Sorry he’s lost his life but he was there hunting and IT’S ABOUT TIME THE ANIMALS GOT THEIR OWN BACK! I don’t have much if any, sympathy for him. I don’t know what people’s obsession is with hunting animals for pleasure. It’s sick.
There isn't enough space available any longer for animals to allow nature to regulate their numbers. Buffalos consume huge amounts of grass and basically have the lion as their sole enemy. In a modern setting on a hunting farm their numbers are controlled by the owner deciding on a number of animals that can be made available for hunting for that season. The current cost to hunt a buffalo bull is $10 000. I don't hunt personally but, in nature, every buffalo dies at some point, and it is always a much more violent death than death by projectile. Because their skin is so tough and they are so strong, it takes a pack of lions to climb onto the animal to take it down. The flesh is torn out while one or two lions suffocate the buffalo. It is a horrible death that my wife and I can't watch. Respect though, for your love and caring.
Wow. Am so sorry. In our modern world it is often hard to remember that we are all actually wild animals and the Cape Buffalo is a lot bigger and faster than we are. I am sure your friend knew this since he was a hunter, but the hunted won this time. I'm so sorry and may he rest in peace and my condolences to the family.
In the mid-fifties, my father was charged by a Cape buffalo and survived because an African dropped it with a rifle shot before it reached him. Thus at the age of nine, I learned that the Cape buffalo is the most dangerous animal in Africa.
I am a Physician and a Plant Based Nutrition Consultant. I do not eat mammals,;therefor, I do not need to kill or have others kill them for me to eat. It is not a sport to kill these gifts of nature (Baruch Hashem ["Blessed is the name." in Hebrew]).
Actually many mammals are killed during the production of plant foods for human consumption, ask any farmer. Also all plants have "feelings" see the book The Secret Life of Plants. Unfortunately this world exists with killing and cruelty to survive. The local villages use the killed animal for substance.
Then you ought to be more than aware, as a student of the Human body, that God gave us canine teeth to rip meat and not carrot sticks. You should also know that God told man to eat animal meat after the flood, but the blood must be removed. In other words, it should be killed and not eaten alive. Hunting jeeps these animal from over populating and starving during cold and harsh seasons.
God gave approval to eat meats as described in His word. Even as a nutrition counselor you know the nutrients in cattle for humans. Of course we eat far too much meat but not all meat was nor is off limits. Meat eating animals and humans hunting for food doesn't harm the species and may help overpopulation that may be dangerous for humans, other species and the environment. It's hunting, poaching and western meat practices that can be a pronlem.
Dee, Thank you for your thoughtful message. When Ha Shem granted Noach permission to eat meat, Hashem did not say that it was preferable- just permitted. Hashem initially gave man plant foods to eat exclusively at the time of creation (Genesis1:29-30. It is unnecessary to eat animal flesh to be healthy, strong, and free of chronic diseases. I am 77 years of age and do not require any medicines. Dr John
This is a trigger article for me because I could have bet a million dollars that all the animal worshippers were going to come sniveling out of the woodwork. This man was attacked and gored to death by a wild Beast. I don't give a crap if he was going to hang its head on his living room wall and throw darts at it. Anyone who sees this differently is morally corrupt. He was a Human Being created in God's image. Animals have No Such position! They all basically behave in a preprogrammed manner according to their kind, which includes hunting, storing food, hibernation, migrations, and mating. Animals were made for MAN for the following purposes: 1/ To eat 2/ To do labor 3/ To make clothing and items out of 4/ To study for our benefit which includes medical research 5/ To entertain us and serve as companions and guides. Period. You people who look at this any other way are out of line.
Peter Hathaway Capstick—Warden and Professional Hunter—had a lot more respect for the lethality of Cape Buffalo than Ruark. John would doubtless appreciate Capstick’s “Death in the Long Grass.”
Prayers and sadness for Mr. Watkins and his family.
Nature is not cruel, but nor is it kind. Humans have the capacity for both, but our genius is our downfall, rather than raw instinct.
I’d rather meet my Maker by the Cape Buffalo’s might, though, than from an mRNA shot.
