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Public Radio's Environmental News Magazine (follow us on Google News)

Air Date: Week of

Transcript

[MUSIC: West African Balafon Ensemble “Farfina” The Pulse of Life Ellipsis (1992)]

CURWOOD: The sun was high in the sky when we spotted him low in the grass on the African savannah. Crouched, tail twitching to and fro with a menacing rhythm, a huge leopard was eyeing a herd of passing water buffalo.

Water buffalo are some of the most dangerous animals in the African wild. They have such a hard helmet of horn that even a hunter with a high-powered gun faces doom from a charging buffalo, unless his first shot is expertly placed. Most people don’t know buffalo are so dangerous, my guide told me. That’s why big game hunters are more likely to get hurt by a buffalo than by a lion in the wild.

The big cat does know the strength of the African buffalo, and was not interested in taking on a single adult, never mind hundreds of hooves and horns. But, said my guide, there might be a chance that a calf would stray from the herd. Or perhaps an elderly straggler would offer some “pickins”.

And, indeed, as the leopard crept closer to the herd, a calf broke away. The leopard tensed. His tail froze. Then, with a seemingly casual air, a large cow nudged the youngster back inside the herd.

The leopard noticeably slumped, and then resumed his vigil. He would eat, sometime, if he could just be patient.

You, too, can get a chance to see a big cat on the hunt if you become the lucky winner of the Living on Earth ultimate safari. Thanks to HeritageAfrica.com, you and a companion will see some of Africa’s finest wildlife habitats, such as Kruger and the Serengeti.

To find out how to win, go to livingonearth.com. That’s livingonearth.com, for a chance for the trip of a lifetime.

ANNOUNCER: Funding for Living on Earth comes from the World Media Foundation.
Major contributors include the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for coverage of western issues, and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund. Support also comes from NPR member stations and Bob Williams and Meg Caldwell, honoring NPR’s coverage of environmental and natural resource issues, and in support of the NPR President’s Council; and Paul and Marsha Ginsberg, in support of excellence in public radio.

 

 

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