Attacked by dangerous game while hunting something else?

[Charles de Ribeau]

Again, not my stories but...
I was at SCI talking with an outfitter when another stopped by to show the Canadian outfitter a picture from his last safari. He asked us to guess what it was. We couldn't. He explained that it was the leg of his PH. They had unknowingly gotten between a cow buff and her calf. She didn't approve. Full charge, gored the PH. The client killed the buff to protect his PH.

Story #2... On my first safari, my PH told that a friend of his (also a PH) had gotten out of his vehicle to check some tracks. He left his rifle in the truck. A cow elephant suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere and proceeded to kill the PH.

 

[Zinz]

A Black Mamba would just ruin my day. Can you carry a sidearm (like a Ruger .44 Special loaded with #4, #8 shot and a few hollow points) in Namibia with proper permits?

One could carry a sidearm in Namibia but we had a shotgun. Here is, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story..."

The mamba is at my window of the truck and I recoil away from it, yelling "MAMBA!!" while frantically rolling up the window. John throttles the bakkie ahead telling me to grab his side by side shotgun from under the back seat. I tell him I can't reach it and he brings the truck to a stop. I open my door and the snake has chased the truck and is RIGHT THERE. Fortunately, he had already gone past my door and was slithering past us.

We get a good look at it and watched it go into a small pile of rocks next to the road where I could plainly see it. I get out, grab the shotgun from the beneath the back seat. It's loaded with one 00 buckshot and one slug (John's backup gun for leopard) ...not exactly the type of ammo one shoots snakes with, but I'm running with adrenaline and I turn towards the snake.

This whole time John has been on the cell phone talking with his wife back in Windhoek. Our tracker was in the back of the Land Cruiser, perched as high up on the rack as one could possibly get. His eyes were as big as saucers. John barks at this poor chap something to the effect, " get down and go with him". This guy shakes his head. John barks again and this guy reluctantly climbs down and backs me up (not sure why...except an extra pair of eyes.

John is now slightly up hill from the truck looking down into the rock pile and knee-high grass. I start towards the rock pile; except now I can NOT see the snake. He was no longer coiled up under the rock I last saw him. We are maybe 15 feet from the rocks... finally some common sense flashed in my head, " ahhh hell no, this is stupid" and I back out.

We never saw the snake again and climbed back into the truck, nervously joking around. "Okay, big bwana... you saw it and I saw it, how long was that thing??? "Oh, easily over 3 meters!" I ran this scenario by John, "Let's say I opened my door 3 seconds earlier...that sombitch would have come straight into the truck and into my lap; what then???" John replied, "that mamba was so agitated, he would have bitten you several times in quick succession, probably biting me too. We are 30 minutes from camp where I have antivenom serum in my kit. I have cell signal and a chopper from Windhoek would take 45-60 minutes. If you survived, it would be many weeks in the hospital and touch and go the whole time" ...lovely scenario

Fortunately, nothing terrible occurred and at that time, it was the only snake I had ever seen on 5 safaris. COVID later took my good friend, John Wamback and I miss him terribly. His wife remarried and just the other day she sent me this picture of a mamba they killed on the front porch that was 3.4 meters (just over 11 feet). ooooofff...not something you want in the confines of a Land Cruiser.

Ed Z

 

[Flbt]

I guess most of my close calls really probably will not be called dangerous game.
Black bear desided a deer I was looking for was his and he appeared serious and that was just after fl stoped bear hunting
A panther in a barn
Hogs a buch of hogs but that probably from catching them live or using a knife
With un trains catch dogs that stoped catch in the middle of the job.
Gators cross creeks gator clams you game reason for a 358 and 338 in fl
Rattlesnake and cotton mouths
Especially on telege river where they have a habit of dropping out of trees in your boat that they. Now think is there boat ( note check your buddy pistol to make sure he did actually put ratshot in very very VERY important)
And the one that nearly killed me x2 got bit 480 times by yellow flys at Florida river right above tates hell
And putting up a deer stand step into a under ground yellow jacket nest 510 stings both require a week in hospital

Not like the ratshot avoid any yellow insects in fl if you can
There not yellow because they are scared quit the opposite really
Again not sure if they counted as dangerous game but I thought they were at least bothersome

 

[Flbt]

Forgot there were some wma that would lease grassing rights to cattle men
The cows that can live in the swamp with the bugs, bear, cat and gator don’t like you are not nice dammed sure are not pets and back then if you killed one you were supposed to self report and pay the owner
If not you were considers a cow their or a russler out west
If you explain what and why to the law it really wasn’t that bad
But most everyone knows what a Cajiun is
Well fl has there vies ion the fl swamp rat ( all so a name I have not heard in years except in older story’s). It could be bad if they found there cow and then you with out law around
I am a fl cracker from a long line of them like back when fl was Spanish
A true swamp rat is a bothersome person to have problems with

 

[bakerb]

I was the first hunter into a new camp on a new lease in Botswana. Early April. Snakes and snakes

We were mock charged by a young bull in musth. Ran from some cows. Cow elephant are scary

Staff killed 6 puff adders in camp while I was out hunting. One under the dining room table.

