The Cape Buffalo is the fiercest of the Bull family. He will charge a lion or a tiger and often come off victor in the strife. According to Mr. Pringle he is considerably larger than the domestic ox; the bony pad on his forehead making a complete helmet, and it is impossible to pierce him with bullets which have not been hardened by tin. He is said to be fierce, treacherous, and savage; and even when not provoked, to attack any man who strays near his haunts, skulking in the jungle when he sees him approach, and then suddenly rushing out upon him. Having tossed his enemy to his heart's content or thrown him down, he will trample and gore him, tearing off his skin with his tongue, until he is shockingly mutilated. He is one of the few animals which seem to cherish the spirit of revenge.
Mr. Pringle gives the following description of a Cape Buffalo hunt. "A party of boers had gone out to hunt a herd of buffaloes which were grazing on a piece of marshy ground. As they could not get within shot of the game without crossing part of the marsh, which was not safe for the horses, they agreed to leave them in charge of the Hottentots, and advance on foot, thinking that if any of the buffaloes should turn upon them, it would be easy to escape by retreating across the quagmire, which, though passable for man, would not support the weight of a heavy quadruped. They advanced accordingly, and, under a covert of the bushes, approached the game with such advantage that the first volley brought down three of the fattest of the herd, and so severely wounded the great bull leader that he dropped on his knees, bellowing furiously. Thinking him mortally wounded, the foremost of the huntsmen issued from the covert, and began reloading his musket as he advanced to give him a finishing shot. But no sooner did the infuriated animal see his foe in front of him, than he sprang up and rushed headlong upon him. The man, throwing down his heavy gun, fled towards the quagmire; but the beast was so close upon him that he despaired of escaping in that direction, and turning suddenly round a clump of copsewood, began to climb an old mimosa tree which stood at one side of it. The raging beast, however, was too quick for him. Bounding forward with a roar which my informant described as being one of the most frightful sounds he ever heard, he caught the unfortunate man with his terrible horns just as he had nearly escaped his reach, and tossed him into the air with such force that the body fell, dreadfully mangled, into a cleft of the tree. The buffalo ran round the tree once or twice, apparently looking for the man, until, weakened with loss of blood, he again sank on his knees. The rest of the party, recovering from their confusion, then came up and despatched him, though too late to save their comrade, whose body was hanging in the tree quite dead."