- Joined
- Jan 28, 2003
- Messages
- 13,341
Until you've seen a wounded buffalo's ability to soak up heavy large caliber bullets you won't believe it. This happened to Alan Shearing a PH with CM Safaris in Zimbabwe.
ACCOUNT OF BUFFALO INCIDENT THAT TOOK PLACE ON 02ND NOVEMBER 2009
WRITTEN BY ALAN SHEARING
It was day two of a tuskless elephant hunt with Chad Young from the United States.
We were on tracks of a herd of elephant cows for a couple of hours. We were on a big elephant path on the edge of a very thick but leafless jesse bush when we spotted a great old “dagga boy”. He was oblivious to our presence even though he was only about forty yards away. We had a good look at him and Chad decided to take him, as there was a buffalo available – a great opportunity indeed.
Chad had plenty of time to take the shot. Once he had done so the buffalo stumbled and then turned and ran past us. Chad took another shot but it passed behind the buffalo and it disappeared.
The impact looked low on the shoulder (Chad was using a .375 H & H). We waited for twenty minutes and then proceeded to follow the spore. The blood looked good and there were big blobs of arterial blood that looked like lung blood, so we assumed the shot was good enough to kill the buff – boy were we wrong!
We were taken through jesse after jesse with the buff constantly keeping down wind of us. It was a hot day and our water was rapidly depleting. By about 3pm we were a long way from the land cruiser and heading towards another road. With the hope of catching up to the buff that day fading l sent Nyathi (my head tracker – whose name, ironically, means buffalo) to collect the cruiser and meet us on the upcoming road.
In the meantime we continued to follow the buffalo with my second tracker, Martin, with some additional assistance from the National Parks scout (armed with an AK 47) and the Council Scout (Tall Paul). Twenty minutes later we spotted the buffalo in a really thick patch of jesse. Finally the wind had turned and we were able to get to within 40 yards of the buff who was quartering on to us – he was alert but not aware of us. I then put Chad in the best position possible. Although it was thick l was confident we could get a bullet into the “boiler room” (heart/lung). We agreed that both of us would shoot and get it over with.
We fired simultaneously. The buff took off, angling slightly past us. We continued to fire at him and l emptied my magazine on him. I had fired three shots and was confident that at least two shots were good heart/lung shots.
By this time the buffalo was running past us at approximately 10 – 15 yards. Chad in the meantime had jammed his rifle. He then panicked and ran. The buff picked up on his movement instantly and turned on him. I did not have time to reload so l ran in front of the buffalo thinking l would be able to out maneouvre it. I waited until it was almost on me, tried to jump out the way but slipped in the process (in hindsight this was probably fortunate and ended up saving me from more damage!). The buff was on me in an instant. I was by then on my back with my feet up to meet the brute (believe me he did look very angry!!). I think that God had mercy on me in that moment and placed a fallen thorn bush between the buff’s nose and my rear end! I had my feet up on the buffs boss as he did his best to make mince meat out of me. Whilst this was all happening l was both screaming for someone to “SHOOT IT” at the same time as admiring this magnificent beast!
I then heard the popping of AK 47 fire – the National Parks Ranger had come up and was shooting. I have no idea where he was shooting, as there seemed to have been no effect on the buffalo and l never heard any impact (and fortunately never felt any either!).
The buffalo then lifted his head and focused on me. He then stepped over the bush and l knew that this was it. I knew this was the moment it was going to hurt! It managed to give me a good left hook in the perineum angling slightly left of my testicles (whew!). I was lifted slightly off the ground and flung through the air. I literally hit the ground running!
I had only gone a few steps when l looked back and saw the buff stagger and drop to the ground. He had finally run out of steam!
A quick assessment of my person revealed favourite shorts torn to shreds in the seat, hole in lucky red underpants (Rosy is astounded that l still have the gall to call the underpants l was gored in “lucky”) and a substantially larger hole in my buttock region!
Chad was only a few yards away from me at this stage and as l could not see the damage for myself he had to assess it and apply the few dressings l was carrying in my backpack for minor wounds. Chad then had to administer the final shot to completely finish the buff off before the trackers would risk looking for my scattered possessions (radio, rifle, leatherman etc).
