Locked in mortal combat by Alfred Faul
I enjoyed the humoristic giraffe & wart hog snips by Bongani and thought you guys, being nature lovers, would also appreciate this clip from the Hunters Association's magazine years back. I admit it's not humoristic, but it tells us about a true life event and true life seldom is, isn't it? It wasn't predator and pray, it was two fighters locked in mortal combat to the very end!
(I quote) "Before our eyes, in full view, were a huge black-maned lion and a gigantic bull buffalo in mortal combat. I do not know how long that fight had raged before I came accidentally upon the arena. It was obvious that I was only watching the final stages. I have no idea how long I stood there, eyes following intently every single detail of that fierce duel. I lost all count of time.
The lion was firmly fixed on the massive shoulders of the old buffalo when I reached the spot. He was fighting, clawing, biting and growling ferociously. The buffalo was using all his strength and every cunning ruse to dislodge the antagonist, and get in some deadly work with the powerful head and cruel horns.
Once he did succeed in throwing the lion from his back to the ground and, before his foe could recover, had driven one horn through the body and impaled the beast to the earth. They fought and struggled violently, roaring and bellowing savagely. The whole veld seemed to vibrate to their noisy throats. It was awe-inspiring; and swift thrills ran up and down my spine.
Somehow the lion managed to free himself. Before he did so, however, he had scored the body of the buffalo in the most terrible fashion. Shreds of hide and flesh were hanging down in long strips, blood and dust were everywhere as they waltzed round and round each other, heads always facing, eyes watchfully intent and glaring, and muscles tensely drawn. Both waited for a favorable moment to spring in again to close grips. Round and round they went, wounds completely ignored and forgotten, frothing with blood at mouth and nostrils, bodies torn and oozing out a steady stream of scarlet life’s blood.
Unexpectedly, almost when I thought the lion had had enough and would slink away to lick his wounds, badly whipped, he sprang in like a flash of lightning and once more landed squarely on the broad shoulders of the buffalo. He perched on neck and withers, his tawny body outstretched along the buffalo’s back. The agility of that spring was simply amazing. It seemed to me that now the buffalo’s days were nearly ended, and the fight just about finished. The lion would bite into that massive neck, reach the spinal vertebrae, and with one claw wrench round that great head to breaking point; and then the huge beast would be thrown to death with a broken neck. It is the lion’s way of killing big animals.
For a brief second only, I fingered my rifle; but quickly banished all thoughts of intervention. The fight was no concern of mine. Jungle laws had ordained it, and no human being had any shadow of right to interfere. Let the victor not be robbed of the honors in such a gigantic trail of strength.
Now the buffalo was down on his knees, but struggled violently to throw off his foe. They fought all over the arena, savagely and with grim determination. Then, with a swift movement the buffalo threw himself over sideways, and for a moment I thought the lion had actually broken his neck. I was mistaken. The buffalo rolled over the lion, and rose to his feet freed of that death hold.
The lion was at him again almost before the buffalo had regained his feet. This time he landed sideways on the shoulder and neck of the bull, just behind that magnificent sweep of horns. He clung there, biting savagely, while the buffalo moaned aloud in agony. But the gallant old beast was not licked; far from it. He fought back strenuously and struggled hard to shake off the lion’s tenacious hold. Then gathering all his strength in a last supreme effort, he threw himself backwards. The lion’s body was swung over his head in half-circle, and he fell on his back beneath that gigantic and heavy body. His tawny hide was lost to view, crushed to a pulp beneath that great bulk of meat and bone.
All round them, the place was a shambles; blood was every where. For a moment or two neither animal moved; they appeared to be at death’s door. I waited and watched, wondering what the final curtain would be.
Slowly and groggily, the buffalo staggered to his feet and stood staring down at the gored and crushed body of his foe. It remained there on the ground, motionless. With two or three savage lunges with those cruel horns into the prostrate body of the lion, the latter died. The buffalo stood erect over the vanquished, swaying drunkenly on his feet. His eyes were glazing fast; breath coming in short and strangled sobs.
A moment or two of tense silence passed, and still the buffalo swayed on his feet. There was neither sound nor movement, except that terribly labored breathing and that gentle rocking to and fro. The veld all around the arena was as silent as the grave; not even a bird chirped in the nearby trees. I could here my own heart pump furiously.
