Lion attacks hunters
- Thread starter Clanky
- Start date
I am not against sport hunters on any moral grounds per se. Varmint shooting is very well accepted in this country, and big cats can become problem animals without necessarily becoming man-eaters, as can elephants in places like Africa etc where they are found. Much like deer that do crop damage and predators killing livestock here.
This clip highlights quite well the speed with which big cats can cover ground from a standing start - and how hard they are to stop when they get going. While it is clearly evident the lion had been significantly hit (note the awkward takeoff and landing amongst the hunters), it still had plenty of steam there when it took off again, could have easily have killed one or more of them at that stage. They were all very fortunate.
This appears to be a PH with a client. Note the staying hand when the hunter first raises the rifle to shoot. This probably because the lion was facing them, and a lion will often charge in the direction it is facing when hit. Once the lion is wounded the whole party follows it up as it appears to be in the open. When it charges it will have been an extremely difficult target, and some misses could be expected even from people that are normally excellent gameshots.
Before someone mentions "buckshot" loads in shotguns for following up wounded, or defense against, large predatory animals they should watch footage like this more often.
This clip highlights quite well the speed with which big cats can cover ground from a standing start - and how hard they are to stop when they get going. While it is clearly evident the lion had been significantly hit (note the awkward takeoff and landing amongst the hunters), it still had plenty of steam there when it took off again, could have easily have killed one or more of them at that stage. They were all very fortunate.
This appears to be a PH with a client. Note the staying hand when the hunter first raises the rifle to shoot. This probably because the lion was facing them, and a lion will often charge in the direction it is facing when hit. Once the lion is wounded the whole party follows it up as it appears to be in the open. When it charges it will have been an extremely difficult target, and some misses could be expected even from people that are normally excellent gameshots.
Before someone mentions "buckshot" loads in shotguns for following up wounded, or defense against, large predatory animals they should watch footage like this more often.
Some very ignorant comments
The people cheering for the lion and making judgments about the hunter's morals based upon this very short clip are foolish. It is very common for the meat from "trophy" hunts in Africa (and other countries) to be given to the families of the local trackers or to the tribes on whose land the animal was killed. This includes lion meat. I have never eaten any myself, but I hear it can be tasty so long as it is cooked slowly. Even if the animal wasn't eaten, the money generated from these hunts goes a long way toward funding habitat loss and species protection programs. Also, without the money generated by these "sickening" hunts, the local economies would suffer greatly.
The people cheering for the lion and making judgments about the hunter's morals based upon this very short clip are foolish. It is very common for the meat from "trophy" hunts in Africa (and other countries) to be given to the families of the local trackers or to the tribes on whose land the animal was killed. This includes lion meat. I have never eaten any myself, but I hear it can be tasty so long as it is cooked slowly. Even if the animal wasn't eaten, the money generated from these hunts goes a long way toward funding habitat loss and species protection programs. Also, without the money generated by these "sickening" hunts, the local economies would suffer greatly.
Double Naught Spy
New member
I am hugely amazed at the speculation here on both sides. What I really found funny was the speculation that the lion was some sort of pest animal that had been causing problems and therefore needed to be dispatched. That may or may not be the case and the footage would give no indication either way. However, the fact that the primary shooter was being given instruction on specifically what to do and not to do gives me the impression that this was a guided hunt, a safari sport hunt.
If these folks were out to dispatch a troublesome animal for the benefit of the local community, I would be inclined to believe they all would have attempted to dispatch the animal as quickly as possible. While they might have let one person take the first shot, once the animal got up, the other people in the group would have shot the animal right then. They didn't. This was apparently some sort of safari and the only reason why anyone else in the party was going to shoot was when the animal posed a threat to the hunters themselves...and then you can see just how effective their fire was once they realized they were in danger.
As LAK noted, it would not be unexpected for even skilled hunters to miss a charging animal. Why? Simple. Most skilled hunters do not attempt to shoot animals moving at high speeds or have to deal with the sense of danger coming from the fact that the speeding lion is charging the the hunters. I know it is called "hunting," but as with the first shot taken, that sort of hunting is nothing but animal sniping. As with sniping, most snipers prefer to shoot at stationary or slow moving targets when at all possible.
What surprised me about the footage is that while there were several people with rifles in the hunting party and several folks opened up when the animal charged, nobody seemed to have anything faster than a bolt action gun to shoot. Given the number of hunters with guns, there were not very many shots fired as the lion charged. At least one guy can be seen trying to work the action on his gun, apparently after having fired(?), as the lion passes through the group and downs the one hunter.
If these folks were out to dispatch a troublesome animal for the benefit of the local community, I would be inclined to believe they all would have attempted to dispatch the animal as quickly as possible. While they might have let one person take the first shot, once the animal got up, the other people in the group would have shot the animal right then. They didn't. This was apparently some sort of safari and the only reason why anyone else in the party was going to shoot was when the animal posed a threat to the hunters themselves...and then you can see just how effective their fire was once they realized they were in danger.
