"hadn't been out hunting it..." he said!
but he was at a far enough distance away  that he couldn't identify it, so the first thing that entered his feeble mind was...
                          KILL IT!!!!
why was he carrying a rifle large enough to kill a buffalo? afraid of bear? they are asleep.
why did he shoot it from a distance that he couldn't tell what he was shooting at? why did he shoot at all? if he is so ignorant to do something like this, he probably would have taken a shot at a human being also.