In silence life slipped from the buffalo almost like a smothered sigh. He crumbled slowly, to fall with a dull thub on top of his enemy.
We left them there, victor and vanquished, just as they had fallen.
To have acted otherwise would have been sacrilege." (Stop quote)
Is it the unstoppable character of the buffalo that exacts so much respect? Is this the reason why the Big Book refers no less than nine times to the buffalo? I don't know. All I know is that every time I meet him out there, he reminds me of this mortal combat
Why Wart Hog Is So Ugly (A story from East
Africa) by Morne Stevens
In the beginning, Wart hog was a small but handsome beast. Unfortunately he was
also despised by all the other inhabitants of the savannah because
he was vain and rude. Even Hare could not tolerate Wart hog's superior attitude.
One thing Wart Hog had learned from the start was how to make himself a
comfortable home. These were usually old aardvark holes, no longer required by
the original owner, and with some alteration and enlarging they were ideal.
In this snug, comfortable home he was safe from prowling hunters at night, and
during the day he never ventured too far from safety. This retreat was needed
quite frequently because Wart hog's rudeness meant that he was often scurrying
to safety.
Bright and early one morning Wart hog was out enjoying a meal. He was feeding on
roots and grass shoots with his bottom sticking up in the air in a most
undignified manner, so busy eating that he failed to notice ,Porcupine.
I After a night of walking around searching for
food Porcupine was exhausted and, seeing an inviting-looking hole, quickly
scurried down the passage and was soon curled up in the main chamber of Wart
hog's hole, sound asleep.
After several hours of feeding, Wart hog trotted off to the nearby waterhole and
had a good wallow in the mud. Feeling much refreshed, he was about to head off
to find more grazing when he noticed Lion strolling by. Unable to resist the
temptation Wart hog passed some very rude remarks about lion's mane looking very
messy and unkempt. This was too much for lion, who had far too many tricks
played on him, and too many undignified remarks from such a rude little fellow.
So lion charged Wart hog, hoping to catch him and teach him a lesson that he
would never forget.
Seeing the enraged lion bearing down on him, Wart hog was seized by panic and
sprinted off towards his den. A great chase ensued, but eventually Wart hog
arrived safely at his home and shot down the tunnel. lion was left to stand
guard at the top.
Meanwhile, Porcupine, who had been fast asleep, woke with a start, sure that
some predator had found her down the hole and was coming to grab her. jumping to
her feet, Porcupine braced herself for an attack, spreading out her long, sharp
quills. Wart hog, unable to stop, came bursting through into the chamber,
straight into Porcupine. Wart hog got a face full of sharp, painful quills.
lion was startled to hear a great yelp of pain come from Wart hog's den. There
was the sound of a considerable commotion from under the ground and then Wart
hog shot out of the tunnel, screaming and howling in pain. He had a dozen or so
quills sticking out of his cheeks, nose and forehead, plus the signs of a great
many more puncture holes.
lion saw and heard the obvious discomfort of Wart hog and decided ~~ that he
might have learned his lesson and so left him to his pain.
Wart hog was most miserable, especially as none of the animals would help him
pullout the quills, remembering how rude and vain he had been in the past. Wart
hog's face swelled up and was sore for a very long time.
To this day Wart hog is covered in warts and bumps and he is no longer handsome.
Taught his lesson, he is now a humble animal who minds his own business. As if
reminded of his painful experience, Warthog now enters his den backwards to
protect his face from further damage.
Why the Wart Hog goes about on his Knees (A
Zulu story) by Morne Stevens
Wart hog had made himself a lovely, spacious home in an old anteater hole.
He had built it up and made a wide entrance, and thought it
was quite the grandest hole in the area. But one day Wart hog looked out and was
horrified to see a lion stalking stealthily towards his cave.
Thinking quickly, he pretended to be supporting the roof of his hole with his
strong back, pushing up with his tusks. "Help!" he cried to the lion,
"I am going to be crushed! The roof is caving in! Perhaps you had better
flee, a lion!"
