Tourist gored by buffalo
2003-07-30 22:47
Pretoria - "I still suffer from nightmares and wake up in a sweat and my body feels as if it was hit by a train," said Johan Lombard of Atlanta in the US.
Safely tucked up in bed in his parents-in-law's home in Pretoria,
Lombard, 33, recounted on Wednesday how a buffalo attacked him.
He was lucky to escape with a torn calf muscle and a number of cuts after being gored by a buffalo bull.
Lombard and friends on Saturday visited a game farm near Rust de Winter about 50km outside Pretoria.
The buffalo in the camp were supposedly tame and there were no signs warning against the animals, he said.
"I really looked forward to getting close to them. On Friday we strolled around among the animals. Some people touched and scratched them. The herd consists of a bull and couple of young cows.
"On Saturday we returned to show my father-in-law. A friend and I were walking to the eland camp when the buffalo bull suddenly stormed us," said Lombard.
Lombard and Gunther Bothe tried in vain to dodge the animal, but Lombard was gored before being tossed over a gate.
"All I can remember was his smell and his breath when he was on me. When I landed on the ground, Gunther screamed that I should run," he said.
Lombard and Bothe raced to a gate and the buffalo was unable to turn in time for a second attack. Another man closed the gate behind them.
Emergency services were called while Lombard's bloody leg was tied with a chord. Friends raced him to a petrol station where an ambulance and doctor were waiting.
The calf muscle was reattached in a two-hour operation in Montana Hospital in Pretoria. He was discharged on Tuesday.
"I'm grateful to be alive and everything is still in working order," Lombard said.
He planned to return to the farm before leaving for the US, because he would like to overcome his shock and fear.
"I was born in the Bushveld. This experience won't put me off from going back to the bush."