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THE AFRICAN BUFFALO 215 
or long grass must be exceptionally high and thick to render 
it invisible at 15 to 20 yards distance. A lion would of 
course be more difficult to see than either. A buffalo, whether 
it is standing up or lying down, will never give the sportsman 
the slightest indication of its proximity, and to detect it he 
has to trust almost entirely to his own or gun-bearer’s eye- 
sight, unless perhaps the beast’s lungs are badly injured by 
the shot, when it may breathe heavily enough to be heard 
at some little distance. The same may be said of an elephant, 
but there is a greater chance of seeing it on account of its 
enormous size. A lion, on the other hand, will very often, if 
not always, warn the sportsman of its presence by a low growl 
when at a distance of some 15 to 20 yards. 
A buffalo has a better chance of seeing the sportsman than 
the sportsman has of seeing it, as bush is usually thinner a ~ 
‘foot or two from the ground than higher up, and a bufialo, stand- 
‘ing with his head much lower than a man’s, can therefore see 
junder it. A sportsman will generally see an elephant first, 
‘and can dodge and creep about in the bush, which, if only 
_5 feet high or even less, will enable him to keep out of sight. 
‘Alion has a still better chance than either, as his head is much 
mearer to the ground, whether the beast is standing or lying 
‘down, and he has both a better chance of seeing and of hearing 
the sportsman’s approach. 
A buffalo, if it sees or hears the sportsman approaching 
at a distance, is as likely to stop to fight it out as to bolt away. 
The same with an elephant. A lion will generally give a low 
growl and slink off. Therefore a sportsman, taking it all round, 
is more likely to come unexpectedly to very close quarters with 
a buffalo than with a lion or an elephant. 
In the event of a charge by one of these three beasts, 
covert that would stop a lion would stop neither a buffalo nor 
an elephant. 
A buffalo may not at all improbably be within a few feet 
before a shot can be fired, owing to the sportsman’s inability to 
- see it sooner. The chances are against this with an elephant. 
