A Dallas millionaire hunter died after he was reportedly gored by a buffalo he had been hunting during a safari in South Africa. Asher Watkins had been on a $10,000 paid safari hunt last week, hosted by Coenraad Vermaak Safaris, when the fatal accident occurred.
According to Ndtv.com, Watkins, 52, had been pursuing a 1.3-ton Cape buffalo bull, nicknamed the Black Death, in the 50,000-acre Banbisana concession on Sunday when the animal charged at him. It is not known why the buffalo became so aggressive.
On Sunday, August 3rd, while on a hunting safari with us in South africa’s Limpopo Province, 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.
The devastating incident was announced by Watkins’ ex-wife Courtney, on Facebook.
The buffalo Watkins had been hunting is also known as the “Black Death” by locals because of its aggressive and sometimes deadly behavior. Hunters say the buffalo is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 people annually.
The CV Safari does post a warning to hunters on its website warning of the dangers of hunting the Cape buffalo:
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.
Watkins became wealthy by selling luxury ranches and was an associate with a North Texas real estate company.
He has always had a huge interest in hunting and fishing.
In a social media group based in South Africa, called We Will Not Be Silenced About Hunters, one of the administrators posted the following:
While the team at WWNBSAH will never celebrate a hunter’s death we won’t weep over it either.
If Asher Watkins had not come to our country to steal the lives of South African wildlife, he would still be alive, and his family and friends would not be heartbroken right now.
This family’s selfish quest to kill for vanity and ego has caused their own heartbreak. It gives me no joy to write that.
Some animal advocates claim the animals are accustomed to seeing men in hunting gear and carrying weapons. It is that provocation that advocates say the animals know what hunters do, and they do not forget.
This writer is no fan of trophy hunting, although I send my sincerest sympathies for the loss of a loved one to his family.
Just weeks ago, a five-year-old lion, named Blondie, was lured out of a protected wildlife refuge of Hwange National Park with bait and then shot and killed. The death of Blonde has caused worldwide outrage. Blondie had been part of a study by Oxford University scientists, and just three months ago, had been fitted with a GPS satellite collar. The lion’s death, said to have been caused because he had been lured out of the safety of the park by repeated baiting, reminds animal lovers of the killing of Cecil the lion by a dentist from the United States in 2015.
Read the tragic ending of this beautiful lion here.
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