Sunday, June 24, 2012

Persistence



The video shows three African hunters using the persistence method of hunting. It is thought to be one of the oldest forms of hunting. They locate a herd of Kudus, which are a type of antelopes, and then cut the one they think will be the slowest from the herd.

Once that's done a single hunter chases after the animal until he exhausts it. In the case of this hunt it took him 8 hours to run the animal down.

An interesting detail of the film is that all three are wearing manufactured shorts, socks and shoes, plus they seem to be carrying modern steel knives. I wonder what the economy of the area is that mixes stone-age hunting with trade modern enough to get industrially produced goods?

The web of human affairs is frequently baffling.  

The film is from a BBC YouTube channel where you can find a lot of other interesting clips. 
 

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