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It's easy for us to anthromorphasise human actions/emotions onto animals such as cowardice & bravery etc but obviously animals don't think the same way we do and rather their behaviour is based more on simple survival action and reaction, which to some degree will change dependent on their environment. For example in an area that has a lot of human activity, habitation and hunter/poacher pressure, they'll probably be more skittish than somewhere like the Selous Reserve where no permanent human habitation is permitted.

If it's of any use, below is an excerpt of a piece I put together a while ago for one of the hunting mags and has since been adapted for a new (African) hunting info website we're currently working on....... Of course, it needs to be remembered that it is referring to unwounded animals and one should never say never and never say always...... hope it helps!

All animals have three zones, known in my neck of the woods, as the sight, flight and fight zones. The sight zone is when the animal sees you and it will usually turn to face you, its head will come up and the ears prick forward. Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino may raise their tails. Buffalo may also stamp a hoof. Lions will often just show their usual feline disdain and stay put – it often takes more than a sighting of a mere human to shift a Lion from where he wants to be, unless of course he is hungry or just plain curious, when he just might come to investigate you. Leopards will habitually slink away and lose themselves in deep cover – you’ll probably never even know you’ve been observed by a Leopard. Vocal alarm ‘calls’, often common in antelope species and zebra, are limited to snorts, huffs, puffs and the odd trumpet from a twitchy elephant. This initially means the animal has identified you as a potential danger but is unsure of what further action to take.

The flight zone is when you cross that invisible line the animal has decided upon and it will then turn and flee. Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino may raise their tails further and run back into the sight zone where they will often stop and reassess the situation. In areas where these animals are particularly under pressure, they will not bother to stop and reassess, but will instead head straight for the hills. Leopards, as I said, will usually bolt away and not look back at all and the Lion may well disguise his anxiety and stroll nonchalantly away, often stopping to look back with an expression of utter derision on his face. Whether or not, he has food nearby, he probably won’t go far – a case of pride coming before a fall has caused many a Lion’s demise!

Then there’s the fight zone. Action of the lethal kind is most commonly caused when humans and animals unwittingly closely invade each other’s space – such as a hunter stalking his quarry and bumping into a dozing Elephant or Lion etc en route. The animal judges he has no time to make an escape, so turns on the interloper with enough aggression to frighten him away or incapacitate him with tooth, claw, horn or tusk. The fight zone may be increased in a case of a previously wounded animal or with one carrying an old painful injury. In these cases, flight may not be an option, so an animal will attack the threat with all the strength he can muster. Of course, the case of nervous mothers defending their young is another well known reason for attack and you may never see the young animal she is fighting for. A good rule of thumb would be to approach females with even more caution. As Mr Kipling said, the female of the species is more deadly than the male….

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Steve "Shakari" Robinson
Kuduland Safaris (Africa) Ltd
info@kuduland.com
www.kuduland.com

Edited by shakari (24/08/08 09:09 PM)