Asher Watkins was impaled on the buffalo's horns and crushed by its weight after the animal was shot.
A cunning buffalo being stalked as a trophy by an American big game hunter was shot dead a split-second after turning the tables and goring him to death.
Multimillionaire Asher Watkins, 59, was closing in on the animal in Limpopo with a high-powered rifle as a tracker stealthily guided him in for a kill shot.
But the aggressive and unpredictable buffalo bull, who had grown used to being hunted, got wind that he was being followed and took cover in thick bush.
US hunter impaled and crushed by buffalo
As Watkins, who was a renowned hunter of wildlife since a kid, crept in, the buffalo – nicknamed the Black Death – burst out of the scrub in a deadly ambush.
The 1.3 ton beast accelerated in seconds to 55km/h from less than 10 metres, giving his hunter no chance to fire a shot and impaled him on his horns.
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The impact knocked Watkins from Dallas, Texas, flying backwards just as the professional hunter guiding the expedition opened fire from close range.
The divorced father was impaled on the buffalo’s horns and crushed by its weight.
Buffalo shot by hunting guide
The professional hunter guiding Watkins through the bush is believed to have fired the single bullet from a high-calibre rifle that instantly killed it with a heart shot.
The snorting and angered buffalo collapsed in a cloud of dust beside its tormentor.
The news of the buffalo’s death will be greeted with dismay and sadness, as thousands had previously commented online that they hoped it had escaped and run to safety.
But sadly, the bull – a solitary male excluded from the herd due to age – died on the spot.
Watkins suffered ‘horrific injuries’
Bearded big game hunter Watkins, dressed in camouflage, lay dying close by.
The professional hunter from Coenraad Vermaak Safaris (CVS), running the trophy hunt in Limpopo, called for medical help but nothing could be done for him.
An emergency services source said: “He was beyond help except to load his body into the ambulance. He had horrific injuries to his stomach and ribs.
“Buffalo kills are not rare in Limpopo and not many survive. When our guys got there, it was clear he must have died instantly from the injuries he had suffered.
“It was a big buffalo and anything standing in the way of a charge would not survive. If left alone, they are pretty tolerant, but if you upset them, it will not end well.
“The buffalo lay dead where it was shot with a single bullet wound,” she said.
Businessman Watkins, who made his fortune selling upmarket Texan ranches valued between R23m and R700m, travelled worldwide to shoot wild animals.
There are many photos on his Facebook page showing animals he had hunted and killed, including a mountain lion, many types of deer, turkey shoots and wild fowl.
His ex-wife, Courtney, who posted news of Watkins’ death on her Facebook page, was forced to take it down after it was deluged by trolls delighted that the buffalo “won”.
Watkins’ own hunting page on Facebook was also filled with posts describing his death from the buffalo as “karma” and an AI meme with his head on a hunting shield.
What happens to hunted buffalo?
Many were hoping the buffalo that killed him had managed to escape, but the professional hunter with Watkins took it out with a single heart shot.
If the hunt had gone as normal, the buffalo’s head and skin would have been taken by the hunting company and given to a taxidermist to prepare as a trophy.
Its vital organs are much sought after for culinary purposes and would have been sold and the less valuable flesh distributed to local villagers, a safari expert said.
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An inquest has been opened into the death on Sunday and the three members of Watkins’ family who were with him on the expedition will fly his body back home.
He had flown to Johannesburg from Dallas, Texas, with his mother, stepfather and brother, where his professional hunter was waiting for the flight up country.
They landed by light aircraft in the 20 000 hectare hunting concession, Bambisana, in Limpopo. His first call was a common waterbuck the following day.
On Sunday afternoon, he began tracking a large buffalo, said by hunting company CVS to be “unwounded and unprovoked”, on what was to be his final hunt.
The news of his death was broken to members of his immediate family in Dallas.
Watkins’ ex-wife, Courtney, who filed for divorce against the ranch real estate multimillionaire, is comforting their devastated 16-year-old daughter, Savannah.
They both shared custody of their daughter, but she doted on her father and is said by friends to be “in bits” and unable to accept he is not returning from the safari.
ALSO READ: Trophy hunting: Controversy or lifeline for SA’s wildlife economy?
South African police spokesperson Colonel Malesala Ledwaba said: “We were led on Sunday to a game farm where the body of a man killed by a buffalo was found.
“He had serious injuries to his stomach and side and had already been certified dead by a doctor with the ambulance. The buffalo was lying close to him.
“The buffalo appeared to have been killed by a single bullet,” he said.
One of Africa’s most dangerous animals
Buffalo make up one of the Big 5 of Africa’s most dangerous animals and kill more big game hunters than the other four of elephant, rhino, lion and leopard.
Buffalo kill more than 200 people in Africa a year.
Watkins would have paid tens of thousands of US dollars for the trip for his family to South Africa and would pay an extra fee per different type of animal he shot.
A prime male buffalo, like the one that killed him, averages at R175 000 each.
ALSO READ: Animals fighting back: Wounded buffalo kills poacher in Kruger National Park
The website of hunting company CVS pulls no punches on its website when describing a buffalo hunt.
It warns: “No species on the planet has a more fearsome reputation than a Cape Buffalo. Responsible for several deaths and many injuries to hunters each year.
“The buffalo is regarded as the most dangerous animal to pursue in Africa. Buffalo hunting is thrilling and exhilarating, and at the top of every hunter’s wish list.
“Crafty and belligerent, he seeks refuge in thickets when wounded or when danger approaches. Buffalo are known to charge unprovoked, so prepare for the worst.
“Buffalo have earned their reputation and can absorb astounding amounts of lead, even when shots are well-placed and a charging buffalo comes at an alarming speed.
“Cool nerves and a steady hand are crucial”, said the company running his doomed trip.
A Cape Buffalo can weigh 900kg, be 2m long and 1.5m tall. Its horns are joined by a solid lump of bone across the forehead and its pointed tips can be 1m apart.
They are unpredictable and aggressive. Their only predators are humans and lions.
Other hunters killed by buffalo in Limpopo
In 2018, big game hunter Claude Keynhams, 54, was also killed in Limpopo by a buffalo after the safari group he was being paid to guide shot another buffalo dead.
The South African professional hunter was trying to load the dead buffalo onto a truck with his team when he was blindsided by a second buffalo, which gored him to death.
In 2022, another big game hunter was killed at Steenbokpan, Limpopo, having shot and wounded a buffalo when it launched a furious charge at him despite being fired at.
Benjamin de Bruyn, 50, died instantly on the buffalo’s horns as the buffalo was killed.
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