Threatening a water buffalo… And then shooting him!
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Okay, so you may be wondering what a peace loving water buffalo would have to do to deserve a threat? Perhaps steal my grass or something. In actuality, it was him who threatened me after I made him (or her?) feel threatened! The relationship between buffalo and children in Vietnam is a very special thing. So one day when I was taking some pics of children riding and playing on top of buffalo, one particular buffalo (pictured above) decided that I was a threat. He gave me a really strong stare, raising his chin up in a very serious way. I’m no animal expert, but it was obvious to me that he meant business. So, I shot him… With my camera of-course! Then I backed off and took some more pics of the kids and moved on. Well, later that same day I saw some other children riding the same water buffalo… Or so I think. I mean, they (the water buffalo) all kinda look alike. I’m pretty sure it was the same one though because from a distance of over 100 meters (300ish feet) he turned and stared me down again. You may have heard the phrase “the memory of an elephant”, as elephants tend to remember things for a long time. Perhaps it would be reasonable to start a new phrase, “the memory of a water buffalo”. After all, this one seemed to remember being shot with a camera! =-)