I walked feet from a puff adder while checking tracks at a pan. Tracker almost stepped on it. He noticed it. I didn’t. They strike FAST

Drove by a banded cobra in a small tree next to the track. He was feet from the PHs arm. PH said he turned cold all over. And he’d been bitten by a burrowing adder in his 20s (he was handling it)

Another puff adder hissing at us in some brush. We never saw him but we didn’t look very hard

But the most serious was that a tracker on another team scouting the area for my hunt was bitten by a mamba and died. They had found some elephant tracks and two trackers were going to track them. 2 trackers were staying at the truck. The trackers at the truck laid down in the shade to nap. Mamba crawled over the tracker, he woke up and freaked and was bitten on the arm. They got him to medical help, they thought he was stable but he passed that night.

I don’t even like telling the story.

 

[randallhebert]

Got attacked by a cougar one night while out chasing women.

 

[358 Norma]

Fortunately the only thing dangerous we experienced on our South African Safari last June was the traffic in Johannesburg!

 

[Killo]

I've been charged by a buffalo after I shot it, but that doesn't count. I put a poor shot on a cat and thought I was going to have problems because it was mighty angry for an hour, but it turned out it was totally paralyzed.

About the only "just minding my business" problems I've had in Africa is being in thick jess surrounding by cow elephants. Tons of them. Stomping. Tooting. Getting my wind. Blocking my paths. Running past us.

I hate cow elephants, they are so damned ornery and dangerous. A cow will kill you because you're simply in her country and its a Tuesday. I try not to hunt in thick jess and when I do, I try to hunt in places without cow elephants. Needlessly dangerous, even more so if you're not trying to hunt them.

 

[Killo]

We were fully charged by a Cow Elephant while tracking buffalo in the Save Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe last summer.The Cow was shot 5 meters from us by our PH.
Everybody was safe Thank God.
Really Scary and more when you are hunting with your son!!

 

[franzfmdavis]

While quartering my bull elk in Colorado in 2023, a mountain lion began circling us and “chirping” from different directions. We never saw it, but it sounded close and so we from both working on the elk, to me standing guard with my gun. I was very grateful to the lion

 

[Rockwall205]

I mentioned this episode before, but worth repeating. An unwounded buffalo can and did charge . I will never assume the coast is clear when the animal I was hunting is down and in sight .

We were charged last June hunting the BVC in Zimbabwe at 30 yards by a Cape buffalo when we were moving in to put a finishing shot into one of his running mates (3 bulls total) . My PH Zane Bronkhorst brained him falling dead two yards in front of me . Will never hunt with any other PH in Zimbabwe. I missed BTW !

Gave him my William Douglas double rifle after that hunt , although he sure got it done with his open sight hand me down bolt gun ! Which funny enough I had broke in half the year prior chasing leopard at night with his dogs . Brought the stock back to the states to have a synthetic replacement made .

Picture of the two bulls , also close up of his perfectly placed shot . I wouldn’t be typing this had any other shot been made !

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Chased by a Black Rhino while hunting Buffalo. Peeked into a waterhole to hopefully find some old bulls wallowing. No Buffalo, but the Black Rhino was not happy with being woken up. Made it back to the vehicle which was about 500 yards away before she caught up. She simply huffed and puffed past the vehicle with her young one.

 

[Sabre]

Was watched for about 4-5 hours by a mountain lion, then the same lion followed me for a while as I was leaving the location after it got dark.

Circled by a bobcat, another time circled by a wolf while hunting.

Followed out of hunting spots by wolves, and black bears on multiple occasions.

No attacks so far, luckily.

 

[Granygudness]

Been there, done that, have tee shirt. Did survive a charge by a wounded Cape buffalo in 2003. If you look closely at the right side of the buff's nose, you can see a small red spot. That was where I hit him at about 20 yards. The pretty lady with sunglasses is my wife Doris. After it was over she said, "I thought you knew what you were doing."

 

[Mwag]

While Turkey hunting had a bobcat hit my front shoulder from behind the tree I was sitting next too. No harm caused, it wasn't until after it was all over i got to thinking how close those flying fish hooks were to my throat.

While heading back to vehicle from a failed stalk on Impala, had a white rhino come to check us out, not necessarily a charge......but our pace got much faster the last 75 yds to a vehicle.

While my wife was waiting out a kudu (in which she got) had a buffalo cow with calf got very snorty. PH told me to keep close eye on buffalo while He and my wife waited on kudu. Instructions were to shoot her if she charged.....after 4-5 minutes of state down she turned and left with her calf and wife shot her kudu.