As an avid reader of John Leake's writing, I have realized he might be a real-life Most Interesting Man in the World. As in "sharks have a week dedicated to him"... maybe he drinks Dos Equis too!
He went to kill a sentient being for fun/enjoyment, and he ended up being the hunted. I'm having trouble feeling sorry for him. I feel sorry for his family.
I am amazed at some of the comments. You would think we have a bunch of vegetarians. Of course we could go synthetic like Gates wants to do. Good luck with life after all the chemicals in it. We need protein and meat is a great source. Someone has to kill it. Would you think they would kill it for the fun of it? I am sure that much meat would last a family a long time.
Buffalo's aren't hunted for their meat. The hunter wants a trophy, I.e. the head and horns. The meat goes to a specialised butcher who processes it, so, it's not lost.
You give Gates too much credit. The chemical slop he calls "synthetic meat" are for us (bugs and maggots too), while Gates and his fellow psychopaths continue to feast on the finest grass-fed, antibiotic-free meats.
It is only by self delusion and denial that one finds oneself at death’s threshold unexpectedly, assuming our intellect and technology are superior to nature. “That can’t happen to me”.
I know of no actual combat veterans that have ever gone on to become “great hunters”.
Once hunted, there is no room for delusion.
I recall the scene in the “Deer Hunter” when the Airborne Special Forces Green Beret recruit (DeNiro) attended the wedding of friends. At the bar the friends met a returning Green Beret veteran from Nam. In his zealous delusion of combat, DeNiro asked the veteran,, “what’s it like over there”. The response by the combat veteran was perfect as he whispered, “F**k it”.
To this the friends were confounded, even insulted.
Upon returning home to his Western Pennsylvania mountains after surviving having bot hunted and been hunted in the jungles of Vietnam, the old friends go on a reminiscent deer hunt where DeNiro intentionally separates himself from friends to climb the ever higher ridges tracking the old Buck with trophy rack. But once having the buck in his sights he realized the delusion was gone, he could not squeeze the trigger.
These were to me the most personally and profoundly poignant of scenes that captured the before and after of confounding delusion between the hierarchal human ethos and reality.
Careful what you wish for in all endeavors, you may find it in an instant.
Scenes. Hollywood created Scenes. See how easily manipulated people like you are by fantasy media? I know of combat veterans who hunt, but hunting is becoming an outdated sport because of the brainwashing tech and FF manipulations in our iphone entertainment laden wimpy societies.
I imagine part of the thrill of big game hunting is the danger aspect. If it's too easy the hunter is a wimp hiding behind a powerful firearm and you might as well buy the trophy. In this case the danger was all too real.
Cape Buffalos, Hippos, killer bees, almost every kind of snake, crocs..... what is it about Africa that produces such amazing amounts of aggression? Could almost see a pattern.
But then there's Polar Bears up north, Grizzlies/Brown Bears in the Rockies, Alaska, and Russia, the world's ten deadliest snakes (crocs too) in Australia, man-eating sharks in the oceans, and crocs even in South Florida, including a big one within a mile of where I'm sitting. Not to mention humans.
I too find hunting generally needless and particularly unpalatable if done for enjoyment. But the loss of a human life is at another, much higher level that cannot be dismissed. Thank you, John, for this well-balanced writing.
This is mostly true, as my husband was very familiar with the bush in South Africa. As a state veterinarian in that part of the country for some years, he had to shoot the odd buffalo for a legitimate reason. As related here, out of nowhere locals would appear to carry off the meat. We spent a lot of time in the bush as there were many things that needed taking care of, including treating wildlife that needed medical attention.
Unfortunately South Africa is now a failed state. “Cry the Beloved Country” (the late Alan Paton).
Sorry he’s lost his life but he was there hunting and IT’S ABOUT TIME THE ANIMALS GOT THEIR OWN BACK! I don’t have much if any, sympathy for him. I don’t know what people’s obsession is with hunting animals for pleasure. It’s sick.
