Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa ANOTHER HUGE LEOPARD TAKEN BY JOHN SHARP..MORE PICS

Here's another that weighed 170#. Looks like the man knows what he's talking about. None of that slick camera angle stuff either.

jorge the belly is up near my thigh, my knees are way down by the leg?

The bottom photo of the one that is 170 actually looks like 170. As I said that photo does not do justice to the a 180 pound lion!

Also quite a bit more stuggle in ihis effort to hold it up in the bottom photo!

I don't know why I'm doing this as I don't want to start or augment a disagreement, but on further review I agree with JJ. There is at least something wrong with the picture or possibly the estimate.
T

Cas,

You asked about how to sex Leopards. There are lots of pointers such as size & musculature etc...... but the ONLY way to be 110% sure is to look for the balls. Luckily, they stick WAY out under his tail and I always position my blind and select my bait tree in such a way that I KNOW I'll get a good view of this. Then I use a spotting scope in the blind and don't let the client shoot until I've had absolute 110% sight of what I need to see. .......... Where I and our other PHs do most of our hunting, it's illegal to shoot a female and punishments can be very severe. - So there is no room for error. If the balls haven't been seen, the cat doesn't get shot. - No matter how big it is, and there is the occasional big muscly female out there.

John Sharp is one of the best PHs in the business and a highly honourable man as well. - and if he says that cat is a certain size I wouldn't doubt him for a moment...... but I personally get puzzled by some statements about Leopard size I see on the internet/in hunting mags. Everyone seems to use a different measurement method, which makes it even worse. Some use between the pegs, some use round the curves, some use tip of nose to root of tail, some use skull measurement and some use weight........ although in 26 years of hunting Africa, I've never seen a set of scales that would be big enough to weigh a whole Leopard in one piece....... but if anyone's gonna have a set like that, it'll be Sharpy. - he's very well organised. I personally use the round the curves and skull measurement method. SCI & RW use skull measurement only for publication and I guess that's the most accurate - but somehow it doesn't give the same drama/impact as the other methods.

However you measure it, that's a darn nice pussycat........ I'll agree it's a strange picture though. The cat looks too long by far in the mid section. My guess is that the spine was broken by the shot and the flesh is stretching..............

Adding onto my comment about the body stretching and as an example of my twisted sense of humour <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> ......... The father of one of the guys who works for us, was the official hangman in his country of residence. since his son made the mistake of telling me that, every time we hunt Leopard together, I always try to give him the job of hanging the baits, as I reckon he has a lot more inherited talent for it than I do! - <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Jorge, do you have the adress to Sharps web site?

One thing that's making a difference in size appearance is the photo angle. The photo that JJ put up may be exagerating the size by holding the cat sideways making it appear larger plus the camera angle is enhancing the size as well. Not to mention it's clearly a different beast. The first photo with the Leopard is taken Belly on. Not a flattering pose. To me the cat is not only looking longer but John is struggling to keep that bad boy up. That might have accounted for the pose plus it was taken in the field. The second cat John is holding is a dfferent angle. I can not imagine at the moment why one PH would think another with a sterling reputation might exagerate 10# when has clearly taken other cats in that size class.

Here is his print next to my 300 weatherby..This cat is a big one. Jorge you will get a big one too.

Hi Jorge,

Thanks for sharing this news - certainly a great cat!

As to the varying views aired here on the actual size of this leopard... well all I can add is that John's an out and out pro and I would have no doubts as to the veracity of his statements. Hell, the man epitomizes the original PH and has the track record and credentials to back this up!

I also can't imagine why a PH with a sterling reputation would have chosen such a poor photo to represent such a massive beast! Clearly a moment of time to get a great photo would have been worth the effort. I would suggest it was a film camera and not a digital. Had they actually seen what a poor view this was with a digital preview screen it would have been taken over from a more flattering angle. At least it would have if it were my client's photo, or for myself.