As LAK noted, it would not be unexpected for even skilled hunters to miss a charging animal. Why? Simple. Most skilled hunters do not attempt to shoot animals moving at high speeds or have to deal with the sense of danger coming from the fact that the speeding lion is charging the the hunters. I know it is called "hunting," but as with the first shot taken, that sort of hunting is nothing but animal sniping. As with sniping, most snipers prefer to shoot at stationary or slow moving targets when at all possible.
What surprised me about the footage is that while there were several people with rifles in the hunting party and several folks opened up when the animal charged, nobody seemed to have anything faster than a bolt action gun to shoot. Given the number of hunters with guns, there were not very many shots fired as the lion charged. At least one guy can be seen trying to work the action on his gun, apparently after having fired(?), as the lion passes through the group and downs the one hunter.
FrankDrebin
Moderator
I hate cats...they piss all over the house.....I say kill em all and replace them with dogs....
It tastes like the same kind of cat you get with your General Tsao's Chicken.....
It tastes like the same kind of cat you get with your General Tsao's Chicken.....
pittspilot
New member
I believe this has been covered before. My understanding was:
1) This was a pest animal that was too close to residents and animals. Supposedly an elderly male that had taken to killing domestic animals.
2) Apparently the first shot was perfect. However, the Lion didn't think so. From what I understand this is not uncommon.
3) The guide saved everyone with that last shot before the lion made it to them. As was noted, that animal covered a serious amount of territory at a fantastic pace. If you watch the guide, he squats to take the only shot he knows he is going to get. I have never had the opportunity to take one shot that I knew positively absolutely had to count, and had a very short period within which to take, but if I did, I hope I did as well as this guy did. He hit the Lion right on the chin, and that was probably why that Lion did not take "Bwana" apart.
4) I would not really hold the whooping it up that those guys did against them. I would assume that having seen a lion that close and personal that had my blood on its mind, and having survived the encounter intact, I might celebrate a tad.
1) This was a pest animal that was too close to residents and animals. Supposedly an elderly male that had taken to killing domestic animals.
2) Apparently the first shot was perfect. However, the Lion didn't think so. From what I understand this is not uncommon.
3) The guide saved everyone with that last shot before the lion made it to them. As was noted, that animal covered a serious amount of territory at a fantastic pace. If you watch the guide, he squats to take the only shot he knows he is going to get. I have never had the opportunity to take one shot that I knew positively absolutely had to count, and had a very short period within which to take, but if I did, I hope I did as well as this guy did. He hit the Lion right on the chin, and that was probably why that Lion did not take "Bwana" apart.
4) I would not really hold the whooping it up that those guys did against them. I would assume that having seen a lion that close and personal that had my blood on its mind, and having survived the encounter intact, I might celebrate a tad.
Double Naught Spy said:
Perhaps it's the fact that in many countries, including S.Africa, it's illegal to use semi-automatic rifle to hunt with. Add to that, there are few semi-autos you can carry and have the firepower of a good .375 H&H or a .458 Weatherby Magnum. (Sure, just try to carry that Barrett afield all day!) And if this was a sport hunt, where's the sport in shooting your lion 3, 5 or 10 times?
Probably not as good as spotted owl!MCIWS said:
220swifter
Inactive
Not to stir the pot more, but..... The story I have heard is that is was in fact a canned hunt. You can clearly see the fence in the back ground.(I think that cat could have jumped it.) The hunter is a dentist out of Corpus Christi, Texas. No way to know for sure, but the story down there is not too flattering.
Hmmm, don't kill it unless you are going to eat it. What does a mouse taste like fresh out of the trap, and how many mosquitoes does it take for even a light snack?
There is nothing wrong with shooting a lion, fair chase or otherwise. I can't say I would be even remotely interested in hunting where there are fences, whether it is five acres or five square miles, of 5,000 square miles, since it is a psychological thing.
I won't condemn others, as then we establish a pecking order, where ultimately anyone who doesn't kill the animal with a bow fashioned with obsidian tools they flaked themselves and grill it on a fire they started with the bow method is no true hunter.
There is nothing wrong with shooting a lion, fair chase or otherwise. I can't say I would be even remotely interested in hunting where there are fences, whether it is five acres or five square miles, of 5,000 square miles, since it is a psychological thing.
I won't condemn others, as then we establish a pecking order, where ultimately anyone who doesn't kill the animal with a bow fashioned with obsidian tools they flaked themselves and grill it on a fire they started with the bow method is no true hunter.
All this talk about fences - and the one in question - reminds me of that infamous and widely published photograph that "proved" the Serbs were operating "concentration camps" in Yugoslavia. Except that the photo was actually taken by a photographer standing "inside" the alleged enclosure, with some of the locals (one of whom was a skinny chap to begin with) standing on the outside of the wire. Of course the truth was never acknowledged by the right people.
Now it takes more than your average cattle fence to actually contain a lion.
Has it occurred to anyone that whether or not the lion is "inside" or "outside" some fenceline - it may the fenceline of a farm, or other private dwelling, and that the lion's presence there may not be welcome, "sporting" or not?
Now it takes more than your average cattle fence to actually contain a lion.
Has it occurred to anyone that whether or not the lion is "inside" or "outside" some fenceline - it may the fenceline of a farm, or other private dwelling, and that the lion's presence there may not be welcome, "sporting" or not?