Huntinamibia - My Namibian Adventure - Between the horns of a kudu bull
Namibia is known for its excellent kudu-hunting. Kudus, however, are not normally regarded as “dangerous game”. Here is a somewhat different tale.
It was a lovely day in the Erongo Mountains. Although hunting was not the main objective of the day’s outing, we took a rifle and four rounds of ammunition along, just in case. Joe is a good hunter and an excellent marksman. The previous day he had taken two good trophies, each dropped on the spot with a single shot.
Then, as we came round a bend, approximately 200 metres in front of us, was a really big and old kudu bull. It was standing at an oblique angle, not exactly broad-on, but with no obstacles in the way. Nothing could actually go wrong.
Joe took the first shot. Judging from the signs, it was a heart shot, and the bull took off as if in a death rush. As the terrain was mountainous and difficult, Joe immediately fired a second, third and fourth shot, each of them a hit – two in the front quarter and one from behind. Then the bull disappeared over the crest of the mountain.
The follow-up began, but we had no ammunition. All of us expected the bull to be lying dead right behind the mountain ridge. And that was exactly where we found him, as he was going down. We drove home as fast as we could, picked up some spare ammunition and my rifle, and went out again.
We had last seen the kudu bull in a small, bushy narrow gorge. We stalked the spot slowly and then I saw him. He was lying still, head on the ground, legs under his body, approximately 20 metres in front of me. There was no ear movement, no visible breathing and his eyes were closed. He seemed to be stone dead. I walked closer and turned around to indicate to the others that he was dead and that they could come closer.
However, when I turned around, all hell broke loose. All I can remember is the sight of the bull rushing towards me and that I tried to dive to the side. The rest I know only from what the others told me. The bull lifted me off my feet, and with his horns under my the chest, carried me for a couple of metres, threw me down and trampled over me. Then he took off and was shot by someone else in the hunting party. Of the three additional shots fired, I heard only one. The next thing I knew was when the others were standing around me, asking how I felt. Well, every inch of my body was hurting like crazy! Joe’s comment was, “I’ve experienced buffalo and elephant charges, among others, but this was the scariest I’ve ever seen.”
“In the US they expect a good rider to stay on a rodeo bull for at least eight seconds. I wouldn’t give you more than two.”
I had been very lucky. All I had to show from the episode was a torn bicep tendon and lots of bruises all over. If the horn tips had hit me, or if the animal had been a gemsbok, I’m not sure whether I would be alive to tell the tale.
However, in the process I re-learnt two very old rules. The hard way. One, never approach a wounded animal from the front, no matter how dead you think it is or how harmless the species is supposed to be. And two, never go hunting without enough ammunition. Anything can happen. Even to the best shot, at any time.
These are two very basic rules we tend to forget, especially when it comes to a ‘harmless old kudu bull’!
