the big five

i have arranged them in order - from least to most dangerous, based on my experience.

black rhino - dumb and blind.  also, not able to absorb much punishment bullet wise.  i was charged several times, usually in thick bush, and, after the first time, avoided the rush quite easily.  perhaps the dumbest of all charged our hunting car and pressed on even as we backed quickly away.  sadly, this prehistoric monster has been poached almost to extinction and no longer enlivens a hunt for other game.  we did not pursue them.

elephant - magnificent, electrifying to hunt and family oriented.  also extremely intelligent and as a result more interested in making its escape than confronting.  however, very dangerous if wounded because of its great strength, toughness, and cleverness.

leopard - far and away my favorite beast.  one of the few truly cruel animals - like the weasel and ratel - which will sometimes kill just for pleasure.  an extraordinarily wild and fearsome sight when it appears, as if by magic, on the limb below your bait.  fast and violent to the extreme if wounded...absolutely will charge its tormentors - always from nearby...impossible to see in heavy cover because of its perfectly camouflaged coat.  a very worthy adversary.

cape buffalo - wounded it is the hunter's worst nightmare for, when followed up, it will often let its stalkers pass by and attack from behind.  very difficult to kill once its adrenaline is flowing and extremely vengeful.  will press its charge even when hit many times by heavy bullets.

lion - by far the strongest and fastest animal of its size in the group [it can and often does kill cape buffalo - though mostly the old and infirm], and thinks nothing of jumping into a native corral to kill a cow then jumping back out with the dead animal in its jaws.  a charging, lightly wounded lion is a true force of nature.  it can cover a hundred yards in five seconds or so, bounding through the long grass, or close to the ground on open plain.  be damn sure you brain it or its final leap - as much as thirty feet - will be fatal in the mauling you receive.  a lion's hunting roar in the darkest hours of an african night is a sound you will never forget.