THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



There is little or no real sport or excitement in giraffe 

 hunting, for, as already remarked, the animals are abso- 

 lutely harmless and will never, even when wounded or 

 cornered, really attack a man. On the other hand, as 

 the giraffe is exceedingly wary and has doubtlessly good 

 scenting qualities, like almost all wild animals, and very 

 good eyesight, he is most interesting to stalk with a view 

 of obtaining an insight into his habits and of " taking his 

 pictures." 



Tales about charging giraffes should not be taken very 

 seriously, for no really authentic case can be found of 

 giraffes actually charging a hunter. On my first trip to 

 Africa I had shot a large bull giraffe near the little Koma 

 Rock, on the northwestern part of the Athi Plains. As 

 soon as the bullet hit the animal it went down, and when 

 Mr. Lang and I ran up to the bull and had got up to 

 within fifteen yards of him, he gathered all his last 

 strength, got up and staggered toward us before he, hit 

 by another bullet, went down, never to move again. We 

 were both absolutely sure that the wounded giraffe never 

 intended anything in the way of a charge, but that he was 

 so bewildered from pain and excitement that he simply 

 did not know what he did. Mr. Lang remarked to me that 

 probably a good many " nervous " hunters, with vivid 

 enough imagination, would be able to construct out of this 

 occurrence a " terrific charge." 



When a fresh giraffe track is found, it is generally not 

 so difficult to follow, for the great weight of the animal 

 impresses his large hoofs in the soil deep enough to be 

 readily seen by any man, even with a limited experience in 

 tracking. The imprints of the giraffe's hoofs are very 



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