The Hira is a mythical monster who occurs in epic and folklore tales of the Songhai people, particularly the Bozo people who traditionally lived from hunting and fishing along the Niger River.
The main source are the tales collected by M. A. Dupuis Yakouba at the start of the twentieth century.
[1] The Hira is a legendary variety of buffalo known for incredible force and brutality.
The Hira is the main opponent in one of the epic tales about the culture hero Moussa Gname (also Mousa-Gname, Mousa-Djinni, "Moses the Son of a Spirit").
A second Hira comes, and a diviner says that the monster can only be killed by a female elephant--who is disguised as the chief's girlfriend.