Very early in the trip we noticed that the Gemsbok bulls were extremely aggressive toward one another. As the days passed by, we became more and more determined to get photos of two Gemsbok bulls fighting. So, when an outsider approached to herd calmly drinking at 13th borehole, we were watchful.
The dominant bull was also watchful, and decidedly unimpressed with the stranger approaching his herd at his waterhole, and clearly intending to mate with his cows. Within minutes, they locked horns.
Almost immediately, the dominant bull pierced the intruder’s shoulder with its horn. This, however, did not work out as well as the dominant bull would have wanted, when the intruder started turning away, forcing the horn and thereby the dominant bull’s head into a very uncomfortable position. They struggled in that position for a while, and all the time we sat breathless, waiting for the dominant bull’s neck to break!
When they finally disengaged, they reengaged again so quickly, that you could easily have missed it. Except now they weren’t quite locked together and it was just a pure muscle again muscle, horn against horn fight. Possibly one of the most violent things I have ever seen firsthand!
It was the intruder that finally went in for the kill – trying to stab the dominant bull in the side with his horn. The dominant bull realised in the nick of time that he was in trouble, disengaged and took off running. The intruder chased him for a few circles around the waterhole, before he finally gave up and ran for his life across the riverbed.
And that was how the Gemsbok herd at 13th borehole that day, got a new dominant bull.