There isn't enough space available any longer for animals to allow nature to regulate their numbers. Buffalos consume huge amounts of grass and basically have the lion as their sole enemy. In a modern setting on a hunting farm their numbers are controlled by the owner deciding on a number of animals that can be made available for hunting for that season. The current cost to hunt a buffalo bull is $10 000. I don't hunt personally but, in nature, every buffalo dies at some point, and it is always a much more violent death than death by projectile. Because their skin is so tough and they are so strong, it takes a pack of lions to climb onto the animal to take it down. The flesh is torn out while one or two lions suffocate the buffalo. It is a horrible death that my wife and I can't watch. Respect though, for your love and caring.
Thank you for your considered response. I can understand that. I can’t watch any animal be killed.
Hunting provides the finances to conserve and protect these majestic animals, and also provides much needed protein for the African villagers…
What does anti hunting propaganda provide?
I understand it in an African village where they need to eat for food. But not for pleasure.
Mean comments!
Thanks for putting a human face on this tragic event and placing it in context with history and factual detail.
Wow. Am so sorry. In our modern world it is often hard to remember that we are all actually wild animals and the Cape Buffalo is a lot bigger and faster than we are. I am sure your friend knew this since he was a hunter, but the hunted won this time. I'm so sorry and may he rest in peace and my condolences to the family.
In the mid-fifties, my father was charged by a Cape buffalo and survived because an African dropped it with a rifle shot before it reached him. Thus at the age of nine, I learned that the Cape buffalo is the most dangerous animal in Africa.
I am a Physician and a Plant Based Nutrition Consultant. I do not eat mammals,;therefor, I do not need to kill or have others kill them for me to eat. It is not a sport to kill these gifts of nature (Baruch Hashem ["Blessed is the name." in Hebrew]).
Dr John Kaplan, Wildomar, CA
Actually many mammals are killed during the production of plant foods for human consumption, ask any farmer. Also all plants have "feelings" see the book The Secret Life of Plants. Unfortunately this world exists with killing and cruelty to survive. The local villages use the killed animal for substance.
Then you ought to be more than aware, as a student of the Human body, that God gave us canine teeth to rip meat and not carrot sticks. You should also know that God told man to eat animal meat after the flood, but the blood must be removed. In other words, it should be killed and not eaten alive. Hunting jeeps these animal from over populating and starving during cold and harsh seasons.
LOL!
God gave approval to eat meats as described in His word. Even as a nutrition counselor you know the nutrients in cattle for humans. Of course we eat far too much meat but not all meat was nor is off limits. Meat eating animals and humans hunting for food doesn't harm the species and may help overpopulation that may be dangerous for humans, other species and the environment. It's hunting, poaching and western meat practices that can be a pronlem.
Dee, Thank you for your thoughtful message. When Ha Shem granted Noach permission to eat meat, Hashem did not say that it was preferable- just permitted. Hashem initially gave man plant foods to eat exclusively at the time of creation (Genesis1:29-30. It is unnecessary to eat animal flesh to be healthy, strong, and free of chronic diseases. I am 77 years of age and do not require any medicines. Dr John
This is a trigger article for me because I could have bet a million dollars that all the animal worshippers were going to come sniveling out of the woodwork. This man was attacked and gored to death by a wild Beast. I don't give a crap if he was going to hang its head on his living room wall and throw darts at it. Anyone who sees this differently is morally corrupt. He was a Human Being created in God's image. Animals have No Such position! They all basically behave in a preprogrammed manner according to their kind, which includes hunting, storing food, hibernation, migrations, and mating. Animals were made for MAN for the following purposes: 1/ To eat 2/ To do labor 3/ To make clothing and items out of 4/ To study for our benefit which includes medical research 5/ To entertain us and serve as companions and guides. Period. You people who look at this any other way are out of line.
Peter Hathaway Capstick—Warden and Professional Hunter—had a lot more respect for the lethality of Cape Buffalo than Ruark. John would doubtless appreciate Capstick’s “Death in the Long Grass.”
Prayers and sadness for Mr. Watkins and his family.
Nature is not cruel, but nor is it kind. Humans have the capacity for both, but our genius is our downfall, rather than raw instinct.
I’d rather meet my Maker by the Cape Buffalo’s might, though, than from an mRNA shot.
I read "Death in the Long Grass" while in Zimbabwe, classic. Patterson's "Man Eaters of Tsavo" another fun read.
