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African Buffalo Trails
John F. Burger
R. Hale; (1957)
John F. Burger was born in 1882 in the Great Karoo, Cape Province, South Africa. His family later moved to Southern Rhodesia, where he became acquainted with the renowned hunter F.C. Selous. After his father's death, his mother remarried. Burger developed a talent for boxing and eventually joined the Rhodesian army. In 1917, he was wounded in action.
Following his military service, he spent 15 years in the Belgian Congo and another 15 years in Tanganyika. Later in life, he settled in Majorca, Spain, before finally returning to South Africa.
Burger considered the African buffalo the most dangerous of all wild animals. Over his lifetime, he hunted more than 1,000 buffalo. Under normal conditions, buffalo are not aggressive; however, one that has been provoked or holds a grudge is particularly dangerous. According to Burger, most accidents involving buffalo are due to inexperience or recklessness on the part of hunters.
He also recounted tales from the Lado Enclave, a small, lawless regionnow part of Ugandawhere many hunters, drawn by the lure of ivory, operated as unofficial poachers. His chief tracker during these expeditions was a man known as Ndege, or "the Birdman." Burger observed that buffaloes quickly settle in areas where food and water suit them.
Burger also shared his insights on lions, stating that they attack humans only in extreme cases of hunger, provocation, or illness. He believed animals possess an inexplicable instinct that warns them of danger. In 1945, he heard tales of an albino buffalo and even came across the carcass of an albino giraffe. He noted that lionesses are more aggressive than males, and that man-eating lions are usually old, sick, or debilitated. Generally, lions avoid attacking adult buffalo.
Throughout his adventures, Burger suffered recurrent bouts of malaria. He noted that lightly wounded buffalo rarely charge, and described the gorilla as one of the most difficult animals to track. During a feverish spell that left him bedridden for two days, he found himself in Tabora, Tanganyika, on May 7, 1946, where he met elephant hunter Mickey Norton.
Burger also succeeded in raising five leopards. His book is filled with remarkable stories of encounters with buffalo, lions, elephants, pygmies, man-eaters, gorillas, snakes, native tribes, and leopards.
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