A beautiful, shy, solitary, nocturnal animal that can be frustrating to hunt. The hunt is like playing chess, a mind game where you try to out manoeuvre your opponent. Instead of going in search of the animal you need to attract these magnificent cats to your bait. They have exceptional senses, are ruthless killers, dangerous when wounded and always likely to charge. This cat is the smallest of the “Big 5” but has attitude. Leopards are very adaptable, occurring in a range of habitats from deserts to its more favoured rocky hills, riverine forest, thickets and mountains. Being water independent all they require is prey, sufficient shelter and the opportunity to mate. They range across South Africa and occur in isolated high density pockets in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and North West Provinces. Leopard hunting requires a combination of experience, skill and luck. The majority of hunts are conducted from a camouflaged pop-up or blinds built from a combination of grass, sticks and small tree branches. The bait is hung in a tree out of the reach of other predators and the entrails are dragged from different directions towards the bait in order to create a scent trail. Camera traps are used now days to help sex the visiting leopards hitting the bait and to pattern their time of arrival. From there on out, it takes patience and may require many hours sitting in the blind awaiting the arrival of “Mr Spots''. Limited hunting quota is allocated to South Africa by the IUCN and from time to time Leopard hunting is suspended by the South African conservation officials. When hunts may be taken only mature “Tom” cats may be hunted. Classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, CITES permits and Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) permits are required prior to the commencement of your hunt.