• Country

Another Wildlife Attack: Determined Giraffe Chases Riders Down the Trail

By Frantiska Blazkova

Crew of the annual Cape Pioneer Trek marathon mountain bike event bore witness to a scene that would make National Geographic jealous. Cape Pioneer is an international seven-day stage race held in South Africa and Stage 1 course passes through Gondwana Nature Reserve, so one can expect a decent amount of exotic fauna and flora. But Dutch rider Gerben Moss certainly didn’t count on having a safari-like experience when he crossed the starting line that day.

No one knows what triggered the rampaging giraffe bull’s reaction towards these lads in Lycra, but he saw these weird wheeled strangely moving creatures and he was certainly not having it. No human or animal sustained any injury but Moss described himself to be pretty flabbergasted.

screen-shot-2016-12-08-at-14-29-35
Gerben Moss nervously checking the distance left between him and the spotted menace.

“Yes, that was quite a shock, because he was really close,” Moss told Dutch news service RTL. But apart from that he seemed quite exhilarated from the experience, saying that he really enjoys these encounters with local nature, even though he would prefer a more passive one next year.

The two photos show the predicament while it was happening. The long-necked pursuer gave up the chase in the end and the race was finished without further incident.

13-584x400
Majestic creature thrashing gracefully down the trail.