A quick radio call to Nyathi to have him ready for evacuation duty in the land cruiser and we were off on foot to the road. The pick up point was about 1 kilometre away from where the buff lay. As we left the old dagga boy behind l had a quick look at him – lying dead but upright in a dignified position. This was the last look l had at him and l have to admit to being quite sad that l did not get to have a close inspection of him and where all the shots went and what exactly had transpired (who was where and exactly how far l ran before the buff got me etc). Anyway, l will have to rely on my memory now.
When we met Nyathi on the road l was placed lying face down on the hunting seat and he drove us all hastily back to the hunting camp (Pedza Pasi in Dande North). When we arrived we were met by Ant (the Camp Manager and newly qualified Professional Hunter) who got organized very quickly.
Ant and Chad quickly re-dressed my wound and changed my bloodied and tattered clothing (a bit of dignity for me). Andy Dawson (one of the owners of Chifuti Safaris) happened to be in another camp and in radio comms. He had a helicopter and was refueling it to fly me out to Harare when he managed to get hold of Caroline Puzey on the ground to air radio. She was flying some fishing clients out to Harare and luck surely was on my side as she would have been in Harare already had her aircraft not have had a puncture which needed to be attended to!
Within twenty minutes l was on Caroline’s plane and headed for Harare where the troops had been mobilized and an ambulance was waiting for me at the airport. I did start to bleed out on the plane and am eternally grateful to the two passengers sitting in front of me who managed to control the bleeding and literally saved my life.
On arrival at Charles Prince Airport Julie Meredith – our friend who works for Chifuti Safaris – and the MARS ambulance were waiting for me. After the paramedics attended to me l was taken to Avenues Clinic in Harare where Buzz Charlton and Myles Maccullum were waiting for me to arrive. I was running on a cocktail of shock and adrenalin and honestly thought that with a few stitched l would be ok and could back to my hunt! I was wrong!
The on call doctor called the surgeon in. He said we could not wait for morning and l was taken into surgery from late in the evening until the early hours of the following morning. I woke up in I.C.U. to find that l had had numerous blood transfusions, debridement surgery (cleaning of the wound and removing all necrotic tissue) and had a colostomy bag attached to my stomach! So much for a few stitches! All pretty depressing – especially as it was my birthday!
Later on that morning my spirits lifted considerably when my wife, Rosy, breezed in like an angel and talked her way round staying with me throughout the day. I was in quite a drug-induced haze but was nevertheless overwhelmed by all the family and friends who came to see me whilst l was in hospital.
Our Medical Aid company insisted l be moved to Johannesburg. They were not able to get adequate feedback from the medical staff as to my condition and they were also very concerned about the level of aftercare when the risk of infection was something that could have been potentially fatal. I was flown to Milpark Trauma Hospital in Johannesburg on Wednesday the 4th November by a MARS team who were with me all the way from the Avenues Clinic to Milpark Accident and Emergency where Professor Degianis and his team took over my care. The MARS team was fantastic. My Mom and Dad and our dear friends, Bridge and Dion were there to meet me when l arrived which was very comforting. Rosy had to drive my cruiser home and sort out her life and collect the boys to come and be with me in Johannesburg.
Professor Degianis arranged a CAT scan and various tests to ascertain that there was no internal damage or anything else to be taken care of as a matter of urgency. Thankfully there wasn’t!
I spent another week in i.C.U. at Milpark. Rosy and the boys were able to be with me a couple of days after l arrived and as soon as my wife walked into the ICU l knew everything was going to be alright.
During the time l spent in the Trauma I.C.U. my wound was kept open and cleaned thoroughly and disinfected throughout the day. When Prof Degianis was satisfied that l was out of danger and ready to start reconstructive surgery l was moved into a general ward, which was more comfortable, less stressful and more accessible for family and friends. I even had a TV above my bed, which helped pass the long hours during the couple of months l was in and out of hospital.
