Ernesto C Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Danny, the way you tell your stories.......reminds me of a girl I know..........she will tell me yes and then she will tell me no Come on tell us the rest! Ernesto C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueselk Report post Posted August 4, 2009 The saga continues...... Day two, July 30th: We were picked up at first light and headed off to check other baits that had been put out. We checked numerous ones, but nothing had fed on any except one, but that was only a hyena that could reach it. We did see some fresh track of a female and from the size they said she was a mature one. So after a shower and a bite to eat, off for the blind again. The leopard had fed one night, then skipped a night and came back on the 3rd night. So looks to be a pattern. Day 3, July 31st. The morning started off as a brisk one. 21 F. Was a long afternoon and night yesterday/last night in the blind. Leopard did not come to the bait as hoped. Waited with anticipation, but nothing. Did have an owl come and land in a tree full of guinea fowl in the middle of the night. Boy did that wake up the world. Thought we might be in business, only to see the owl fly off a bit later to confirm it wasn’t the leopard. As early morning approached, just before sunrise, we heard the leopard off to our South a couple of hundred meters. He was making this grunting noise. Then the jackals started in a little later, only to have him grunting again. We readied ourselves in anticipation of him coming to feed. We waited until after daybreak, but he didn’t show. We took the trackers that arrived to pick us up and located his tracks, only to loose them on hard ground. The trackers had also heard a second leopard further down the valley, to which they said he was most probably grunting at that leopard. After a quick drive to check on a few other baits, we headed back to the lodge for a shower, bite to eat and a quick nap. Here are a few pics of some of the critters we saw while checking baits this morning. Another long sitting in the blind awaits this afternoon and night. Hopefully he is feeling the need for some free lunch/dinner. Day 4, August 1st. Morning started off colder than the last. 18 F. Was a long uneventful afternoon and night. Nothing came in to the bait. As we started on our rounds of checking other baits, seen this little guy in the grass. About mid morning after checking our last bait, we ran into a couple of jackals. I was able to take this one at 190 yards, just before he went over the ridge. Will make a nice addition to everything. The rest of the afternoon, we spent checking for sign. We decided to leave the blind alone for the night and let the cat become more comfortable again. As from a couple of days before, we weren’t sure if he was grunting at us or not. Day 5, August 2nd. This morning we decided to go and take a plains game. As I wanted an gemsbok and we needed some fresh bait. After an hour or so, we spotted this bull. Made about a 30 minute stalk to within a 130 yards of this nice heavy horned guy. Came close to getting another jackal, but the sneaky thing got into some thick brush and I was unable to pick it up. Later this afternoon, while putting fresh bait out at a couple of our sites. Ran across these critters. We would stay out of the blind one more afternoon and night this day. Just to see if any of the cats would come back to feed. The moon is not good right now, so we are optimistic. This is a very tough hunt. Story To Continue………. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Awesome! Thanks for the update. Can't wait to come to your house after you get back to see all your trophies in person!! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Switchback Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Awesome thread Danny! Looks like you are having a blast down there... Russ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Very nice critters! Thanks for taking us along on your adventure. I hope it turns out with a cat in hand! Awesome trophies so far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ernesto C Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Awesome Danny, you the man!.......can't wait for the rest of the story. Ernesto C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted August 4, 2009 That is a cool picture of a rather large Klipspringer!! Those little guys are Africa's version of Coues deer.. I love hunting them! There is nothing on the whole continent quite like them.. Unique little guys for sure. Cool pic! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
josh Report post Posted August 5, 2009 Thanks for bringing us along on a dream hunt. Do they do any predator calling over there? That jackal is a neat critter to take. Ernesto we need to book a predator calling hunt in africa. