during these migrations, the springbok never ran or trotted. on the whole, they were silent, except for the shudder of their stamping hoofs. nothing could divert them, and hunters could ride amongst them, shooting them at random, without apparently causing alarm. people could move amongst them and kill them with sticks, or cripple them by seizing a leg and breaking it. not only people followed these herds for the easy meat they provided, but also lions, leopards, cheetahs, african wild dogs, hyenas, and jackals preyed on them.