#KeWildlife – Story 15

The large vehicle was parked by an Acacia tree in the middle of the grasslands. The driver paid no mind to the trail he had left behind. He had bigger things on his mind. Dressed in khaki shorts and a green shirt, he stepped out of his Land Cruiser, adjusted his safari hat and examined the land.

A few zebras grazed in-between a herd of wildebeest in the distance. Giraffes stood tall further away against the few trees lining the horizon, and the water of a little dam glistened against the midday sun. The man adjusted the laces of his safari boots and strapped his firearm against his chest, then began his long walk to the thicket two kilometers away.

He arrived in less than half an hour, despite the sun’s efforts to wear him out. Tenacity was his motto, and to return to his homeland with an elephant’s tusk? He’d be the richest man in his country, if not the continent.

“Magical Kenya they say,” the man said to himself as he spotted the large elephant approximately 500m from him. He chuckled at his own words and stared at the large beast in both awe and greedy desire.

Then, he unfastened his firearm, set the bullets and then lifted the gun to his shoulder.

The beast stood still, unaware of the nearness of its death while the man tried to decide where to shoot at first – the elephant’s legs or abdomen. He settled on the abdomen – four shots and the beast would collapse.

He counts.
“Ready, set….”

Suddenly the ground shakes. The man is caught unaware, and his firearm drops from his loose grip. Something runs in the bush around him. He hurriedly picks up his firearm ready to put an end to whatever beast has interrupted his hunt. He waits, as silence ensues.

Just then, out of the thicket, a massive animal comes running, its head bopping up and down. Horns? The man can barely make them out. He feels a sharpness against his ribs, then another. The man falls to the ground – firearm still in hand.
–

You see the thing with the African Buffalo is it senses danger from a mile away. It seems like an unlikely attacker if you judge it at first glance, but its defence against enemies and intruders is mounted squarely at the top of its head; horns longer than a man’s arm. If provoked, it lowers its head and pierces its opponent. Much like the elephant, the buffalo isn’t a predator but an animal that gets overly aggressive when enraged – and when it attacks, the opponent’s only hope is speed.

Woe unto you if you come across the lone buffalo. Considered one of the most dangerous animals in the wild, even its own kind steer clear of him.

The hunter in the story above lies on the ground sprinkled with dust. The buffalo has done what it needs to do to protect his territory.

It’s no wonder this ferocious animal is one of Kenya’s big 5 – a true ambassador of defence!