African Predator

Here is a secret used by professional jackal hunters, try this it works! It can be applied for cage trapping lynx also; it has many uses, just try it!

What do you do to check how active a place is when you are in an area with typical Karoo landscape and no soft sand that can tell you about spoor / tracks, how do you assess the areas and check predator traffic???

How about you are in the areas that offer very little tell take signs of jackal, no tracks and no dead carcasses so how do you work out predator traffic? Well, the answer is simple! Buy one / two of these beauties – they work! Using new technology helps us in many ways; this is an example of great technology that can assist us in Africa!

DIGITAL TRAIL CAMERAS are used by hundreds of hunters in America for hunting and even stock control with poachers etc, they have many uses and if you buy the correct one it will assist you in jackal hunting.

First about the cameras, remember in the USA they have lands hunted with permission by hundreds of people and this is why they wear ORANGE, it is safer, they are able to hunt government land, BUT here we cannot, and on a farm if we set a camera chances are it WONT get stolen as we don’t have strangers on the property.

A trail cam can be bought with tree mounts, steal safe bolts and brackets etc, but generally we just need the camera in SA and the extras to fit it to a tree etc

REMEMBER that cheaper trail cams have a normal flash at night for taking photos; this is not good because it will spook an animal and also tell people that the camera is at that spot and it will get stolen easier!

You are better off buying a camera that takes an INFRA RED flash, this way nobody can see the camera being fired and it will not spook game either, however these cost more.

Good models and bad models / makes are pretty much found like almost other things in life, if you want my opinion buy a MOULTREE product with 6 mega pixels with the Infra red flash, below is a copy of the page of a product I bid on, this is an EXCELLENT CAMERA, you cant really get better than this, unless you get a new model, this is a discontinued model, but at that price it’s a bargain!

Ok, here you can see the unit I was bidding on, I have a MOULTREE with a camo feature and wanted another one so I can watch two places on a hunt.

( PS * If you want to copy a page on the computer on a site push Ctrl and at the same time push Print Screen SysRq, then paste to a blank page – simple!

This is what I do, remember these pointers it will help you tremendously, take my tips they will help. (Keep it waist height).

Remember that using a trail cam requires thought, you cannot just put it any place and expect photos the next day, it is like calling or cage trapping you must THINK!!!! THINK !!!! THINK !!!!!! THINK !!!!!!

A camera must be placed in a place you suspect a predator to walk, or if you have seen tracks someplace and you can place that camera, REMEMBER to place it so that the animal will walk past the lens and will remain in the cameras lens long enough to allow the camera to go off! If the animal walks close to the camera the animal will walk past faster and out of the cameras lens and the camera will take a picture but the animal has already passed the lens, so you must KEEP HIM IN THE FRAME so to speak, and two easy ways are simple to apply.

1 – Place the camera about 10 -15m away from that road, open gate or turn in the sand road or whatever place you suspect he will come from or walk past. The further away he is from the camera the longer he will take to walk past the camera, thus giving the camera lots of time to take a few pictures.

2 – When you have set the camera in its place before you put it ON, place a stone in the centre of your lens picture and put jackal shit, urine, cat urine, cat stinky food, sardines, or a lure on the rock, you need something to pull the walking predator towards the centre of the picture frame/ lens, he does not have to walk on top of the bait or eat it, he just needs to smell, see it and walk nearby, so he looks, stops, sums up what’s going on etc, so the camera can take a few good photos.

This will enable you to see what is walking around that farm area, the time and date etc; it will tell you that it is worth calling etc.

I LEAVE my camera out for two full days and nights, and I inspect the photos the 2^nd day at about 11 o clock, I park my truck and walk to the camera and I don’t touch bushes nor do I walk on the sand road, I leave it all natural. I leave no smells etc, I inspect that camera and take it back with me. Back at home I download the photos, look at them carefully and see what I was able to photograph. If you capture nothing on film that does not mean nothing is around, but it will give you a very good idea of the area you want to hunt on.

NOTE ; Look at the photo for clues, what direction was he heading, was he alone, was he looking behind him when camera fired, male / female, was the jackals tongue sticking out? If yes and in the early daylight that means he walked far and depending on cameras time, he is still close by, and if you call he will hear you – look for clues!!! Did he eat the food, did he eat much? Is he hungry? Was he in good shape or thin etc? How long did he stay around the camera or was he skittish? What was his body language like? Was he an old dog or young? A photo will tell you a LOT!!! Take the time to look at each photo carefully. Take note of the jackals tail and ears, these are dead give away’s as to that dogs demeanour.

If you photograph a jackal / cat and in two nights you get him both nights, take note of the time, if its time is close both nights this tells you when he is active, and you can call him, set up an hour before that earliest time and wait 4 hours!

Also, REMEMBER some places jackals are active only from sundown to 11 o clock at night +-, but by using a trail cam you can tell exactly what time that area has jackals and at what time!

A trail cam offers you so much, it gives us so much info about a place all we must do is set it up in a good spot and take time to observe the photos it gives us, study the photos and show them to other people, maybe other people will pick up something you missed!

TRAIL CAM FILMING IS FUN! Who knows what you may catch on film ???

You can lock that camera with a password, so if its stolen nobody can do anything with it

Also, remember some like the one below have a remote control, and you can also film a video, not only take photos!

Photos taken by a friend of mine while using a Trail Cam. This is just to illustrate that using this technology helps a hunter big time, here are some cool pictures.

NOTE here he placed the camera on a tree far from the area he suspected the bear to walk, so the bear will have to make at least 50 footsteps to get past the camera, and this will give the camera plenty time to take the photo. This photo shows the bear in the middle of the frame, it took 2 other pictures before this photo. Note the date and time of day it passed by his house in the back yard.

Give this a try, it is a secret used by a few jackal hunters, anything ethical to give you the edge will help!

Watch this space, I am busy trying out a new model and will post some neat photos here very soon, so keep watching this space!

With 6.0-megapixel performance, the most of any Moultrie IR game camera, plus the stealth of an infrared flash, this full-featured unit will provide you with the highest quality images and scouting information available. Choose from three photo and two video resolution settings. A built-in 1.5" color viewer lets you scan your images in the field. All images are stamped with time, date, temperature, moon phase and barometric pressure. Six D batteries (not included) provide up to 150 days of reliable operation. The infrared flash provides superior illumination in low light and darkness, without the game-spooking effects of a standard white flash. Day video clips can be set for 5/15/30 seconds. 32MB of internal memory. Supports up to a 4GB SD card (sold separately) that provides additional storage capacity. Laser Aim lets you set and test the camera to determine the precise spot you want captured in your pictures or videos. Includes a security option and a beacon locator with a remote control. Auto-Flash turns off in bright sunlight and automatically activates in low-light or after dark conditions. Also includes a built-in one-second delay, upgradeable software and an external power port compatible with the Moultrie Game Camera Power Panel.