John,
Read Corbett's "Man-eaters of Kumaon"; you will prefer this over Patterson's work (although both are worth reading).
As an avid reader of John Leake's writing, I have realized he might be a real-life Most Interesting Man in the World. As in "sharks have a week dedicated to him"... maybe he drinks Dos Equis too!
He went to kill a sentient being for fun/enjoyment, and he ended up being the hunted. I'm having trouble feeling sorry for him. I feel sorry for his family.
"I'm having trouble feeling sorry for him."
I'm not having trouble not feeling sorry for him. Good riddance; he was killing for pleasure.
Wow!
"Wow!"
Bow wow!
I am amazed at some of the comments. You would think we have a bunch of vegetarians. Of course we could go synthetic like Gates wants to do. Good luck with life after all the chemicals in it. We need protein and meat is a great source. Someone has to kill it. Would you think they would kill it for the fun of it? I am sure that much meat would last a family a long time.
Buffalo's aren't hunted for their meat. The hunter wants a trophy, I.e. the head and horns. The meat goes to a specialised butcher who processes it, so, it's not lost.
You give Gates too much credit. The chemical slop he calls "synthetic meat" are for us (bugs and maggots too), while Gates and his fellow psychopaths continue to feast on the finest grass-fed, antibiotic-free meats.
Oh yeah he only wants the best.
No way. Gates is into synthetic man made food. The kind you can put anything in so you can decrease population.
Simon Combes even put DANGER in the title.
It is only by self delusion and denial that one finds oneself at death’s threshold unexpectedly, assuming our intellect and technology are superior to nature. “That can’t happen to me”.
I know of no actual combat veterans that have ever gone on to become “great hunters”.
Once hunted, there is no room for delusion.
I recall the scene in the “Deer Hunter” when the Airborne Special Forces Green Beret recruit (DeNiro) attended the wedding of friends. At the bar the friends met a returning Green Beret veteran from Nam. In his zealous delusion of combat, DeNiro asked the veteran,, “what’s it like over there”. The response by the combat veteran was perfect as he whispered, “F**k it”.
To this the friends were confounded, even insulted.
Upon returning home to his Western Pennsylvania mountains after surviving having bot hunted and been hunted in the jungles of Vietnam, the old friends go on a reminiscent deer hunt where DeNiro intentionally separates himself from friends to climb the ever higher ridges tracking the old Buck with trophy rack. But once having the buck in his sights he realized the delusion was gone, he could not squeeze the trigger.
These were to me the most personally and profoundly poignant of scenes that captured the before and after of confounding delusion between the hierarchal human ethos and reality.
Careful what you wish for in all endeavors, you may find it in an instant.
Scenes. Hollywood created Scenes. See how easily manipulated people like you are by fantasy media? I know of combat veterans who hunt, but hunting is becoming an outdated sport because of the brainwashing tech and FF manipulations in our iphone entertainment laden wimpy societies.
I imagine part of the thrill of big game hunting is the danger aspect. If it's too easy the hunter is a wimp hiding behind a powerful firearm and you might as well buy the trophy. In this case the danger was all too real.
Cape Buffalos, Hippos, killer bees, almost every kind of snake, crocs..... what is it about Africa that produces such amazing amounts of aggression? Could almost see a pattern.
But then there's Polar Bears up north, Grizzlies/Brown Bears in the Rockies, Alaska, and Russia, the world's ten deadliest snakes (crocs too) in Australia, man-eating sharks in the oceans, and crocs even in South Florida, including a big one within a mile of where I'm sitting. Not to mention humans.
I too find hunting generally needless and particularly unpalatable if done for enjoyment. But the loss of a human life is at another, much higher level that cannot be dismissed. Thank you, John, for this well-balanced writing.
This is mostly true, as my husband was very familiar with the bush in South Africa. As a state veterinarian in that part of the country for some years, he had to shoot the odd buffalo for a legitimate reason. As related here, out of nowhere locals would appear to carry off the meat. We spent a lot of time in the bush as there were many things that needed taking care of, including treating wildlife that needed medical attention.
Unfortunately South Africa is now a failed state. “Cry the Beloved Country” (the late Alan Paton).