Therefore most lion offered for hunting are, or have at some stage been captive, and have been released onto an adequately enclosed area to be hunted. The value of ordinary game makes it unlikely that any economically minded game rancher will allow Lion to roam freely on his ranch while waiting for a foreign hunter to come on safari!
We believe that the lion population within South Africa and Namibia is far healthier than that in other countries (due mainly to Lion breeding programmes) and should be utilised ethically as a sustainable resource. In addition, the trophy quality of Lion in these countries often surpasses that of the rest of Southern Africa in both size and mane. In many cases, the hunting of these Lion can be more challenging than from the safety of a blind 50 yards away using bait and spotlights.
It is ultimately the ethics of you, the hunter, that should be strong enough to realise and dictate the situation of hunting Lion in South Africa or Namibia.
More information here - Lion Species Guide
More information here - Lion Species Guide
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