Buffalo relocation

Today was pretty incredible. I was fortunate enough to experience the relocation of a buffalo. It was a very early start - up at 3.45am - as we had to drive to Grahamstown to meet the safari vet who was going to carry out the procedure.

The bull calf was only 3 years old and was being moved from the breeder's land to his neighbour's. The vet prepared the dart by putting in the right amount of tranquiliser required for a calf of that age and also added another drug which is designed to make them less sluggish when they come round.

We then got into the land owner's helicopter - he uses it like a car for flying around his terrain. We flew until we located the four buffalo and then swooped in low - only 5 metres above ground - so the vet could take his shot. This is made more difficult by the buffalo running at speed and continually changing direction. But the pilot did an amazing job while the vet hung out the side of the helicopter with his dart gun, taking aim at the selected buffalo. He is obviously pretty experienced at this as he only prepared one dart - confident enough that's all he needed.

Once shot, the buffalo carried on running for a while until its legs got shaky and then it fell to the ground. We then landed the helicopter and were joined by a bunch of guys who were brought in to lift it. The vet put a blindfold on the buffalo and stuffed rags in its ears to minimise the trauma. They then had to roll it onto a stretcher and once aboard, lift it on to a truck. We then had a short drive to the neighbour over the road, where it was lifted off and set free. Once the blindfold was off, we all ran like hell to get back in the truck! It was remarkable how quickly the buffalo came round. The vet obviously knows his stuff on the exact amount of tranquiliser to give.

An absolutely amazing experience.



In his new home, thinking:
Where the hell am I and where did all my mates go?