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ernesto C Report post Posted August 5, 2009 That will be cool Josh! We already have Danny there that knows the area, but we need to do it before he gets back to the U.S. Hey Danny how much it cost to go and hunt there? Ernesto C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueselk Report post Posted August 5, 2009 Day 6, August 3rd. After a quick breakfast at the lodge, we started out to check on the baits we had set out the previous day. At one of the sites, there were some kudu up above on the side of the hill, so I took a couple of pics. Nothing had been at this bait. We continued on and checked several others. Nothing had hit them either. Here is a shot of one of the locations. Also, some kudu standing nearby. As we arrived at the site where we had gotten pictures on the trail cam and the one we had been sitting. We had good news. The new tree which we had relocated the bait too had been hit the night before. We had to relocate the site, due to the wind changing direction and not having a good spot for the blind. After a quick look at the new pictures on the trail cam, it was confirmed to be the big tom from the previous pictures. Everyone is excited that he was back. We quickly finished up with some remaining blind construction items and hurried off to get a quick lunch to be back in the blind that afternoon. As we were headed to the blind this afternoon, found the time for a quick picture of some gemsbok standing on a rock outcropping. We get into the blind and prepare for what hopefully will be a productive day. Day 7, August 4th. No leopard activity the afternoon before or night. Did have a brown hyena come into the bait at around 10:00PM and walk off. But the leopard didn’t show. We made our rounds that morning on the way back to the lodge to check the other baits. Found two other baits that had been hit as well. One seemed to be from a couple of youngsters, but the other seemed to be a nice cat as well. Since he isn’t as consistant as the one we were already after. We decided to stick it out for the one that seems to hit the bait every couple of days. After a shower, lunch and a nap. We head off back for another afternoon and night in the blind. Eagerly waiting for the big cat to come back to his free meal. Here is a shot of a kudu bull we saw on the way back to the blind area. Day 8, August 5th. No leopard activity again from yesterday afternoon through the night. However, just before dark, we did hear some baboons near us on a hill barking. Then shortly afterwards we heard what sounded like a pig squealing, then dead silence. We believe that the leopard may have been making his rounds last night and came across another meal. On the way back to the lodge, we decided to take a springbok and make use of the fresh entrails to drag to the bait again. Which is probably good that the leopard didn’t show, as when I went to shoot the springbok, the first round didn’t go off, which was the round that had been in the chamber the last few nights. Primer was hit, but seems that the primer was too deep in the pocket for a good hit. Could have been a disaster with the only one shot gone on the cat. Anyway, here is a couple pictures of my springbok. So again, we head out this afternoon on what hopes to be the night. This cat seems to like fresh meat and sign, so we’ll see what happens this afternoon and evening. Story To Continue………. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ernesto C Report post Posted August 5, 2009 AWESOME, Danny please keep us posted and thanks for sharing a once in a life time adventure Ernesto C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted August 5, 2009 Very unique adventure! Man I hope that it all works out for the cat but it's too cool that you get to take a few other trophies along the way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ehunt Report post Posted August 5, 2009 great story and pics, keep them coming!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Switchback Report post Posted August 9, 2009 Danny you didnt' get eatin did ya!!! Wheres the rest of the story I woke up each morning looking for the next page in the book Hope all is well down there pard, and keep o Andy T in line Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueselk Report post Posted August 9, 2009 Day 9, August 6th. Well as luck has it, still no leopard coming into the bait as of this morning. What was hoped to be the afternoon/night of the big event, turned out to be disappointing. We did hear some baboons making quite the noise this morning on a nearby ridgetop and thought it might be due to the leopard walking near them. But that was not near us. Oh well, that is hunting. Almost forgot to say, but since we changed blinds, our new one is a 6’ x 6’ dome tent. Fully encased in blankets and brush. Let me tell you, sitting in the blind in the 90 degree afternoon with two other men is quite cozy. So we headed back to the lodge for breakfast. After a quick bite to eat, I was asked if I would like to shoot a couple of blue wildebeest for the lodge. I gladly accepted and off we went. Here is a picture of the fruit of my labor on this one. So as with every other day in this story, we head out again this afternoon with high hopes of the mysterious leopard coming to feed. Day 10, August 7th. Was a long unsuccessful night again. Nothing but jackals and other creatures of the night stirring. The full moon is really bad. We are only getting about an hour right after sunset for total darkness. We decided still, to stick with this cat. Not knowing if he had killed something else and was tending to that food rather than coming to ours. We did go and take down one of the other trail cameras earlier in the morning. There was a young male leopard hitting that bait as well as a mongoose. First picture shows the site. Others, well you can guess. Again, we headed off in the afternoon to sit and hope for the return of the great spotted cat. Day 11, August 8th. No leopard came in the night again. We left this morning to another ranch, to see if we could find a nice kudu or warthog. We hunted until around lunch, but neither could be found. We did see quite a few, but nothing big. After lunch, a few beers and a shower, it was time to head back out to the blind one last afternoon and night. Hopefully, something would come in on the last night. THE LAST CHANCE!!!!!! Will the leopard show itself????????? To Continue................. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
