“Go ahead, make my day…”

“One wrong move and my friends Smith, Wesson and I are gonna show you what happens to people who end up in the wrong part of the jungle with some Sri Lankan wild buffaloes.”

“The name’s Dirty Harry and no, it doesn’t have anything to do with me rolling in the mud. You look like a nice guy, so take this advice from me: never mess with a wild buffalo, ‘cause you never know who you’re messing with! Some of us are just plain old farm buffaloes taking a break in the jungle before getting back to work. Some of us, well our ancestors used to be on a farm a long, long time ago but now, we’re jungle born and bred. And then there’s some of us that were never tethered, and never bowed down to any man or beast. So… who do you think you should be scared of? Trick question son. All of us!”

Fun Facts

“We’re always watching you… and everything around us. We don’t let up. It’s the only way to survive. Even when we’re submerged in water to get away from the parasites and flies, we’re keeping an eye out... for the nasty croc lurking on the riverbank, the big cat that’s stalking us from the bushes or the human who thinks he’s gonna turn us into buffalo steak! So if we see them or you, we charge and take the threat down. Now see, when that happens… wild buffalo, one tonne of pure muscle, charging at you at full tilt, you've got to ask yourself just one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?”

Story of the photo

Shiraz had set off on a safari from the Mahoora Tented Safari Camp in Yala into Block 5 of the Park, where he encountered this hefty buffalo. The creature proceeded to give the stink eye to our photographer, possibly because he was annoyed that he was being stared at, whilst having lunch.