I then had two rounds of surgery within a week to close my wound. The Plastic surgeon, Dr.Nel and his anesthetist Dr. Vermuelen really did an awesome job and Rosy says you cannot believe it is the same bottom! According to Rosy it looked like someone had taken an axe and cleaved me open down to the bone from just left of my **** angling slightly left of my scrotum (Whew! How lucky was l?).
After a few weeks of lying around and having my wound cleaned and dressings changed daily the surgeons were happy that the wound had healed satisfactorily and l was back in surgery to have the dreaded colostomy reversed.
I had expected to be in ICU for a night and then back to the general ward but due to complications with the colostomy reversal some of my bowel had to be removed and the rest of the bowel rejoined in a three-hour surgery. I ended up being in ICU for five days and then when Prof Degianis was happy with my progress l was sent back to the general ward until l was released a day before flying home (just before Christmas) to be with my precious family who had to go back to Zimbabwe a few weeks prior. I have to say that this was the most painful and traumatic experience of the whole ordeal.
I am feeling stronger every day and am in less pain now and l am so happy to be with my family again. Although l get very frustrated that l have to really take things easy for a while l am truly thankful that l am in one piece and well on the road to recovery. I also thank God for my family and dear friends and even strangers – from all over the world – that have helped my family and l get through this ordeal.
Now, with regards to my future – l have thought long and hard and have decided to take a break from hunting and to be closer to my precious wife and boys. A close family friend had offered me a job gold mining before l had my accident. I had accepted this with a mind to still do a limited hunting season each year so that l would have the best of both worlds and still be able to hunt with my “favourite clients”. Selfishly although l wanted to be with my family l did not really want to give up hunting. I kept thinking that l needed a sign that l was doing the right thing. I guess you could say that l received my sign loud and clear! God surely does work in mysterious ways!
I hate to disappoint anyone but even though l love hunting and will miss it and everyone involved very much l have realized that l have re-evaluated my priorities and l have a family that l need to be with and cherish. Who knows what the future holds? I might take on a few hunts in the future but for now my hunting will be limited to teaching my sons the joys of hunting with their Dad.
I would like to end this by thanking you all for your love, support, thoughts and prayers. If you are receiving this letter then you surely deserve my heartfelt thanks and those of my family. The level of support from all over the world has overwhelmed us. Thank you to one and all.
Alan Shearing
ACCOUNT OF BUFFALO INCIDENT THAT TOOK PLACE ON 02ND NOVEMBER 2009
WRITTEN BY ALAN SHEARING
It was day two of a tuskless elephant hunt with Chad Young from the United States.
We were on tracks of a herd of elephant cows for a couple of hours. We were on a big elephant path on the edge of a very thick but leafless jesse bush when we spotted a great old “dagga boy”. He was oblivious to our presence even though he was only about forty yards away. We had a good look at him and Chad decided to take him, as there was a buffalo available – a great opportunity indeed.
Chad had plenty of time to take the shot. Once he had done so the buffalo stumbled and then turned and ran past us. Chad took another shot but it passed behind the buffalo and it disappeared.
The impact looked low on the shoulder (Chad was using a .375 H & H). We waited for twenty minutes and then proceeded to follow the spore. The blood looked good and there were big blobs of arterial blood that looked like lung blood, so we assumed the shot was good enough to kill the buff – boy were we wrong!
We were taken through jesse after jesse with the buff constantly keeping down wind of us. It was a hot day and our water was rapidly depleting. By about 3pm we were a long way from the land cruiser and heading towards another road. With the hope of catching up to the buff that day fading l sent Nyathi (my head tracker – whose name, ironically, means buffalo) to collect the cruiser and meet us on the upcoming road.
In the meantime we continued to follow the buffalo with my second tracker, Martin, with some additional assistance from the National Parks scout (armed with an AK 47) and the Council Scout (Tall Paul). Twenty minutes later we spotted the buffalo in a really thick patch of jesse. Finally the wind had turned and we were able to get to within 40 yards of the buff who was quartering on to us – he was alert but not aware of us. I then put Chad in the best position possible. Although it was thick l was confident we could get a bullet into the “boiler room” (heart/lung). We agreed that both of us would shoot and get it over with.
