Hunting the African Leopard (A Hunter's Trails and a Hunter's Tales)

A Hunter’s Trails And A Hunter’s Tales: Leopard by Ron Thomson (2021) is a collection of tales about the author’s leopard hunting experiences. Unlike lions when a leopard sees a hunter approaching, if it doesn’t slink away, it will lie unmoving and silent. So, when it attacks, the animal will seemingly come fast and furiously, and unexpectedly, from very close quarters. They tend to avoid conflict with the hunter but when pushed they are not averse to launching a surprise attack.

The leopard is much smaller than a lion being rarely taller than knee-high to an average man, and 130 lbs (60 kgs) in weight. They are nocturnal animals and normally solitary. They are extremely secretive, agile and like the lion, they don’t need much cover to hide away during the day. Unlike lions when a leopard sees a hunter approaching, if it doesn’t slink away, it will lie unmoving and silent. So, when it attacks, the animal will seemingly come fast and furiously, and unexpectedly, from very close quarters. They tend to avoid conflict with the hunter, however, but, when pushed they are not averse to launching a surprise attack. Attacks are vicious and they hit the hunter at very great speed. As with the lion, the short stories in this compendium recite, mostly, hunts made on stock-killing leopards.