Cape buffalo, known as the Black Death, kill some 200 people in Africa a year. They are known to kill more game hunters than any other animal
Cape buffalo, known as the Black Death, kill some 200 people in Africa a year. They are known to kill more game hunters than any other animal
An American game hunter was gored to death by a buffalo he was stalking after it ambushed him in South Africa.

Millionaire ranch trader Asher Watkins, 52, was out on safari with a professional hunter and an animal tracker on the trail of a prized 1.3-ton specimen bull last Sunday.

The huge beast charged him at , slamming into him and killing him almost instantly.

It is not known if the team from Coenraad Vermaak Safaris, guiding their client on the estimated £7,500 hunt, shot the buffalo dead or if it escaped back to its nearby herd.

The keen conservationist believed hunting was a vital part of preserving wildlife. He had photos on his social media with a dead mountain lion, many deer and hundreds of wildfowl.

He also boasts of killing thousands of doves in just three days with seven friends in Argentina.

Although it is believed it had not yet been shot and was unwounded, the increasingly agitated bull turned on the hunter and launched a fatal attack as he closed in on it.

Cape buffalo, known as the Black Death, kill some 200 people in Africa a year. They are known to kill more game hunters than any other animal, including elephants, lions, rhinos or crocodiles.

The lifelong hunter who was raised and taught to shoot on Texas farms stood little chance as the buffalo took him and his safari team by surprise and gored him in a charge.

Hunter Hans Vermaak on behalf of CV Safaris said: 'It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts we confirm the tragic death of our client and friend Asher Watkins from the USA.

'On Sunday, 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 it together with one of our professional hunters and one of our trackers. This is a devastating incident, and our hearts go out to his loved ones.

'We are doing everything we can to support the family members who are here with us and those back in the United States as they navigate this tragic loss.'

The company said it was in touch with his teenage daughter, Savannah and his ex-wife, Courtney, who were still close and shared custody after their break-up.

A close friend said: 'He spent every spare moment he could with Savannah and shared his life with her, and nobody could love a daughter more than he did.

'She will be broken to lose Asher, who was her best friend as well as her dad.'

(More here)