We fired simultaneously. The buff took off, angling slightly past us. We continued to fire at him and l emptied my magazine on him. I had fired three shots and was confident that at least two shots were good heart/lung shots.
By this time the buffalo was running past us at approximately 10 – 15 yards. Chad in the meantime had jammed his rifle. He then panicked and ran. The buff picked up on his movement instantly and turned on him. I did not have time to reload so l ran in front of the buffalo thinking l would be able to out maneouvre it. I waited until it was almost on me, tried to jump out the way but slipped in the process (in hindsight this was probably fortunate and ended up saving me from more damage!). The buff was on me in an instant. I was by then on my back with my feet up to meet the brute (believe me he did look very angry!!). I think that God had mercy on me in that moment and placed a fallen thorn bush between the buff’s nose and my rear end! I had my feet up on the buffs boss as he did his best to make mince meat out of me. Whilst this was all happening l was both screaming for someone to “SHOOT IT” at the same time as admiring this magnificent beast!
I then heard the popping of AK 47 fire – the National Parks Ranger had come up and was shooting. I have no idea where he was shooting, as there seemed to have been no effect on the buffalo and l never heard any impact (and fortunately never felt any either!).
The buffalo then lifted his head and focused on me. He then stepped over the bush and l knew that this was it. I knew this was the moment it was going to hurt! It managed to give me a good left hook in the perineum angling slightly left of my testicles (whew!). I was lifted slightly off the ground and flung through the air. I literally hit the ground running!
I had only gone a few steps when l looked back and saw the buff stagger and drop to the ground. He had finally run out of steam!
A quick assessment of my person revealed favourite shorts torn to shreds in the seat, hole in lucky red underpants (Rosy is astounded that l still have the gall to call the underpants l was gored in “lucky”) and a substantially larger hole in my buttock region!
Chad was only a few yards away from me at this stage and as l could not see the damage for myself he had to assess it and apply the few dressings l was carrying in my backpack for minor wounds. Chad then had to administer the final shot to completely finish the buff off before the trackers would risk looking for my scattered possessions (radio, rifle, leatherman etc).
A quick radio call to Nyathi to have him ready for evacuation duty in the land cruiser and we were off on foot to the road. The pick up point was about 1 kilometre away from where the buff lay. As we left the old dagga boy behind l had a quick look at him – lying dead but upright in a dignified position. This was the last look l had at him and l have to admit to being quite sad that l did not get to have a close inspection of him and where all the shots went and what exactly had transpired (who was where and exactly how far l ran before the buff got me etc). Anyway, l will have to rely on my memory now.
When we met Nyathi on the road l was placed lying face down on the hunting seat and he drove us all hastily back to the hunting camp (Pedza Pasi in Dande North). When we arrived we were met by Ant (the Camp Manager and newly qualified Professional Hunter) who got organized very quickly.
Ant and Chad quickly re-dressed my wound and changed my bloodied and tattered clothing (a bit of dignity for me). Andy Dawson (one of the owners of Chifuti Safaris) happened to be in another camp and in radio comms. He had a helicopter and was refueling it to fly me out to Harare when he managed to get hold of Caroline Puzey on the ground to air radio. She was flying some fishing clients out to Harare and luck surely was on my side as she would have been in Harare already had her aircraft not have had a puncture which needed to be attended to!
Within twenty minutes l was on Caroline’s plane and headed for Harare where the troops had been mobilized and an ambulance was waiting for me at the airport. I did start to bleed out on the plane and am eternally grateful to the two passengers sitting in front of me who managed to control the bleeding and literally saved my life.
On arrival at Charles Prince Airport Julie Meredith – our friend who works for Chifuti Safaris – and the MARS ambulance were waiting for me. After the paramedics attended to me l was taken to Avenues Clinic in Harare where Buzz Charlton and Myles Maccullum were waiting for me to arrive. I was running on a cocktail of shock and adrenalin and honestly thought that with a few stitched l would be ok and could back to my hunt! I was wrong!
The on call doctor called the surgeon in. He said we could not wait for morning and l was taken into surgery from late in the evening until the early hours of the following morning. I woke up in I.C.U. to find that l had had numerous blood transfusions, debridement surgery (cleaning of the wound and removing all necrotic tissue) and had a colostomy bag attached to my stomach! So much for a few stitches! All pretty depressing – especially as it was my birthday!