As a taxidermist for much of my adult life, I can tell you that a Mt. lion manniken and a leopard manniken are interchangeable except for the head. The body design and measurements are about as close as is possible between species. I have a 165 pound Mt. lion in my livivng room right now mounted on a Leopard form, with a Bill Lancaster Mt. lion head spliced on to fit the skull and face properly. The leopards head is much flatter and longer then a Mt. lions head, other then that the body structure is nearly identical.

I have no vested interest in the weight, Makes no difference to me whatever. This should however be a great lesson to be sure when you photograph your trophies that you take the time to make them right. You never get to go back and do them over once the hide comes off and you're back at home. It would be a hella big shame to know this was the best photo of that magnificent leopard. I know I would be awefully pissed if it were all I had to show for the photos!

As it is with the lion, we had no (working)camera when we were hunting and had to take it to my shop. The rain was pounding relentlessly and we are now stuck with this exsisting photo from within my shop building. It's an ugly photo but at least shows a real size relationship. It was not made to appear larger..........it was larger! #5 BC alltime, not much needed to "stretch" that truth!

There is no "camera angle" tricks either. Just two guys in a shop building with a cannon 1SIS digital camera. Simple stuff and a real no BS photo. Just as it should be. I'm not even sure how any angle used could enhance the size, it's already friggen huge, what more could be done with any tricks or special "angles"?

I suppose, I'm just not smart enough about photography to understand all my options with this stuff!

Am I just naive, stupid or an old phart who has lived too long? When somebody I don' t know says something that isn't obviously a windy Bill I believe what they tell me unless I was there and saw it myself.

I wasn't raised to call perfect strangers liars or exagerators.

I believe what folks tell me unless I KNOW FOR A FACT different.


BCR

Jorge, it looks like you've got a lot to look forward to on your '08 safari with John! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

He seems to have a tremendous area for leopard, not only on the Malangani property, but also on some of the surrounding properties. I'm not aware of any Zimbabwe PH in recent years who has collected as big a series of leopards for his clients as John Sharp.

He's also one of the greatest PHs I've ever personally hunted with, and an extremely hard-working and honest man.

What amazes me about this photo is the fact that John is a very big, tall, and powerful man, and anyone who's been around him and around very many trophy leopards can tell you from examining the photo, beyond question, that this is one of the all-time biggest leopards that anyone has ever collected.

AMAZING!!!!!!!

AD

Allen,

Good point about John as "scale" for the leopard - he is by no means a small man - the last time we ran into each other at the Powder Keg Gun Shop in Jo'Burg - my son's comment was "was that Hulk Hogan?"

Folks: As promised, here's the rest of the story on the cat and as you will read, it was a tough hunt. I have more pictures available to post, but I am unable to do it from work, but I'll try as soon as possible to post them. Here's the scoop as related to me by John Sharp:

Place: Malangani
Time: 21:00
Client: Angel Zamora Estrada � Guadalajara, Mexico.
Caliber: .300 Win Mag
PH: John Sharp

I named this Leopard �The Road Warrior� - for many years I have followed his tracks along a road for as far as 20kms at a stretch before losing them as he turned off into the bush.

I have been hunting this particular cat for four years. I believe he was caught in a trap in the tribal area a while back (he has a penchant for goat from time to time) and this is what made him skittish. His right front foot was bigger than the left side (probably due to damage from the trap) and used to scuff the earth when he walked � this made his tracks easy to recognize. Because he would only hit a bait once and then move on I have been documenting his movements over the past 2� years so that I could attempt to anticipate his next port of call and outsmart him.

On June 7th he had hit one of my baits and practically finished a leg and a shoulder of Kudu � and then left. I knew where he would go next and sure enough, we got another hit. In the soft river sand at bait #2 it was difficult to say whether it was him or not. On the 8th nothing had fed but the cat had been close and watching. I decided that we would sit on the evening of the 9th.

