Latest news with #AsherWatkins
IOL News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Wildlife woes: the hilarious and harrowing tales of hunters and selfie lovers
American millionaire Asher Watkins poses wth one of his kills before the tables turned on him and he was gored to death by a Cape buffalo during a hunting trip. Image: Asher Watkins/Facebook Big game hunters and selfie hunters may appear to be on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to stepping out into the wilds for that perfect shot, but are they really? For the former, the perfect shot is all about stealthily tracking and taking down a wild animal with a precise squeeze on the trigger. It's what they live for. For the latter, it means disobeying park regulations and the screams of frantic folk around you, and walking straight up to the enormous beast, turning your back on it, and pouting for the perfect selfie. It's what they live for. But they're worlds apart, I hear you say, one comes with murder on his or her mind, while the other comes cloaked in peace and love, simply wanting to shoot some awesome pictures to share with their friends and followers on social media. However, the similarity between these two shooters only really comes into sharp focus when both the game hunter and the selfie hunter become the hunted and end up dead, covered in blood and dust. Stalking death That became the fate of Asher Watkins, a millionaire ranch broker from Texas in the US, who was impaled and gored to death by a Cape buffalo during a hunting safari in Limpopo last Sunday. The buffalo charged the skilled marksman at close range after it broke its cover, leaving no time to open fire. Watkins died a short while later, becoming yet another statistic of the most ferocious animal in Africa, culling an average of 200 humans in Southern Africa each year. And in case you're wondering what happened to the buffalo - known as Black Death - it was shot dead seconds later by another person in the hunting party. "Newsweek" quoted Coenraad Vermaak Safaris, the company that organised the trip, as saying it was with "deep sadness" that it learned of Watkins' demise after the "sudden and unprovoked attack" by the buffalo. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Cape Buffalo are among the most aggressive creatures on the African continent, as game hunter Asher Watkins tragically found out. Image: Pexels The incident has sparked a global discussion on the ethics of hunting and the questionable yet pricey add-on - having the animal's head stuffed and mounted as a trophy to hang on a wall back home. Watkins joins a long list of hunters who've met their untimely deaths when the tables have been turned on them across the African plains. Elephants, lions, rhinos and other large game have all had a turn in this regard. Sometimes it's not even the tourists' fault when wild animals encroach on their "safe space" in the game vehicle, as happened recently to a group of enthralled visitors. Herd mentality But what about the wildlife-stalking slow-thinkers, the death-wish squad or Darwin Award winners who've left this earthly existence, simply by abandoning common sense so they can get some cool pics? Look at this idiot in Yellowstone National Park being tossed about on the horns of a bison after he and others decided to shrug off signposts advising people not to approach the beasts. Well, sure enough, he got properly gored and needed to be hospitalised. And before anyone says I am picking on Americans, take a look at this video featuring a South African, who, let's be honest, should have known better. I have watched it more than once, and I must confess that it often makes me laugh, even though I have no idea whether the poor man was badly injured as a result of the charge by the warthog. "Hello, boy! I wonder if we can pat him? Aargh! Help me, Help!" Then there is the guy who shared on Instagram how he climbed a tree to escape a bear, but it yanked him down, so he tried to play dead, as suggested by experts. "It's almost impossible to pretend to be dead ... when something is chewing your face. "I really did. Curled up, tried to stay still like the textbooks say, hoping the bear would ignore me. But tell me, how can you play dead while something sinks its teeth into your face?" The man managed to survive by poking his fingers in the bear's nostrils and eyes, and pulling hard on its ears, but now has scars for life, both physical and emotional. How to survive an animal attack The internet is full of fun facts on what to do and what not to do when you get attacked by wild animals, but the circumstances and species of animal involved in each case create variables that make it impossible and dangerous to provide responsible tips here. It's best to do some research, listen to your game guide and read and obey the warning signposts that are there for your protection. But it is safe to say that one of the best ways to avoid being attacked by wild animals is to not stalk them, whether for a selfie or a stuffed trophy.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Big game hunters are not pantomime villains
When it comes to social derision, big game hunters are right up there with paedophiles and traffic wardens. There are few things that have the potential to ruin one's life quite as effectively as a picture of you, rifle in hand, standing next to a dead elephant. Those who can afford to go to Africa to hunt 'big game' now tend to agree that the first rule of trophy hunting is no photos. It was not surprising when the death, last week, of Asher Watkins, a big game hunter from Texas, was cheered on social media by those who would self-identify as progressive and kind. Mr Watkins, a Texas rancher was gored to death by a Cape buffalo while hunting in South Africa. Over on the socials, thoughtful animal lovers have weighed with hopes that it 'was slow and agonising'; somebody identifying as 'a dad' and a Mancunian football lover notes cheerily that there's now 'one less piece of sh-- on the planet.' It's worth thinking about the impact of these big game hunters. To be clear, big game hunting is not poaching – it is immensely expensive, it tends to be very well organised, and annoyingly for those who condemn, it is a vital contributor to the conservation of some of the world's most impressive species. It might seem paradoxical but where big game hunting is managed well, the local community sees species such as elephants as having value. People will pay a lot to hunt them, in order for them to prosper, the habitat needs to be maintained. Where they aren't seen as having value, they are often just felt to be crop-destroying pests. There's no getting away from it, where big game hunting flourishes, animal populations flourish too. In Zimbabwe for instance, just this summer, they had to cull elephants because the population has become too large – the reason they are doing so well is because of people like Mr Watkins. Its important to note that big game hunters target old bulls which often actually prevent younger animals from breeding – for the herd to thrive, the old buffalos must go. 