American trophy hunter killed by buffalo during safari in South Africa

An American was killed by a buffalo he was tracking during a trophy hunt in South Africa, police said Friday.

The man from Dallas, Texas, was found dead last Sunday at a farm in the northern Limpopo province. The victims’ name was not disclosed by police but several U.S. media outlets, citing the safari company that organized the expedition, identified him as 52-year-old Asher Watkins.

“Asher was fatally injured in a sudden and unprovoked attack by an unwounded buffalo he was tracking together with one of our professional hunters and one of our trackers,” Hans Vermaak, whose family runs the safari company that organized the expedition, said in a statement to The New York Times.

Coenraad Vermaak Safaris confirmed to People that Watkins was fatally gored by a Cape buffalo.

The victim had injuries on his stomach and torso, and a buffalo that had been shot and killed was lying nearby, police said.

A statement from police said they had been alerted by security personnel at the farm who led them to “a lifeless body of a man already certified dead inside an ambulance.”

The safari company’s website describes the cape buffalo as “the most dangerous animal to pursue in Africa, let alone the world,” adding that the animal is responsible for “several deaths and many injuries to hunters each year.” 

The Cape buffalo has been dubbed “the mafia of the bush,” according to Kariega Game Reserve, because the large animals “have the tendency to take revenge when messed with and have been known to circle back, stalk and attack or kill hunters.”

Buffaloes in South Africa can weigh up to 1,800 pounds and are among the so-called Big Five of African trophy animals, along with elephants, rhinos, lions and leopards.

Hunting tourism brings in $169 million a year for South Africa, according to a study by a local university released in July.

“Foreign hunters, often wealthy retirees from the United States,” spend on average $32,663 per visit, the study found.