A millionaire Texas ranch realtor was gored to death by a massive buffalo that he was stalking while on a hunting trip in South Africa, according to reports.
Asher Watkins, 52, was tracking a 1.3-ton Cape buffalo in Limpopo on Sunday when the beast charged at him, killing him instantly, Coenraad and Vermaak Safari, which organized the trip, told multiple outlets.
The buffalo was not wounded, the safari said.
“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we confirm the tragic death of our client and friend Asher Watkins from the USA,” Coenraad and Vermaak Safari said in a statement to Metro.
“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,” the company said.
Wakins’ mom, Gwen, stepdad, and brother Amon were waiting for him at a safari lodge when the brutal incident unfolded, the outlet reported.
He was the head of Watkins Ranch Group, a successful brokerage company that sells multi-million-dollar ranches in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, according to the company’s website.
The affluent rancher was active in the Dallas Safari Club and avidly hunted birds and other wildlife, according to several social media posts where he boasted about his hunts.
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Watkins was raised in Dallas, where he worked on his family’s hunting and cattle ranch, according to his company biography.
His ex-wife, Courtney, and their teenage daughter, Savannah, were also notified of his tragic death.
“This photo is from another time, another chapter of our lives—but it’s one that will always be a part of our daughter’s story,” Courtney wrote alongside an old photo with their daughter that has since been deleted, according to the outlet.
“We’ve been in a state of shock and heartbreak ever since, trying to process not just the loss, but the complexity that comes with it,” she said.
Cape buffalo can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and reach a height of 5.5 feet at the shoulder, according to wildlife experts.
The species is notoriously ill-tempered, especially when wounded, and often moves in herds of up to 500 animals.
