Bellevue resident recovering from buck attack

Residents of Bellevue who enjoy their leisurely walks and training runs around the picturesque suburb, are urged to be vigilant and on the lookout of a stray buck that attacked a walker recently.

The resident, who did not want to be named, said that he is thankful to God that he survived the ordeal, and is slowly recovering from his injuries.

The incident happened on a Sunday at around 5:30 am and unfortunately for the resident, there were no other walkers or runners in the vicinity to help him.

"I was walking along Morrison Road when I noticed a fairly large-sized buck with long horns attacking a dog on the opposite side. When the buck saw me, it moved away from the dog and swiftly came across and started to attack me.

"At first it gorged my right calf and then my left calf. It then pierced my elbow and my wrist and knocked me to the ground. It all happened so quickly and unexpectedly and I did not know how to protect myself from this attack.

" As suddenly as it attacked me, it then left and went back to resume its fight with the dog," he said.

The resident said that he then made his way back to his home, a long and painful walk of about one and a half kilometres.

He added that he did not realise the severity of his injuries until he got into the shower.

"When I got into the shower, blood was spurting from all my wounds. My wife then used a home remedy to stop the flow of blood and bandaged the wounds.

"When my daughter arrived, she immediately took me to Medi-Clinic hospital where I was treated in the casualty department.

"My wounds were stitched up but the casualty doctor said he was not happy and that I had to be admitted and kept overnight. However, the overnight stay extended to a whole week as I had to have a number of injections, including anti-rabies jabs, to ward off possible infection," the resident said.

Although he has been discharged from hospital, he is making a slow recovery. He finds it difficult to sleep and sometimes only sleeps for half an hour. Doctors have told him that it will take at least eight to ten weeks to make a full recovery.

Despite this ordeal, he is grateful and thankful to God for protecting him. "God saved my life," he said.

His advice to fellow walkers and runners of the area is that they should always exercise in groups and not alone.

An animal rights activist and conservationist said that this is the first time he has heard of an animal like a buck attacking a person.

"I have never heard of something like this in my 30 years as an advocate for animal rights. Animals are generally scared of people and tend to run away from them. Buck, for example, nyala, are very timid," he said.

He added that he had no idea where the buck could have come from.