Five Quotes About Hunting Cape Buffalo
By Michael Maynor
It’s difficult to put into words the appeal of hunting the great buffalo of Africa ,but make no mistake; they demand respect. The following quotes hammer home the reality of hunting Cape Buffalo, but those that have done it and survived will tell you the risk is worth the reward.
“It wasn’t going to be a game, shooting that buffalo. If he charged us in the dark, we couldn’t suddenly decide we didn’t like big game hunting and go back to camp. The buffalo would put all his chips in the pot. It would be either his life or ours.”
-Ralph Hammer
“The unusual aspect of the buff (Cape Buffalo) is that, of the three really big dangerous species, he has no weak spots in his natural defenses. He has the eyesight of a cheetah, the hearing of a hypersensitive elephant, and the smelling ability of a bird dog on a damp morning. In the bush, he can do anything that you can, including running four times your speed through cover so dense that it would make a mole claustrophobic‘”
― Peter Capstick ” Death in the Dark Continent”
“But it was time to hunt buffalo. The African buffalo is distant kin to the American plains bison, but there the resemblance ends. The African animal is one of the great reasons why so many visitors never get into the wilds at all. He regards it as his duty to keep them out.”
-Harry Syner , Synders Book of Big Game Hunting
“I lurched up and looked at Mbogo, and Mbogo looked at me. He was 50 to 60 yards off, his head low, his eyes staring right down my soul. He looked at me as if he hated my guts. He looked as if I had despoiled his fiancee, murdered his mother, and burned down his house. He looked at me as if I owed him money. I never saw such malevolence in the eyes of any animal or human being, before or since. So I shot him.
–Robert Ruark
“The Savage disposition of this animal renders it well known about the cape of good hope, and in several other parts of Africa where it is found. It is large and enormously strong..The head hands down and bears a most fierce and malevolent aspect.
― The Rev. W. Bingley A.M.
Michael Maynor
I am a proud native of North Carolina with a deep love for the sporting lifestyle and everything Southern. My book collection seems to grow endlessly, and I have a particular fondness for collecting vintage duck decoys. Despite appearing content, my heart longs to return to Africa for another safari adventure. John 3:16
