Lion Hunting

African lion hunting has come under a lot of scrutiny over recent years....

South Africa is trying to put it's canned lion shooting house in order and other wildlife departments are implementing additional hunting regulations to protect their wild lion populations. In 2007 Botswana suspended lion hunts altogether until further notice.

If you are looking to ethically hunt a wild lion, choose a reputable company and heed your PH's instructions on which animal to take. Your PH should know the lions in his area - which males are holding prides with young cubs, the others which are nomadic and how to judge their age.

"Of all the multifarious forms of life with which the great African Continent has been so bountifully stocked, none, not even the "half-reasoning elephant" or the "armed rhinoceros" has been responsible for such a wealth of anecdote and story, or has stirred the heart and imagination of mankind to such a degree, as the lion - the great and terrible meat-eating cat, the monarch of the African wilderness, by night at least, whose life means constant death to all his fellow-brutes, from the ponderous buffalo to the light-footed gazelle, and fear, and often destruction too, to the human inhabitants of the countries through which he roams." Frederick C Selous in 'African Nature Notes And Reminiscences'

"Unless you are a whiz with a rifle, you need a minimum of five bullets in your gun if you're going to shoot at a lion. Only a few old professionals consistently drop a lion with a first shot." Alexander Lake.

Lion Trophy Minimums

Panthera Leo (African Lion)
RW Minimum	RW Record	RW Measurement Method	SCI Minimum	SCI Record	SCI Measurement Method
24"	28³/₄"	17	23"	28³/₈"	15

African Lion Facts

Habitat And Requirements

The African lion has a wide range of habitat tolerance ranging from desert to open savannah, but not usually in equatorial forests.
Sufficient game, water and preferably shade.

Social Structure

The African lion is the most social of the big cats and live in prides of between about 3 to 30.
The pride consists of adult females, cubs and subadults of both sexes, and is dominated by between 1 to 4 adult males.
One male will be dominant over the other males.
The females do most of the hunting and the males do most of the work when it comes to defending the territories.
When the subadult males approach maturity, the pride holders will force them out of the pride and out of the territory. They then become nomadic until they are big enough and strong enough to take over a pride of their own. These nomadic lions often travel in small groups and are often related.
When the new in-coming males take over the pride, they will immediately kill any young cub, which brings the females into oestrus, and in turn allows them to breed and ensures they pass their own genes onto the next generation.
Correct and scientific management of lion populations is a complicated business. Shoot the wrong lion, such as one holding a pride that has young cubs in it, and it's like dropping a stone into a pool. You don't just kill one lion, you effectively kill the cubs as well. Therefore, it is vitally important that you either take a lion that is not holding a pride OR you take a Lion that is holding a pride that has no young cubs in it. The Professional Hunter should try to ensure that all the mature males are taken on a 'rolling' basis, so that it becomes easier for the incoming nomadic lions to take the pride over with as little social disturbance to the pride as possible.

Gestation Period

Just short of four months. They breed throughout the year and have between 1 to 6 cubs, although the higher number is relatively unusual.
The mother will remove herself from the pride to give birth and only introduce them to the pride when they are around 4 - 8 weeks old. If there are already cubs in the pride of around 3 months old or more, she will usually not rejoin the pride at all. The reason for this is that as any lioness will allow a cub to suckle and her own cubs may not be strong enough to feed sufficiently to survive.
Cubs will stay with their mother until they are 2 years old or sometimes older.

Lion Gender Identification

Lions have their sexual organs sticking out behind them and they are very easy to spot.
Males are, with a very few exceptions larger than the females and in most parts of Africa, have manes.

Lion Hunting Methods

Although it is occasionally possible to come across them when walking or hunting in the bush, it's not very common to do so. A lion can hide behind a single blade of grass and not be seen, so even if you do pass in close proximity to them, you may not even see them.
Most lions are hunted by bait and blind methods and in some areas, with some clients, it is possible to hunt them by tracking. This is not always an option as it's extremely dangerous and the client has to be able to walk long distances, shoot quickly and be absolutely level-headed.
Some African countries allow lions to be hunted with dogs.
Suggested calibres and bullets are 375 H&H or larger, with fast expanding soft point bullets.

A Good Lion Trophy

Every hunter who comes on an African hunting safari dreams of a big maned lion but there is a band of territory running right across Africa where most lions have either no mane or sparse mane at best.
These areas do occasionally produce some really stunning lions.
The black nose theory - where male lions are born with pink noses which become increasingly freckled and black the older the animals get, is being implemented to judge the age of a lion for hunting. In some cases it will be impossible for a Professional Hunter to get a good enough look at a lion's nose to rely on this method alone. Whilst nose colour should be used as a guide, there are a lot of other factors that also be applied to ageing an African lion. Good mane development (in line with what is average for the area) - when a lion is young, he has a quiff in the front and a receding hairline at the sides. As he ages, the hairline across the forehead gradually fills in. Width of head and good musculature in the front half of the lion and a thinner rear half are also goog age indicators. Body language can also help - an older lion will be very sure of himself and the world around him, while a younger lion will be less confident. Colour and markings also help - a young lion is born with spots that slowly fade with age. Scars on the face and body - the older the cat, the more scars he'll have acquired over the years.

Lion Hunting Shot Placement

Cats have their hearts very slightly further back than most animals and as usual, heart and lungs are the largest target area.
If the animal is standing at right angles to you, bring your crosshairs up the foreleg and divide the body in half and then in half again and the centre of the heart will be found at the top of that first (lowest) dividing line, but just behind the foreleg The lungs extend to slightly above the mid way line.
If the animal is at an obtuse angle to you, remember the previous rule and aim at the opposite shoulder and you'll hit the same area.
If the animal is standing facing away from you, aim at the root of the tail where it joins the body.
If the animal is facing you, aim for the central chest area where the bottom of the neck leaves the body.
Remember if a lion is coming at you head-on, there is hardly any skull above the eyes - it's all just hair.

African Lion Pictures

(Place cursor over photographs to enlarge)

Young Male Lion

Mature Lion with slightly pink nose

Mature Lion with pink freckled nose

Immature Lion with full pink nose

Mature Lion

Lionesses with lion cub

Recommended Viewing

Capstick: Hunting The African Lion DVD. Capstick describes the dangers, explains what can happen when things go wrong, and then, along with Cundill and Wilson, Capstick shows you the strategy and excitement of hunting the African Lion.