'The dugga boys', the Zulus used to call them. Botswana's elephant population is some 130,000 and a decision was taken, after consultation with local people whose farms were being destroyed, to lift the ban on hunting, which meant a sustainable number to be shot. Absurdly, this was met with opposition from that brilliant naturalist Joanna Lumley who lobbied the-then president to keep the ban in place. Alright for Joanna, who has precisely no farming interests in the country and plenty of money. Over the border in Namibia, hunting brings the 82 community-owned game conservancies an average of £5.5 million a year and the hunting sector has created 15,000 jobs. Rather than poaching animals, locals take paying hunters out to track them through the bush. The conservation argument and the economic one are frankly irrefutable – in a sense the more interesting thing about it all is the way that people like Lumley appear to feel that they should be able to dictate the way that Africans live their lives. It's a sort of neo-colonial outlook that privileges western feelings above all else. Sure the trackers might be out of a job, sure the elephant population might plummet, but Lumley will be able to say she's won. A London lawyer who makes trips to Africa to hunt big game when he can afford it told me that the difference between land managed for hunting and land where there is no managed hunting 'is night and day'. The wildlife in the former thrives whereas in the latter it can be dead. 'How many species', he put it to me (having returned recently from a buffalo hunt), 'benefit from that post-breeding age buffalo being shot'. But the thing he really wanted me to understand is that after he'd shot his 'buff', everyone from the village came to get the meat. They even smoked the hooves together. What hunting gives him is an understanding of a culture and a community that going on holiday simply can't. He didn't want to put his name to his words because it would possibly ruin his career.
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
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.
Buzz Feed
4 days ago
- Buzz Feed
Texas Millionaire Rancher Fatally Gored By Buffalo During South African Hunting Safari
A millionaire Texas rancher and big-game hunter was killed after a Cape buffalo he was tracking attacked him during a hunting trip in South Africa, according to multiple reports Asher Watkins, 52, was on a guided safari hosted by Coenraad Vermaak Safaris in South Africa's Limpopo Province on Aug. 3 when the animal fatally gored him, the safari company said Thursday in a statement obtained by multiple outlets. Hans Vermaak, the head of Coenraad Vermaak Safaris, confirmed Watkins' death on behalf of the company in the statement. 'It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts we confirm the tragic death of our client and friend Asher Watkins from the USA,' Vermaak said. Vermaak called the deadly attack by the unwounded buffalo 'sudden and unprovoked.' The buffalo reportedly weighed 1.3-ton. '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,' Vermaak continued. '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.' Vermaak noted that 'the family and our team members who were present at the time are understandably shaken' by the 'deeply traumatic incident.' The Cape buffalo is considered 'the most dangerous animal to pursue in Africa, let alone the world,' and the animal causes 'several deaths and many injuries to hunters each year,' according to the safari company's website. The website also noted that Cape buffalos are 'known to charge unprovoked.' Watkins founded and managed the Watkins Ranch Group, a Dallas-based firm trading that specializes in luxury ranch properties across Texas and other states. South African authorities are investigating Watkins' death.
CNN
4 days ago
- CNN
US man killed by buffalo he was tracking during South Africa hunting trip
A hunter from the United States has been killed by a buffalo he was tracking during an expedition in South Africa, organizers said this week. Asher Watkins, from Texas, was killed on Sunday 'while on a hunting safari with us in South Africa's Limpopo Province,' Coenraad Vermaak Safaris (CVS), the safari company that organized the trip, said in a statement sent to CNN. Hans Vermaak, who leads CVS, which says on its website that it's the longest-running hunting safari company in South Africa, said Watkins '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.' Vermaak did not say whether the animal was later killed. Safari-style hunting is common in Southern Africa and involves driving around hunting areas in an open-top safari truck in search of game. When the target animal is spotted, hunters trail them on foot before taking a shot. CVS team member Sarah Vermaak told CNN in an email that the group 'does not intend to share any specific details regarding the tragic event (involving Watkins) publicly… out of respect for the family's privacy and in recognition of the sensitive and traumatic nature of the situation.' The Custodians of Professional Hunting and Conservation (CPHC), an association representing South Africa's hunting industry, said in a statement sent to CNN that 'the circumstances surrounding the incident are (being) reviewed.' Buffalos, which can weigh up to nearly 2,000 pounds, are regarded as the most dangerous animals to trail in Africa, according to CVS. In 2018, a big game hunter was similarly killed by a buffalo in the province, according to local reports. Another man in the area was reported to have been attacked and killed by a buffalo after he fired shots at it. South African authorities have faced criticism and even legal action from wildlife groups who condemn trophy hunting. 'This didn't have to happen. Trophy hunting is a cruel pastime that turns sentient beings into targets, all for a grotesque photo,' animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said in a Facebook post. Another group, called We Will Not Be Silenced about Hunters, posted on social media: '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.'
