Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Best deal on leopard?

Steve,

I haven't heard this for a very long time my mum used to say it and she wasn't a transplanted pom.

I understand fully the cheap versus the not so cheap option, as you said, you get what you pay for.

I'll put up a scenario, the PG day rates with outfitter X are $400 a day, day rates for DG are a $1000 a day with a minimum of 10 days, how is the extra expense justified??
What happens if the client bags his animal on day two, does he shoot some PG or take some photos at a grand a day?
I understand that there may be extra staff involved and yes there are vehicles to maintain, although that has never been much of a justification for me, farmers and your local plumber have to maintain vehicles as well.

I'm sure there'll be a few that read this and think "if you need to ask, you can't afford it" that is true, but I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering about the serious increase in hunt costs as soon as the words, "dangerous game", come into the discussion.

Cheers..

1) All PH's aren't qualified to take client's on dangerous game hunts so you will pay them a bit more because of this.

2) The cost to lease a concession is usually pretty expensive and must be spread out amonst the clients -- suppose you have 20 kudu, 5 sable, and 2 leopard as part of your quota .... there would be more but these are 3 animals in which many have an interest. The following numbers are "made-up" as an example and may or may not be close to reality.

A plainsgame hunt that includes kudu, impala, warthog etc but not sable or leopard -- $400 a day for 10 days and the trophy fee on kudu would be $800 to maybe $1,000.

Same concession but you want to add sable --- would need to book at least 12 days and the trophy fee on sable is $3,000 and the daily rate is $600 a day. The extra $200 a day is a result of the low number on quota and the extra 2 days is partially because they are a bit more difficult to hunt and shoot a mature trophy.

Same concession and you add leopard (2 on quota) the trophy fee is $3,500, the number of days, with plainsgame and sable included is now 14-16 days --- why? Leopard don't come easy and you may need everyday, they need the extra revenue because they pay a lot of money to get the quota and yes there is something to the fact that it can be dangerous.

What happens if you shoot your leopard on the first night -- you lucky bastard --- you can relax and leisurely shoot the other animals you're after. If you want to leave early you can but you pay the full price because you bought the block of time and they can't get anyone else in there.

A question? Does it cost more to service a BMW 740i than it does a Ford Focus? Are the parts more expensive? Do the mechanics need more training? Did you pay more for the BMW when you bought it? Do BMW's ever have problems -- yes but I bet nor as frequently as the Focus.

Best deal on Leopard I can do is to add a Roan to the package. The other best deal I can do is you hunt the Leopard and bring a mate along to hunt PG. 2 hunts for the price of one. Zambia is a bit pricey but you get to hunt old Africa and the Luangwa Valley is hauntingly beautiful. Lion and elephant add to the excitement and being in a blind next to a bloody carcass is not for greasy kids.

John,

I guess the expression �billy oh� shows my English roots! � My Daughter always laughs at me when I use the expression or when I tell her to �go frizzle� as well.

Regarding your scenario:

The extra daily rate covers higher running costs of a leopard hunt and higher salary to the PH.... The reason it�s higher is because a good cat man commands a higher salary than a newly qualified plains game only PH. It�s the same set up as paying more to see a consultant than a GP or a master builder than a fly by night builder..... and of course, it's not unreasonable to expect to pay the guy a degree of danger money for the hunt either..... those scratches really do hurt and they keep on hurting for a very long time!

Hunt duration has to be longer because of the nature of the beast. A leopard it territorial and you need time for him to find your baits whilst he�s patrolling his territory.

If he gets his cat early on then he�s very lucky indeed but still pays the same (agreed) price for the rest of the hunt.

What he does with the time is entirely his choice. Some will choose to go home early, some to continue hunting other species and some to go wingshooting or fishing etc..... but it�s his choice. This might be compared to paying to see a movie. You don�t get a rebate if you see the first part and then choose to leave before the end..... or indeed buying a packet of popcorn and only eating half of it..... you couldn�t ask for a rebate on the uneaten half.

It�s not about a don�t ask if you can�t afford it scenario, it�s about that�s the way it works and you can choose to take the offered deal or walk away..... it�s not rude or meant to be impolite, it�s just the way it is.

More generally, costs and expenditures obviously vary from area to area and country to country and the preceding para can also be applied to the more general costs...... but take it from me, no-one in the hunting industry ever get�s rich out of hunting.... they�ll make a living and sometimes a reasonably good one out of it and they�ll have some fun whilst they�re doing it, but despite popular opinion, no-one gets rich out of it and there are several downsides to it as well. For example a PH is often away from his loved ones for weeks, sometimes months at a time.

Zambian/Andrew�s comment about roan is also worth taking note of. Roan are one of those relatively unusual species I mentioned earlier and that particular attraction shouldn�t be underestimated by trophy hunters.

Many thanks Steve for the very comprehensive answer.

'Go frizzle' That's a new one for me, and one I haven't heard in Oz.

When it comes to dangerous game, demand simply outpaces supply. Every farmer has kudu, springbok, impala, warthog, etc. coming out of their ears. If they only get 1 or 2 leopard permits, they cannot afford to give them away. Namibian farmers can sell gemsbok for 600-750 because they have so many and can get all the permits they want. You can bet the only 2 of anything in demand, be it a leopard permit, the hottest new toy, or the the latest widget, will cost more dearly than any common item.

Or me in Canada. Some things were lost on the voyage over to the colonies I recon, but then Bob's your uncle.

Go frizzle or you frizzle is used when someone asks for something and it's a definite NO, not a chance in hell...... As in, Dad, can I use your classic car to go the pub because I smashed mine up last night with my careless driving?

insight into Zimbabwean Leopard hunting ;
Firstly, there's the 'area'. There is National Parks Estate land, 'Camp Fire' or Communal land and Private land. On Nat.Parks est., you can only hunt during daylight hours which makes the hunt a bit more challenging as the cats are mostly nocturnal and the shooting window period is then pretty tight. On communal land, there is a higher population of people. On private land, the area is quite important as the cats get bigger in certain areas and there's less hunting pressure in them. Dog hunts are becoming popular now as time constraints for clients become an issue. You have to be fit for it though. In Zim, only male cats may be hunted.

I think the regs say "only male leopards may be exported".

Bill,

There's no CITES requirement that stipulates sex of the animal however, some countries game laws stipulate that only male animals may be hunted etc.