Latest news with #Capebuffalo
Telegraph
09-08-2025
- 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.
New York Times
07-08-2025
- New York Times
Big-Game Hunter, Eying His Next Trophy, Is Killed by Buffalo During Safari
A wealthy big-game hunter from Texas was killed on Sunday when a Cape buffalo that he had been eying for his next trophy attacked him during a safari in South Africa, according to the company that arranged the expedition. The victim, Asher Watkins, 52, a Dallas real estate executive who sold ranches, was pursuing one of the horned buffaloes in Limpopo Province, the northernmost province in South Africa, when the attack happened, Coenraad Vermaak Safaris said in an email on Thursday. A mature Cape buffalo bull can weigh nearly 2,000 pounds, the company's website says, cautioning that it is not unusual for buffaloes to charge hunters without provocation and that 'no species on the planet has a more fearsome reputation.' The aggressive temperament of the Cape buffalo has earned it a nickname: black death. '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, said in a statement. The safari company, which did not provide further details about the deadly encounter, said that it was cooperating fully with the authorities to make sure that it had followed all of the proper procedures. The South African Police Service did not respond on Thursday to a request for comment. Mr. Watkins had a daughter and was divorced. He was a managing partner of Watkins Ranch Group, a land broker specializing in ranches and recreational properties, some listing for more than $20 million, according to his LinkedIn profile and the company's social media accounts. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Times
06-08-2025
- Times
US hunter gored to death by buffalo he was tracking in South Africa
An American big game hunter and millionaire has been killed by the buffalo he was tracking on a hunt in South Africa. Asher Watkins, a 52-year-old from Texas, was fatally hurt in a 'sudden and unprovoked attack' by the 'unwounded' animal at a reserve in Limpopo province on Sunday, according to the professional hunting operation hosting him. A statement by CV Safaris added: '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 Cape buffalo, one of Africa's so-called big five along with the lion, leopard, rhinoceros and elephant, is highly prized by trophy hunters and notorious for its unpredictability, earning the nickname 'black death' for its habit of charging without warning when threatened or wounded. The males can weigh just under a ton and reach speeds of up to 35mph. On its website CV Safaris warns that Cape buffaloes 'are known to charge unprovoked' and that 'no species on the planet has a more fearsome reputation'. Citing some 200 human deaths attributed to the buffalo in Africa each year, it added: 'The buffalo is regarded as the most dangerous animal to pursue in Africa, let alone the world.' Hans Vermaak, of CV Safaris, said the attack had shaken the staff who witnessed it. Watkins's brother, mother and step-father had travelled with him to South Africa and had stayed behind at their luxury lodge when he left for the 50,000-acre Bambisana reserve, where hunters can choose between rifles and bows on hunts priced at the equivalent of about £7,500. • The world's 12 most dangerous animals• Who killed Blondie? Lion 'lured from reserve by trophy hunter' Vermaak added: '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.' Watkins made his fortune in ranching real estate and was a managing partner at Watkins Ranch Group, an affiliate of LIV Sotheby's International Realty. His company biography described him as a man who 'spent the better part of his life in the outdoors'. Images on Watkins's Facebook page are predominantly of him and relatives posing beside the bodies of the animals they had killed, mostly birds, but also an antelope and a mountain lion.
Daily Mirror
06-08-2025
- Daily Mirror
Millioniare big game hunter gored to death in ambush by 200 stone buffalo
Asher Watkins, 52, was pursuing the buffalo on a reserve in South Africa when his quarry suddenly burst out of the bush, hitting him at 35mph and killing him almost immediately A big game hunter has been gored to death by the buffalo he was hunting for a trophy kill in South Africa. Asher Watkins, 52, who made his millions trading ranches in the US, was on a £7,500 organised hunting safari last week with Coenraad Vermaak Safaris - stalking a 200 stone buffalo through the bush. But the hunter became the hunted when the buffalo launched a fatal charge, killing him near instantly at the 50,000-acre Bambisana concession. It comes after an octopus 'climbs out of aquarium tank' and 'tries to eat boy, 6,' in front of his mum. Locals refer to the buffalo found in the region, Cape buffalo, as the "Black Death" thanks to their record of causing around 200 fatalities each year and for killing more game hunters than lions, rhinos or crocodiles. From his social media page, it's clear that Watkins was an avid hunter, and believed it was essential to preserve wildlife. His page shows him holding various trophies he'd collected over the years, including mountain lion and several deer. It's unknown why the buffalo turned on the trackers. It is said to have become aggressive before running the 52-year-old down. Speaking for CV Safaris, Hunter Hans Vermaak, told The Sun: "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." His former partner and teen daughter have been informed of his passing. One of the dad's close friends said: "He spent every spare moment he could with Savannah and shared his life with her. "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." Members of his family - his mum, Gwen, brother Amon, and stepdad Tony - were given the news at the luxury lodge where they had all been staying. He earned his fortune with his company, the Texas-based Watkins Ranch Group, which sells luxury ranches that can cost as much as £30million.