However, the lion had been caught out once before with a trick like this
(remember sly old Jackal?), and he was not going to be fooled a second time. He
roared so fiercely that Wart hog dropped to his knees, trembling, and begged for
mercy. luckily for him, lion was not really all that hungry. Also, he was amused
to think the slow-witted wart hog would try to copy Jackal's trick. So he
pardoned the wart hog and left, saying, "Stay on your knees, you foolish
beastl"
Wart hog took this to be an order and that is why, even today, you will see Wart
hog feeding on his knees, in a very undignified position, with his bottom up in
the air and his snout snuffling in the dust
Why the Giraffe has a long Neck (An East African story) by Morne Stevens
In the beginning, the Creator gave Giraffe the
same legs and neck as all the other animals; in fact Giraffe resembled some of
the larger antelope such
as Eland and Kudu.
All was well until one year a terrible drought afflicted the land. All the
animals began to go hungry, as the best grazing and browsing were eaten. An that
remained were the bitter tufts of yellowed turpentine grass and dry, shriveled
twigs. There was great competition among the animals and they had to walk many
weary miles each day between feeding areas and the few remaining waterholes. In
times like these, only the fittest and strongest of the animals could survive.
One day, Giraffe met his friend Rhino out on the scorched plains where the
dust-devils whirled and the horizon shimmered in the terrible heat. They trudged
wearily along the trail back to the waterhole, and as they walked they
complained about the hard times and the lack of food.
"Ah, my friend;' said Giraffe, "See how there are too many animals
searching out here on the plains -all they do is trample the remaining grass
into the dust. And yet look at those tall acacia trees over there:'
"OOMPHhh;' said Rhino. (He wasn't -and still isn't -a very gifted talker.)
"How lovely it would be;' continued Giraffe, "to be able to reach the
topmost branches, where the tender green leaves are. Now there you have plenty
of food, but I can't climb trees and I don't suppose you could either:'
Rhino agreed, squinting nearsightedly up at the beautiful canopy of thick green
leaves. "Perhaps;' he said, "we could see the Man-Magician:' He
paused. "He's very wise and powerful:' And he nibbled a dry twig, thinking.
"What a good idea!" said Giraffe, "Which way, old friend? Do you
think he could help us?" And the two friends set off into the sunset,
stopping on the way for a quick drink at the muddy waterhole.
After a long and tiring walk through the night and half-way through the
next day, Rhino and Giraffe finally found the dwelling of the witchdoctor
and explained their problem.
The Man-Magician laughed and said, "Oh, that is fairly easy. Come here
tomorrow at noon and I will give you both a magic herb to eat. It will make your
legs and your necks grow so long, that you will be able to reach the :!~ tree
tops!"
The Man-Magician busied himself preparing his magic, and Giraffe and",
Rhino, both greatly excited, went back to the waterhole. ',:
.The next day, only Giraffe was at the witchdoctor's hut at the arranged 1 time.
Poor dimwitted Rhino had found a patch of nice green grass which
had somehow escaped the notice of the other animals. And, quite forgetting about
his noon appointment, he was greedily tucking into his unexpected meal After
waiting for some time for Rhino to appear, the Man-Magician finally grew
impatient. He gave Giraffe all of the magic herbs and disappeared into the shade
of his hut. Giraffe ate them all up, and as soon as he had finished, he felt the
strangest tingling feeling in his legs and neck. He blinked. The ground was
getting further away! What a funny feeling! Giraffe closed his eyes in
half-fear, half-giddiness. Then he opened them again. Oh, how the world had
changed! He was high up in the air, he could
see for miles! He looked down at his long, long legs and his long, long neck,
and smiled. The magic had worked wonderfully well. And there, level with his
eyes and not two paces away, was the thick green canopy of a tall acacia tree.
Eventually Rhino remembered where he was supposed to be, and trotted hurriedly
up to the witchdoctor's hut. He was too late. He saw the new
tall, elegant giraffe browsing from the tree tops to his heart's content, free
from the competition of all the other animals. When the Man-Magician
told him that there was no magic herb left, Rhino lost his temper. Thinking that
the Man-Magician had tricked him, he lowered his great sharp horn
and charged, chasing him a long way into the bush.
Some say that to this day, Rhino is always very bad-tempered, and chases people
whenever he is reminded of the Giraffe's greatest gift, his long, beautifuI
neck.
Not always easy being a pilot by Tony Page