 

[mgstucson]

1. As a young boy growing up around the woodlands, swamps, rivers and lakes of Alabama, I encountered many water moccasins and copperheads while hunting or fishing, or sometimes just mowing the grass. One of my favorite fishing ponds had a large pile of brush in the middle. The big bass stayed in the big brush, and so did the big water moccasins. There were only 3 places around the lake where I could get close enough to the water to fish and still see my feet, due to the lush vegetation in the semi-tropical climate. (You never venture anywhere in Alabama in the summertime where you can't clearly see where you are putting your feet.) When I would cast a lure toward the brush pile and retrieve it, within 10 or 15 minutes, the snakes, 2 or 3 of them, would come out of the brush and start swimming toward my location. I would move to the next location 50 or 60 yards around the pond, and repeat the process. After the 3rd place was fished for 15 minutes, I had to leave for the day. This happened every time I fished there. I was about 16 at the time. I have pulled up many a stringer of fish only to find a snapping turtle locked on to one of them. They won't kill you but will take off a finger or 2 if you give them half a chance.

2. While night fishing for crappie, one man would have to be on snake watch in the boat with a paddle, because the water moccasins would come to the light then straight into the boat if you didn't swat them with the paddle.

3. Encountered many rattlesnakes hunting in AZ where I now live, and killed many in my yard. They are only around 4 feet long here, in Alabama 6-7 feet long. No 11 footers though, geez Louise that was a big Black Mamba.

4. Once while hunting mule deer near Lake Arivaca about 30 miles north of the border with Mexico, I climbed a very large boulder (about the size of a bus) to watch a place where 3 canyons all came to a saddle. When I sat on the boulder to watch the saddles, my eyes were drawn to a scrub oak tangle at the base of the boulder. As I stared down to the base of the boulder about 15 feet away, I locked eyes with a large mountain lion, well over 100 pounds, staring up at me. I could have dropped my hat on him from where I was, which means he could have been on me with one jump. I raised my rifle, trying to decide whether or not to shoot. While I hesitated, he made 2 jumps of about 20 feet each and disappeared down one of the canyons. Evidently he thought it was a fine hunting place as well.

5. Hunting that close to Mexico, we frequently encounter drug mules carrying large bales to drugs. Always a little touch and go to see if they are going to let us walk away. It is the only place in the state where it is legal to carry a firearm for self-protection while bow hunting, and we always do. Don't let anyone fool you, it is still the Wild West around here.

 

[Flbt]

1. As a young boy growing up around the woodlands, swamps, rivers and lakes of Alabama, I encountered many water moccasins and copperheads while hunting or fishing, or sometimes just mowing the grass. One of my favorite fishing ponds had a large pile of brush in the middle. The big bass stayed in the big brush, and so did the big water moccasins. There were only 3 places around the lake where I could get close enough to the water to fish and still see my feet, due to the lush vegetation in the semi-tropical climate. (You never venture anywhere in Alabama in the summertime where you can't clearly see where you are putting your feet.) When I would cast a lure toward the brush pile and retrieve it, within 10 or 15 minutes, the snakes, 2 or 3 of them, would come out of the brush and start swimming toward my location. I would move to the next location 50 or 60 yards around the pond, and repeat the process. After the 3rd place was fished for 15 minutes, I had to leave for the day. This happened every time I fished there. I was about 16 at the time. I have pulled up many a stringer of fish only to find a snapping turtle locked on to one of them. They won't kill you but will take off a finger or 2 if you give them half a chance.

2. While night fishing for crappie, one man would have to be on snake watch in the boat with a paddle, because the water moccasins would come to the light then straight into the boat if you didn't swat them with the paddle.

3. Encountered many rattlesnakes hunting in AZ where I now live, and killed many in my yard. They are only around 4 feet long here, in Alabama 6-7 feet long. No 11 footers though, geez Louise that was a big Black Mamba.

4. Once while hunting mule deer near Lake Arivaca about 30 miles north of the border with Mexico, I climbed a very large boulder (about the size of a bus) to watch a place where 3 canyons all came to a saddle. When I sat on the boulder to watch the saddles, my eyes were drawn to a scrub oak tangle at the base of the boulder. As I stared down to the base of the boulder about 15 feet away, I locked eyes with a large mountain lion, well over 100 pounds, staring up at me. I could have dropped my hat on him from where I was, which means he could have been on me with one jump. I raised my rifle, trying to decide whether or not to shoot. While I hesitated, he made 2 jumps of about 20 feet each and disappeared down one of the canyons. Evidently he thought it was a fine hunting place as well.

5. Hunting that close to Mexico, we frequently encounter drug mules carrying large bales to drugs. Always a little touch and go to see if they are going to let us walk away. It is the only place in the state where it is legal to carry a firearm for self-protection while bow hunting, and we always do. Don't let anyone fool you, it is still the Wild West around here.

We all ways counted the snapping turtle especially if it was logger head one a bouness
Turtle soup was better than the fish
Last one I saw Cought in ga on the fl line Tryed to talk the guy into Turing it back
It would not fit flat between the bed of a s10 stepside truck it was huge gussied some where over 300 lbs honestly his head would not fit inside a 2 1/2 gallon bait bucket . The shell looked bigger than a galvanized wash tub
His catch his call
But he later told me he should have the meat was extremely tough even pressure cooked didn’t help the texture and that it didn’t taste good

 

[KCSafari]

Have had leopard and cheetah charge me on plains game hunts but the animals that got closest to drawing blood has been injured bushbuck and baboon.