Tuesday 6 March 2012

If you have to play dead, cover your ears

I told someone at a meeting recently that I am going camping in Khutsi this weekend. Khutsi is a game reserve at the edge of the Kalahari desert and is known for its predator population. The gentleman I was speaking with gave me a quick lesson in lion and buffalo safely. Lion safety sounds very much like bear safely; no use trying to outrun a lion. A lion will even follow you up a tree, but has a harder time getting down from one. If you jump down from the tree, you might gain some time, but the lion will likely have a partner waiting for you at the bottom. Your best bet in a showdown with a lion is to appear as large and menacing as possible. Buffalo are another story. They are very smart, and have been known to walk backwards in their own tracks to ambush you from the side. The buffalo is not easily fooled; if you play dead, it will pee in your ear to see if you really are or not. So, if you have to play dead, be sure to cover your ears !

See "Predator Weekend" tour description at http://africainsight.com (go to Favourite Links section).

3 comments:

  1. So the advice is to quicklysign your life insurance policy before you die?

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  2. Okay, so according to my Khutsi guide, some of these tips are old wives' tales. I still like them, though.

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  3. I just sent this to my team, telling them that the last line should be our unit's slogan. Thanks for the wonderful blogs!

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