Posted on 08/09/2025 6:16:30 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A Texas real estate magnate and trophy hunter was killed by a Cape buffalo during a hunting expedition in South Africa, according to a safari company, which described the incident as "sudden and unprovoked."
Asher Watkins had been tracking the bull for a kill when the large horned animal staged an attack first.
"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," said Hans Vermaak, leader of the safari company Coenraad Vermaak Safaris (CVS), in a statement.
"The family and our team members who were present at the time are understandably shaken. Out of respect for the family's privacy as well as our staff members involved, we will not be sharing further details," Vermaak also said.
He described Watkins and his family as "long-standing friends and part of the CVS family."
Cape buffalo are considered one of the "most 'wanted' dangerous game animal by trophy hunters across the globe," according to the safari company.
No other animal has "a more fearsome reputation than a cape buffalo!," the safari company said.
"Responsible for several deaths and many injuries to hunters each year, the buffalo is regarded as the most dangerous animal to pursue in Africa, let alone the world," CVS also said.
The nature of Watkins' death – being killed by the same animal he had sought to take down – sparked discussions online among animal rights groups and activists on the ethics of trophy hunting.
"Asher Watkins went on a luxury hunting trip in South Africa when he stalked a Cape buffalo," animal rights group PETA wrote on Instagram. "The terrified buffalo was cornered and retaliated. Animals aren't trophies or wall decorations. Trophy hunting must end!"
A comment under the post that said "cheers to the buffalo" has racked up thousands of likes.
Watkins led the real estate brokerage firm Watkins Ranch Group, where he was responsible for multimillion-dollar properties across Texas, Colorado and Arkansas.
Watkins was a lifelong outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing and hunting, according to his company biography.
Watkins' mother Gwen, daughter Savannah, brother Amon and stepfather Tony are among his surviving relatives, the safari company said.
Peter Capstick found a poachers body in a tree one time. It’s where the poacher landed after the buffalo ambushed him and threw him into a tree with, oddly enough, a hole in his chest the diameter of the wounded animals horn. Capstick and his tracker put the wounded animal down and got the locals to recover the poachers body. The wounded buffalo terrorized the locals till he was killed. The Cape buffalo is not a domestic cow by any stretch.
Yeah, I don’t asshole because I don’t shoot animals, so F’ off.
🐿️
“...sometimes, Senor, the bull - he does not lose.”
The transcontinental railway China is building across Africa is an existential threat to African wildlife, while big game hunting funds most of the conservation efforts.
But you go ahead and grin like a lobotomized loon.
*********
Be outraged and rude on your high horse but some of us don’t see the good in hunting innocent animals for fun or braggung rights. I see hunting as predatory. The big Texas dude should stay in Texas.
Sick forum sometimes
That's u btw
They have to be culled
“...a sudden and unprovoked attack”
Maybe the buffalo didn’t want to be killed and have its head hung on a wall somewhere. That hardly counts as “unprovoked.”
Maybe the buffalo wanted to hang the guys head in the forest somewhere.
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Exactly.
Provocation is a pretty low threshold for capes
They see u period it’s provocation to them
These really bring on the stupids
Thanks for not being one
That takes way too much effort for nimrods gator
Because the poster is more. Lefty than they realize
He could have been praying in the sand
Cape don’t care
Provocation means you’re there within eyesight
No u have someone kill them for u
I don’t think this Cape Buffalo had the genetic traits you describe. According to the article this one was “terrified”.
Well, with that man’s obviously poor firearm skills, would YOU be in front of him?
Thankful his is in the bag!
There are plenty of low IQ, anti-hunter comments.
But there is no one among them who can articulate a logically coherent argument against hunting. This is the evidence of their low IQ.
It’s called hunting. It’s part of a complex system, and it’s what gives you your food.
If there was no hunting, farms would suffer. You would have no vegetables.
Hunting has been around since the beginning. But crybabies who think they don’t like hunting have only been around since Karl Marx told them how to think.
Somehow, I don't think the buffalo was terrified
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