lionhunt

THE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD (A Lion Hunt in Africa) by George Tsaparis

On The 4th of August 2000, a lion hunt began on a property bordering Kruger National Park.The property the hunt is being conducted on is called MOKWALO. The hunt is being conducted and guided by Francois DeKlerk and Mossie Mostert.

Mossie from the age of fifteen has been dealing with lions.He currently leads the White Lion Project where the White Lion is selectevly bred for the purpose of conservation.The white lion is slightly larger than the normal lion,weighing in at around 280 kg,compared to a normal 250 kg.

Francois,a Proffesional hunter of eleven years having completed his apprentiship with Major Don Price has guided many a successful hunt.With the above combination,you can understand the confidence one would have when hunting the big cats,or for that matter,any animal on the dark continent.

The equipment I am using is a Mathews Black Max with a draw weight of seventy pounds.The arrows were Easton A/C/C?s 3-71 300 with inserts.The arrow weighed 680 grains.The broad heads were thunderheads at 125 grains.

The morning began at six pm,with breakfast and an immediate departure to the hunting region,south of the lodge.The roads were swept the night before so as to allow easier tracking.

This is a standard procedure so the tracker can accurately monitor the movement of the lion,and for that matter,all the animals in the region,(for example Cape Buffalo).

The first tracks we cut were discovered within half an hour of leaving the lodge.unfortunately, the paw prints were that of an immature male or that of a female.We continued cutting many tracks until finally at 8.45 am we came across tracks of a large male.This male was alone,obviously thrown out of the pride by a more dominant male.In the next half an hour we came across the lion.The lion was a Black mained old man of approximate 280 kg in weight.He was attracted to the fence line of the white lion research center.There must have been at least one lioness on heat in the compound for it to be so enraged and curious.We made our fist approach,but to no avail.

We knew from the first approach we made on the lion that he was going to be difficult to get within bowrange.Mossie suggested that he go back to the lodge and get an old impala carcase to lure and keep the lion in the same vicinity.He was an old lion,thrown out of his pride.The fact he was old,a male lion and on his own made him a poor hunter and would generally accept any meal.He would guard his meat ferociously as a result.

Mossie took of back to camp to get the carcase.Francois and I stayed behind,close to the fence line.Waiting for Mossie,the lion appeared again,gazing into the fenceline some 150 metres away.We were kneeling down and trying to relax a little as the lion began to amble on his merry way toward us.He did not see us until we stood up,the lion paused for a moment,moved up and down the fenceline, then disappeared.We heard Mossie coming up the rear,this forced the lion out to the fenceline and began to approach us in a nonchalant manner.Discretion is always a better action than valor,Francois and I moved into the thick bush where the lion passed us,no more than ten metres from us.A clear bow shot was made open to us.The biggest problem we faced was that we had no area to fall back on at such close range if the lion had charged us.The lion passed,with Mossie appearing ahead of us with the old carcase.

We chained the carcase to a tree,circumnavigated the area and decided to head back to camp so as not to spook the lion out of the area.We would return within two hours.

Upon returning,we discovered the lion, the next approach did not go according to plan.We were suppose to ambush the lion to the west of a large anthill,instead the old lion approached the eastern side of the hill.Francois and I heard a noise,it was a steambuck.Ten seconds later,the lion approached ,it was almost upon us,no more than two metres away from us.We turned around ,to see old leo staring straight us.I do not know who got a bigger fright,the lion or us?The lion ambled on,one hundred metres away from us to settle down.

The lion then proceeded to bed itself for the hot midday sun.We started another approach,Mossie went ahead a couple of metres to assess the situation .He was within fourty metres of the lion.Mossie and the lion were starring at each other,Mossie was trying to make the lion accustomed to our presence in his territory.We waited for half an hour,where a tense standoff occurred.I moved into a shooting lane some thirty five metres ahead of the lion.I only had a frontal shot,and my margin of error was extremely limited.As I drew my bow and settled my pin on the lions throat,he rose and moved towards us,turning and moving ahead some onehundred metres and settling down again.The old Leo was too weary and nervous.Having senced us in his domain and the lionesses on heat his sence of judgement must have been somewhat confused.

We reassed the situation,and decided to ambush the lion once more.Mossie radioed his father and directed him as to where we were ,and how to approach the area so as to lure the lion into our ambush.We chose another anthill with plenty of cover and height so as to fool the lion as to our whereabouts,thus trying to prevent a charge on us.Ten minutes later we could hear Mossies father approach in his four wheel drive.We could hear the lion approach us,then silence.We were frantically looking around us,thinking the lion was going to turn the tables and place us in his own ambush.The silence for those few minutes was deafening,as I was coming to grips with my own emotions.We spotted the lion ahead of us,he had climbed a tree to escape .We saw our window of opportunity and approached the lion at great haste. I approached the lion,at thirty metres I paused,drew back my bow and released the arrow.The arrow found its mark in the lower chest angling to the opposite shoulder,the arrow burying itself into the shoulder bone.

We retreated with great haste back some seventy metres to the four wheel drive.

The lion had fallen to the ground,he ripped the arrow out mutilating his lower lungs,liver and upper intestines.We moved in again,stalking the lion at the most dangerous moment.I placed a second arrow into it,smashing his front shoulder,lungs and heart.The second arrow achieved total penetration,the hunt was over.

I have hunted and have been involved in culling programmes for some fifteen years now,in Africa,Europe and in Australasia.The buildup to this hunt was absolutely enormous.The time and preparation (both physical and mental) was phenomenal compared to any other hunt I have been on.This hunt left me with a strange feeling,an emotion I am still trying to come to grips with.The emotion is not like that of my first impala,or my first stag.It is the emotion of an anticlimax,where you are left wandering.The fact a primitive weapon,the bow and arrow was used makes my emotions more complex.

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