Title: The Roar of Simba

Story time:

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This was my third lion hunt in the last 7 years. The air charter flew us two hours from Johannesburg and landed us on a nice privately owned airstrip. While the camp manager was collecting us from the airstrip, a lion charged his wife’s truck while driving on the Farm in another location. So we had a head start advantage on where to start hunting from after we settled down in the comfortable thatched African bungalows, and after we tested the rifle.

The trackers had no problem finding the fresh tracks when we arrived to that location, the lion tracks were big, and were itched deep in the sand on top on the tire tracks from the earlier encounter. We were curious to see if he is a good mature size or just a young 2 / 3 years old who may have been kicked out of the pride. Young lion males are usually on their own at 2 to 3 years of age. The trackers silently made their way in the dense thicket. Every one was tensed, eyes scanning all around, we can barely see 20 yards in any direction, this is unnerving to say the least, and it is moments like this when I wonder what have I got my self into now? Lion hunting on foot is the ultimate experience of the word Danger. In past hunts; twice I have been around lions, and both times they thought of me as food. Absolutely fearless,  I tried to concentrate on keeping a sold focus to take a quick accurate shot when and if the opportunity arises, there is no margin for error,  not even a chance for a second shot. The bush is too thick. I wonder if we will even see him.

 

All in a sudden the trackers spotted him in the thick brush, cooling off stretched down in the shade like lions do during hot days or most of the daylight, we immediately retrieved a little and circled him to try to take a clear look and see if he is a good one; he was in the shade and hard to see, he was digesting a big meal of some sort of unfortunate antelope. We were trying to get a better angle and take a better look it was difficult; as soon as we could see him clearly he started a forward motion of a lunge towards us possibly bluffing like our bears do here, but not sure if this was a bluff? We backed up few steps and continue to circle him; that’s when he decided to lay low sneakily & hide and crawl towards us, like lions do to their prey before they attack, we were in his kill zone and we have become his target and his prey.

 

I could barely see his fearless eyes staring straight at me; we locked vision together for seconds, he was thinking another easy meal, and I was thinking what a nice trophy, it is the moment of the truth, a voice in my head hinted for me to just ;;;;;;RUN;;;;;;,  it is your internal defenses mixed with hunting experiences that kicks in the last moment and leads you the way, our precious human life rules and takes over, I put the cross hairs under his chin as I could barely make up the outline of his face, and squeezed the trigger, he was looking straight at us and licking his lips, the bullet struck him hard dead center below the throat and in the chest it went, he jumped high and charged towards us with a loud deep roar, he looked like a ball of blonde hair coming at us;;;;;;;;;; Gosh he was huge, I reloaded another shell instinctively and aimed, the two PH’s on my sides pointed their guns forward, suddenly he swerved away and circled back sharply to & behind his original ambush in the thicket, and disappeared with no sounds or motions he was gone in a flash !

 

Apparently the shot was fatal, the 400 grains Barns X, entered under his throat and straight into the chest cavity and severed the top heart artery and destroyed the lungs. But no blood was ever found near where I shot him?

He fell dyeing within 12 yards away but we could not see him in the thorny brush? He had circled his flank, and he had set up his second ambush as he retrieved to his 2^nd line of defense, and was waiting for us and watching us as he was expiring.

When we came upon him the PH requested me to break his back with another insurance shot since he was barely breathing a little. We were too close to him; we were far from any medical facilities here, even though the pilot stays with you during the whole hunt. You just do not want this beast on top of you chewing on you.

I aimed at his back and let go of the final shot as he instantly expired then. Motionless he laid there, we watched him for few minutes, the two PHs were both one on each side the whole time, the two bushman trackers were just behind us with their sharp long spears, we approached him in a wall fashion walking towards him shoulder to shoulder, all 3 guns were loaded and ready to fire, fingers were on the triggers, all in a numbing suspense not knowing if he is going to attack, or what is going to happen next?

There he was a trophy of life time, I have hunted them before in other countries, and have had many close calls, but this one is one very very big lion …….. Oh my! This big boy should make my taxidermist smile some more for sure.

 

His weight was accurately approximated just over 600 pounds. A good thing that I have had a lot of training with bear hunting charges here in Alaska, these lions are by far more confident and fearless, they think that every thing that moves is food that belongs to them, it is just a matter of catching the food; they are for sure the King of the Jungle. This situation reminded me of a Tanzanian hunt back in year 2000 when a lioness tried to grab me out of the jeep with another 4 cats circling us; I poked it with the barrel of the rifle, and almost shot it, with the PH pleading with me not to shoot, “too much paper work and red tape”. These are memories we never forget, the hot sand of the Kalahari reflecting the heat waves, like soundless rolling ocean waves crashing on the sand, the roar of the lion pride early in the mornings, you can almost here the drum beats orchestrating the rhythm of the roar, even though there are no drums around. If you hear this only once, you are then doomed and have become an addict to the way of the bushman and the hunt & the hunted.

 

This hunt is not for the heart fainted; it is the test of the will and sheer confidence to face your quarry at their level facing them point blank at close range. They have had hunters earlier in the season that did not see a cat. There are no guarantees but you only pay for what you harvest and injure.

 

For a rifle I used my old trusted 460 cal Weatherby with 400 grains Barns-X bullets, the shot distance was less than 19 yards

Enjoy the pictures. The area is near the Botswana border in South Africa; we took a charter air taxi flight two hours from JHB to the Kalahari region, this region extends all the way to the Okavango swamps in the North, it seems that every thing that roams there is big. The area is flat with reddish sandy soft soil and thorny thick brush, kind of like south & west Texas a bit.

 

The season may close indefinitely on the last day of August 2008; the prices are going to rocket after that when they re-open it years later, with even more stringent requirements than what they have in place already. Now we can get such lion hunt with trophy fees included, 11K (1x1), 15K, 20 K, 25K, 30 K and 35 K depending on the trophy value of age / hair.

If the season closes, and the Government gets their way with new restrictions, the price will go up to & from “60K for a young male to 175K to a mature one” honestly.

 

At the present Botswana shutdown their lion season few weeks ago indefinitely as of October 2007; they are saying that the farmers are killing lions that are attacking their livestock at an alarming rate and that is not accounted for? The question is if the killing is not accounted for and registered, how would they know it is even happening?

 

Tanzania is raising their government trophy fees as most of us know already $15000 for the tag only. Zambia is holding well with minimum lion permits?

 

The high demand and prices of lions are approaching new unchartered territories which will force the lion hunts in the future to cost over $100,000. Beware you have been told, go and get your lion while you can.

 

Happy Holidays and all the blessings for sure