The Hunted Hunter: A Wild Boar-ing Turn of Events

Armed with a rifle and overflowing with a warrior’s confidence, my classmate’s brother marched into the woods, excited about his unforgettable first solo hunt. After all, they say you never forget your first. Deep in the forest, alone and silent, he slowly walked the path, eyeing a prize. Then, like a wish granted by an unseen god, a wild boar charged out of the bush. Their eyes locked. This was it—the moment of truth—the kill of a lifetime.

There was a heartbeat of a dramatic confrontational silence—and then, in a flash—the warrior turned and bolted. Yes, he ran away from his target! In what seemed to be a psychological phenomenon, I could not quite comprehend how the HUNTER became the HUNTED, so I had to Sherlock Holmes the logic here:

Fact 1–He had a loaded rifle.

Fact 2–There was plenty of distance for a clean shot.

Fact 3–All he had to do was aim and pull the trigger.

Fact 4–Even if he missed, the noise of the gunfire alone would have sent the wild boar running.

Fact 5–He asked for this!

The wild boar, sensing its sudden dominance, chased the HUNTER who had become the HUNTED, as the HUNTED had become the HUNTER. The wild boar was closing the gap rapidly, so in a frantic burst of survival instinct, the “hunter” scrambled up the nearest tree. The boy was safe as the wild boar was incapable of climbing, but it was clearly enjoying the power trip as it circled the trunk of the tree, intimidating its prey. Time moved, but the two were stuck in that position. The wild boar was relentlessly patient. It was as if it was teasing the boy, “I cannot climb up, but you cannot climb down either.” 

As the blue sky faded into an ominous orange hue, despair set in. The boy was stuck in a tree with no way down, and a wild boar was waiting for its prey. The brave warrior did the only thing left to do: he broke down and cried. Through the sobs, a flicker of hope emerged. When there was something strange in the neighborhood, who would you call? A human’s best friend. The boy screamed for his dog from the top his lungs.

What happened next was like a western fairy tale—a “damsel in distress was trapped in a tower by a vicious dragon,” and all the damsel could do was to wait for a knight in shining armor. Only in this version, it was not a princess but a hunter, and the knight was a furry, four-legged savior wagging its tail. The dog came charging, barking at the wild boar with enough courage to send it away. The status quo changed once more: the wild boar’s role shifted from the HUNTER to the HUNTED as the role of the HUNTER was taken by the loyal dog. Safe at last, the boy came down the tree down and exuberantly thanked his furry savior. In that instance, the hunt ended with a bark, and the boy headed home in the company of his savior. 

No matter how much you prepare for something in life, reality has a funny way of flipping the script: 

Question: What is the moral of the story? 

Answer: Overconfidence is a dangerous thing. So, if you are heading out for your first solo hunt on a quest to prove yourself, do not forget your dog. 

Let this be a precautionary tale. In the grand hunt of life, the predator can become the prey, and the prey can become the predator in the blink of an eye. But as the old saying goes, experience is the best teacher, even if that experience involves being bullied by an animal.