Later on that morning my spirits lifted considerably when my wife, Rosy, breezed in like an angel and talked her way round staying with me throughout the day. I was in quite a drug-induced haze but was nevertheless overwhelmed by all the family and friends who came to see me whilst l was in hospital.
Our Medical Aid company insisted l be moved to Johannesburg. They were not able to get adequate feedback from the medical staff as to my condition and they were also very concerned about the level of aftercare when the risk of infection was something that could have been potentially fatal. I was flown to Milpark Trauma Hospital in Johannesburg on Wednesday the 4th November by a MARS team who were with me all the way from the Avenues Clinic to Milpark Accident and Emergency where Professor Degianis and his team took over my care. The MARS team was fantastic. My Mom and Dad and our dear friends, Bridge and Dion were there to meet me when l arrived which was very comforting. Rosy had to drive my cruiser home and sort out her life and collect the boys to come and be with me in Johannesburg.
Professor Degianis arranged a CAT scan and various tests to ascertain that there was no internal damage or anything else to be taken care of as a matter of urgency. Thankfully there wasn’t!
I spent another week in i.C.U. at Milpark. Rosy and the boys were able to be with me a couple of days after l arrived and as soon as my wife walked into the ICU l knew everything was going to be alright.
During the time l spent in the Trauma I.C.U. my wound was kept open and cleaned thoroughly and disinfected throughout the day. When Prof Degianis was satisfied that l was out of danger and ready to start reconstructive surgery l was moved into a general ward, which was more comfortable, less stressful and more accessible for family and friends. I even had a TV above my bed, which helped pass the long hours during the couple of months l was in and out of hospital.
I then had two rounds of surgery within a week to close my wound. The Plastic surgeon, Dr.Nel and his anesthetist Dr. Vermuelen really did an awesome job and Rosy says you cannot believe it is the same bottom! According to Rosy it looked like someone had taken an axe and cleaved me open down to the bone from just left of my **** angling slightly left of my scrotum (Whew! How lucky was l?).
After a few weeks of lying around and having my wound cleaned and dressings changed daily the surgeons were happy that the wound had healed satisfactorily and l was back in surgery to have the dreaded colostomy reversed.
I had expected to be in ICU for a night and then back to the general ward but due to complications with the colostomy reversal some of my bowel had to be removed and the rest of the bowel rejoined in a three-hour surgery. I ended up being in ICU for five days and then when Prof Degianis was happy with my progress l was sent back to the general ward until l was released a day before flying home (just before Christmas) to be with my precious family who had to go back to Zimbabwe a few weeks prior. I have to say that this was the most painful and traumatic experience of the whole ordeal.
I am feeling stronger every day and am in less pain now and l am so happy to be with my family again. Although l get very frustrated that l have to really take things easy for a while l am truly thankful that l am in one piece and well on the road to recovery. I also thank God for my family and dear friends and even strangers – from all over the world – that have helped my family and l get through this ordeal.
Now, with regards to my future – l have thought long and hard and have decided to take a break from hunting and to be closer to my precious wife and boys. A close family friend had offered me a job gold mining before l had my accident. I had accepted this with a mind to still do a limited hunting season each year so that l would have the best of both worlds and still be able to hunt with my “favourite clients”. Selfishly although l wanted to be with my family l did not really want to give up hunting. I kept thinking that l needed a sign that l was doing the right thing. I guess you could say that l received my sign loud and clear! God surely does work in mysterious ways!
I hate to disappoint anyone but even though l love hunting and will miss it and everyone involved very much l have realized that l have re-evaluated my priorities and l have a family that l need to be with and cherish. Who knows what the future holds? I might take on a few hunts in the future but for now my hunting will be limited to teaching my sons the joys of hunting with their Dad.
I would like to end this by thanking you all for your love, support, thoughts and prayers. If you are receiving this letter then you surely deserve my heartfelt thanks and those of my family. The level of support from all over the world has overwhelmed us. Thank you to one and all.
Alan Shearing
