Hello from South Africa

[Jackaldog]

Hi. I am a livestock farmer in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. I started with hounds to try and control black-backed jackal and caracal, as they prey on my sheep and goats. A jackal is sort of in between a fox and coyote and a caracal is similar to a bobcat. The terrain is very hard and rocky and the climate is dry with an annual average rainfall of 12 inches. I have 14 hounds in my pack, mostly foxhound crosses. Unfortunately people with hunting hounds dont keep pedigrees here and their is a lot of cross-breeding. I have enjoyed this forum and have learnt a lot about hounds and hunting. Cheers Kenneth

[tylers dad]

Welcome to the site! I can't imagine feeding 14 hounds!

[Shorty]

Jackaldog, Welcome to the site. Your country sounds alot like South Texas. Don't get confused on registered dogs. I'm not saying they aren't good but I've never seen a set of papers catch a damn thing. A good dog is a good dog no matter what documents or pass ports it has.

Glad to have you here!

[cobalt]

Are your dogs very successful on the caracal. How many caracal live near your farm(approximately)?

[Dads dogboy]

Welcome aboard!

To come to your country for a month and Hunt with Hounds for the Cats you all have there is a Long Held Dream of mine.

They can keep the Big Five...just let me here a good race after one of your Cats (all but the Lion) and I will e happy.

Friends and Family have been to your Country and say that the only thing better than the Vistas in the People!

Good Running!

CJC

[perk]

Welcome! Never dawned on me that people in south africa hunted with pack of foxhounds (crosses). I keep a pack of hounds to stricly fox hunt. How long do your chases last, do you shoot the quarry or do the hounds handle the killing end of the chase? Very excited to hear about this type of hunting please post us some stories or pictures.
Perk

[Jackaldog]

Thanks for the welcome. I dont believe that there are so many caracal. My hounds have caught only 14 and I have caught another 8 in cages this year. However my hounds are definately getting better every year. The caracal is very shy and seems to have vast territories. My livestock suffers the biggest losses to them when they teach their young to catch. Last January I had 5 angora goats caught in one night within 100m from each other. Only one of the goats was eaten. Goats are pretty stupid though. The 3 biggest cats I caugth weighed +- 40lbs.
There are definately more jackal and I have caught 43 with my hounds this year. To be honest this includes 24 pups which were dug out of dens. You may think this cruel however they account for about 350 sheep and goat deaths per year on my farm. The jackal and caracal numbers have exploded throughout the country and farmers are struggling to produce small stock. There is absolutely no way they will become endangered. The adult jackal is extremely clever and has supreme stamina. The track is easier to take than a caracal, however he is a lot more difficult to catch. My chases can last up to 2 hours and the bastard still manages to escape. However when I get lucky he normally goes down a hole. This only happens when under extreme pressure and I then I have to dig him out. I have tried sitting up ahead and have had shots, however my running shooting is not of the highest quality.
Dads Dogboy unfortunately there are no leopards on my property. I have bought pups from leopard hunters, however they do their hunting in Namibia and Zimbabwe. I dont think you are allowed to hunt leopard with hounds in South Africa. A friend of mine actually treed a leopard 3 weeks ago. However this is extremely rare. The Eastern Cape leopard is also a lot smaller.

[Dads dogboy]

Thanks for the reply!

A leapord might be a bit much but what about the Serval and Civit(sp) Cat. Do you get a chance to run them? If so what is their race like?

Thanks for a New perspective on Hound Hunting!

CJC

[Jackaldog]

Unfortunately these dont occur where I live. I have come across a website where the the houndsmen offers these cats. I think the chaps name is Johan Strijdom under Inkwe Safaris. I have wanted to contact him about hounds as he has been doing it for a long time. He does it for a living so I dont know what the cost will be. If anyone is coming to this part of the world please pop in here. I have antelope, namely kudu and springbok that you can also hunt. Cheers Kenneth

[Mikes Hero]

Hi Jackaldog. Welcome to the site. How far do you live from Sommerset East?

Just curious, that is the only town I am familiar with in SA.

[Jackaldog]

Hi Mikes Hero I am 50 miles from Somerset East.
Perk i tried to send you a PM hopefully you get it. I dont have any ridgebacks. They are beautiful dogs but I dont think they will help you in fox hunting. They are quite heavy and I dont know about their nose or stamina. I am sure you know a lot more about them than me. I am interested how you do your hunting and what hounds work for you. Do you do your own breeding?
Cheers Kenneth

[david]

Jakaldog, welcome from me also.

I trained a driver from Liberia. He spoke of using dogs to hunt "racoon" and "groundhog". We have animals here by that name, but I know they are not the same animals from his discription. They use dogs with a thick coat of hair and erect ears who do not open much until the animal is jumped and they are getting close to it. It sounds like both animals can really run.

Do you know anything of these animals or these dogs?

[perk]

jackaldog, didnt get the PM please try and resend!
Perk

[rc1]

Do people still use the ridgebacks over there? I always thought they were a neat breed...