The Hunter and his deer

On the same day as the cycle ride we met a man called Lawrence. He was a fine specimen of a human being; tall and athletic. He was wearing broken sandals, shorts and a rain jacket and carrying had a huge rifle. A little face of an animal just visible over his shoulder, carried in a drawstring bag on his back. Lawrence was a hunter and the animal was a dead "bisch". We think it is french for deer but I haven't actually checked that in a dictionary!

The evening before Lawrence had walked into the forest, about 15km from the village, in the direction of the Guinea Bissau border. He spent the whole night in the forest with a torch and his rifle waiting for a "bisch" to cross his path. Then as soon as it got light, he started to walk back. He was carrying no water or food with him. He could sell the bisch at the market for 5000CFA (£6.50). I got the impression, he made that journey too and from the forest a number of times a week.

The gun that Lawrence was using was illegally smuggled into the country from Guinea Bissau, so he was happy to pose for us with his bisch but not with his gun. I will upload the photo when I get it from Shani. We said goodbye and as he passed us I noticed that back of his shorts and legs were stained with the animal's blood, dripping through the bag.