It’s man vs. beast (the kudu) in this amazing race. Photo: kevincure
When Matador co-founder and CEO Ross Borden sent the link to this video and asked me to do something with it, I was thrilled.
I could finally confess publicly that I have a thing for David Attenborough (he’s the old white guy and narrator of this video).
Why?
Because if you live to be his age (he’s 83) and you’re still as active, hard-working, and passionate as he is, then you’ll know you’ve really gotten the most of your time on the planet (even if you don’t have the title of “Sir” before your name).
But what’s really cool about this video isn’t Attenborough; it’s the hunters who track the kudu and the runner who pursues the kudu in an exercise of mental will and physical persistence… for a full eight hours:
Community Connection:
Interested in the relationships between animals and human beings? Check out these articles from our archives:
“Bird Song: Can You Hear the Melody of Nature?”
“Close Encounters: Reconnecting to Animals Through Our Primitive Nature”
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I watched the video with my mom, and that’s what we were wondering, too. Dragging, do you think?
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Yes; they mention this hunt, one of the last realms of running for necessity, in Born to Run. I also make reference to it in my Vagabondish article:
http://www.vagabondish.com/running-cultures/
Running is life, Matadorians.
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Uhhhhh, and I get annoyed waiting 30 minutes for my meal at a restaurant…unreal.
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I think we can be certain that the hunter or his family/tribe does not take the kudu for granted. I like that he basically gave it “last rites” and returned it’s spirit to the desert. Awesome video!
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@Candice: Right?! Kind of puts things into perspective… though I’d have a hard time waiting 8 hours for a meal (much less hunting it down).
@Turner: I think you should reenact the kudu hunt. You could do it.
@Brian: Glad you enjoyed the video; I liked that last part, too.
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Most decent runners could; what they don’t mention in the video is the pack hunting run, where multiple hunters help run it in death, to ensure the kudu can’t play a shell game with the pack. It doesn’t always take eight hours. Often a few will do.
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This video gives me chills. One of the best vids I have seen in a long, long time.
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