Feature
THREE KINGS
By Steve Ahrenberg
B
uffalo hunting. It has different meanings to different
people. Until last year I would have defined it as
driving the sandy bush roads of some sub-Saharan
African country looking for fresh spoor. Perhaps the morning
was crisp and cool. That morning's mist hung motionless
in the smoky, hazy air like so many weightless, sinuous
ropes. The first warming rays of sunlight filtered through
the mopane forest, making your eyes strain to focus. The
professional hunter and his hunting team seeming to be able
to find animals and see things without even looking, as the
Land Cruiser wound its way in and out of the trees. You might
have departed the vehicle only in the hope of catching the
herd or perhaps just a group of dagga boys before the hot
African sun begins to extract its agonizing toll.
When the year 2012 came, I had killed eight Cape buffalo
and no other species of true buffalo. This year that was to
change. I had a 21-day full-bag safari to the Central African
Republic planned that was to include two Central Savanna
buffalo. Later the same year I had a trip to the Northern
Territory of Australia planned for Asiatic water buffalo. These
are the differences as I see them, between the three.
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