David Attenborough – African Kalahari Desert Kudu Persistence Hunt

This is a “Persistence Hunt” of a Male Kudu by tribesman of the San on the Kalahari Desert of Africa from one of BBC’s specials.

Running on two feet over long distances is more efficient than four. Man’s extra limbs can be used to carry water, the Kudu cannot.

jimmylosanto already had this on youtube, but this is better quality. Enjoy.

Quoted from jimmylosanto:

This…..this is hunting. An almost transcendental means of acquiring animal protein. The final act in and of itself is completely in tune with the Natural World and the ultimate in respect and honor both of and for it. This is how our distant ancestors survived. We have unfortunately lost this connection to Life……….

Procedure:
During the persistence hunt an antelope, such as a kudu, is not shot or speared from a distance, but simply run down in the midday heat. Depending on the specific conditions, hunters of the central Kalahari will chase a kudu for about two to five hours over 25 to 35 km in temperatures of about 40 to 42°C (104 to 107°F). The hunter chases the kudu, which then runs away out of sight. By tracking it down at a fast running pace the hunter catches up with it before it has had enough time to rest in the shade. The animal is repeatedly chased and tracked down until it is too exhausted to continue running. The hunter then kills it at close range with a spear.

Duration : 0:7:12


[youtube fUpo_mA5RP8]

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25 Responses to David Attenborough – African Kalahari Desert Kudu Persistence Hunt

  1. numbnuts234567 says:

    After the hunt has …
    After the hunt has started the ‘sun is directly overhead’. This would mean that the location is near the equator and the time is around noon. The hunt is said to have lasted eight hours when the runner catches up with the kudu. But…the sun would have set by now since days at the equator are 12 hours long. Instead the sun is clearly still high in the sky when the kudu is killed. So…the hunter must have used powerful magic to hold the sun in place in the sky.

  2. JosephVonKrain says:

    a valid point, but …
    a valid point, but you did not take into account that there are two more people probably coming from behind to help carrying the animal

  3. diTaykan says:

    I saw at least one …
    I saw at least one of them wearing shoes, but hey– eventually, after a lifetime of hunting this way, they probably have wicked callouses. And they’re paying a lot of attention to the ground, so…

  4. hathor84 says:

    you do realize how …
    you do realize how ridiculously hot it is right? the animal becomes fatigued from not being able to get shade or replenish water loss. It will eventually have to stop to regain stamina.

  5. dmhowarth26 says:

    The animal and …
    The animal and humans run for hours, perhaps 15 miles or so. The others follow by tracking the runner. They slaughter the animal on the spot, cook some or themselves and share the kill. They all carry some back.

  6. bulliethepirate says:

    I’m having …
    I’m having difficulty to believe to this video. How is he going to carry the animal back to his family if he had run so much so that animal got exhaust and collapsed. I do not think that this animal will collapse after running 5-6 miles.

  7. bulliethepirate says:

    Do you know how …
    Do you know how they did run there barefoot? Don’t they hurt their feet?

  8. Bloodynavallint says:

    This was probably …
    This was probably all staged. to show us how it was done.

  9. hoganj2 says:

    I believe the …
    I believe the overhead shots are from some Planet Earth episode.

  10. eschybach says:

    The playbook has …
    The playbook has changed for these modern day hunters, but not too long ago these tribes were nomadic, and while there would be a few main hunters who tracked down the hunted, the rest of the tribe would follow the long chases at a slower pace (these distances can easily exceed those of marathons and so carrying the carcass back to a village wasn’t always ideal).

  11. RodrigoZ93 says:

    Yup, vibram five …
    Yup, vibram five fingers.

  12. welstijlfilms says:

    I published this …
    I published this video on the Dutch website WELSTIJL (29 january) kind regards Sem Mallée

  13. anusgoblin says:

    I did for a while …
    I did for a while and I liked it but I was always getting on my feet. Trying to save up some cash to grab some fivefingers. Do you use a footgloveshoe?

  14. hotmaillaptop says:

    @scribner20 They …
    @scribner20 They did not use a chopper, rather several atvs.

  15. scribner20 says:

    How do they get …
    How do they get such good camera angles throughout the entire chase? I know there’s obviously a helicopter but how do they manage to capture the running side shots?

  16. EL66K says:

    Lol.
    Lol.

  17. RodrigoZ93 says:

    But look at the …
    But look at the pace, he doesn’t fall heel toe like big running shoes make you do. I’m also a barefoot runner, and you can tell by his stride at around 2:40 that he’s been accustomed to running barefoot. You should give it a try.

  18. fikrehiwot says:

    his co-hunters will …
    his co-hunters will track him down and help.

  19. Kertgaferg says:

    The cameraman is …
    The cameraman is very good to keep up with them and make those great action shots. Really should’ve just chased it down with the helicopter they’ve got there, instead of using it for those aerial shots.

  20. anusgoblin says:

    I was actually …
    I was actually linked here by some advocates of barefoot running, talking about how humans first learned to run barefoot and could run forever. Kind of funny I see these guys with shoes on then.

  21. brum992 says:

    @isotope993313


    @isotope993313

    he gets it home in the back of the bbc land rover following behind him lol

  22. isotope993313 says:

    Still a few …
    Still a few questions remain. @thelleht – if the guy has been running for 8 hours, he must be really tired. He will (most probably) chop the animal, ‘coz it’s really difficult to drag it. Notice the huge body size of the male deer as compared to the man himself. The weight of the chopped deer would be quite a lot too. How can he carry it alone ? Do his friends come after him to help ? Also, does the smell of the killed animal not attract predators like lions or hyenas ?

  23. Yosemited says:

    but animals are …
    but animals are nothing like humans

  24. clockendgooner10 says:

    @Scrap5000
    humans …

    @Scrap5000
    humans are animals bud. hate to break it to ya.

  25. eloidor says:

    This is the first …
    This is the first homo-sapiens to ever walk the Earth over 70,000 years ago and they still use the same methods and technics of survival, comes to show that if something is succesful why change it when the same rules apply.