The farm owner tried to rescue the man by firing shots at the incensed buffalo but he was also attacked, while the photographer ran for dear life.
THE POLICE at Lephalale, in Limpopo, have opened an inquest docket following the death of a man identified as Benjamin de Bruyn after he was apparently gored by an enraged buffalo.
Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mamphaswa Seabi said the incident happened at Oxford Farm in Steenbokpan on Thursday.
“Allegedly, the victim was with the farm owner and a photographer when the buffalo attacked him after he fired shots at the buffalo. Unfortunately, he died instantly,” said Seabi.
“Although the farm owner tried to rescue him by firing some shots at the buffalo, subsequently, the buffalo chased and attacked him as well. He escaped by climbing up a tree, and the photographer also managed to keep a safe distance.”
Seabi said emergency services, including the police, were summoned to the scene and the 50-year-old man was certified dead.
The farm owner was taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
The provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe, has called on community members, farmers and tourists “to be extra cautious when around such animals to avoid loss of lives”.
Police investigations into the incident are still ongoing.
In 2018, a big game hunter in Limpopo was gored to death by a wild buffalo moments after he had killed another member of its herd.