Hearing Badgers feeding is a common sound at Malangani, and this night was no exception. At around 18:30 a Badger entered the scene but only fed for ten minutes and then all went quiet � most unusual for a Badger banquet. I suspected the Leopard was near but had to live with the silence and an over-active mind. It was cold and the moon was almost full � conditions could not have been better. The time was heading for 21:00hrs and my listening device had been silent for a long time already � too long, and I was starting to lose hope. Then I heard the cat approaching and leaned silently forwards into my binoculars. I could not believe my eyes as this monster slid plainly into view, bathed in ghostly moonlight. I warned Angel to get ready but the cat was nervous and was moving in and out of my sight picture. My heart was thumping in my chest with adrenaline and the thought that he might not stay to feed. He eventually started feeding and was plainly visible to Angel through the scope on my Leopard rifle, reticule slightly illuminated. I turned up the rheostat on the red light ever so slightly for insurance. The shot shattered the silence and the cat dropped, growling horribly, and then took off. We heard it growling once more about 50 meters to the left of the bait and then silence.

Once the vehicle arrived we started the follow-up. Quinn Kloppers (who had been filming), Isaac, Khevin and I took the trail, hearts thumping with that fearsome high that you only get from a continuing flow of adrenaline. The bush was getting progressively thicker as we slowly edged forward but we found no sign of blood. I didn�t like this at all. Something was not right so I decided to pull the lads back � someone was going to get badly hurt. We returned to camp and spent a sleepless night before returning early in the morning.

Once on the trail again we did find small amounts of blood but not the usual trail of a cat well hit. We also found the place where he had lain in wait for us and I realized that I had made the right decision to pull back the previous evening � someone or all of us would definitely have been badly mauled. Rounding the side of a granite kopje we heard a growl from a cave above us � another surge of adrenaline. We climbed cautiously up through the thick bush towards the mouth of the cave. As we reached the mouth Isaac shouted as he spotted the cat bounding up the rocks above us. Quinn had a clear view and loosed a shot from his 3�12-guage but the cat never flinched. I jumped left to get a clear shot and dropped him off the rock with one shot from my Binelli, 3 �� 12-guage loaded with 00-Buck. I am still amazed that he did not come at us. The .300 mag had broken his right shoulder, gone through the meat of his chest and lodged in his left shoulder � no organs were hit.

So ended the reign of �The Road Warrior� � he had over the years expanded his personal territory to well over 80,000 acres and was ousting other big males from the area. Hopefully things will now return to normal.



As you can see, it was not an easy hunt and the client should count his lucky stars he had John as a PH to sort this mess out!

Jim, regarding your comment on the cat's positioning, yours is sideways with your legs behind the belly while the leopard is straight on with John Pulling up by his shoulder blades. If your cat weighed 205 and this one 180, that's a 15% difference which IS significant. Regardless, I'm very glad to read that his fellow PHs are giving him the accolades he so richl deserves. He is extremely well organized. He is the typical Type A perfectionist and it shows. Go visit his website and you'll see his other big cats. jorge

Riveting. More More More! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Kitty looks a wee bit chubier from that angle. Dang I guess the worst that can be said of John Sharp is that occasionally someone takes a bad photo of him. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />
Really an amazing story and a great trophy. Here's hoping you get one just as nice.

It looks like mountain lions have longer and denser fur than leopards do - could that account for some of the visual difference in size?

Lets not forget that in spite of another posters math faux paux 205-180=25 pounds of difference. Without getting my handy dandy pocket calculator out that's roughly 15% larger. A noticeable difference to be sure.

Nice to read the rest of the story - I had been wondering since seeing the first photo if the Leopard raked John's arm, or if the blood on his arm and leg was from the Leopard. I figured it was the Leopard's since John looked in such good health and his arm looked at most barely scratched, but good to know he won't have infection to worry about. I figured if a Leopard got close enough to get his claws into him, he would have a lot more damage, and it sounds like if he had pushed the Leopard that night that someone might have gotten unzipped!

Thanks for the pics and the story!!

DJ

Weird photo, all right (the first one), but there's no question the head looks pretty darn big!

- TJM