168 Wild Life in Central Africa. 



thirty animals, although at times many small herds collect, 

 and form a large herd of two to three hundred. When 

 shooting buffalo, great care should be taken over the 

 first shot, for if he is only slightly wounded it is often 

 dangerous work following him, as the buffalo, like all 

 wounded animals, seeks the thickest cover he can find. 



Although there is little difficulty in killing buffaloes with 

 small or medium bore rifles, a heavy rifle such as a 

 450 or -470 cordite would be better to stop a charge. 

 The buffalo is the most difficult beast to stop, once he means 

 business, and, unlike an elephant or rhino, a badly placed 

 shot will not often turn him. I have found that a buffalo's 

 heart lies lower in the body than any other animal's, in fact 

 it is right against the lower cavity of the chest ; so a bullet 

 placed half way up the shoulder would not strike the heart, 

 although it would be likely to cut the big arteries leading 

 into that organ. The lungs are high, but slightly farther 

 back, and this shot is a most deadly one for all game. A 

 large bull is much heavier than a cow, and although he does 

 not stand as high on his legs as a bull eland, he is much 

 broader in the chest and body, but less in the neck measur- 

 ment. There are still plenty of buffallo left in this country, 

 and they are very abundant in the Chiromo Marsh near 

 Chiromo, and also in parts of Central Angoniland. In 

 North-Eastern Rhodesia they are also common in the 

 Luangwa Valley, and in the country between it and Lake 

 Bangweolo. 



Buffaloes usually like wild country with open dambos 

 and plenty of thick bush to lie up in, and they are fond of 

 eating the fresh leaves of bamboos, as, also, are elephants. 

 As I have related, buffaloes give exciting sport when they 

 have to be followed wounded into thick cover, and so I 

 recommend a heavy bore for this work unless a man is a 

 cool, good shot and is experienced. One should never 

 go blundering into thick cover after a wounded buffalo, and 

 the best thing to do is to wait for a short time, and then go 

 very slowly as one has to trust to one's ears as much as 

 to one's eyes. Also, it is a great mistake to be heavily 



