SHOCKING footage shows the moment a 2,000lb buffalo flipped a hunter into the air and punctured his leg.
The unsuspecting man was searching for the wounded beast when it attacked him in Eastern Cape, South Africa, as another hunter took daring shots at the horned creature.
Videographer Martin Müller, 43, caught the near-deadly encounter incident on camera as he had been hired to film the hunting trip by an American client.
Dramatic footage shows an unnamed man fleeing from a buffalo before being hurled into the air amid a barrage of bullets.
The buffalo had fled after being hit with an arrow – so the group asked the land manager to bring a firearm to avoid it suffering overnight.
Martin, who owns a production company in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, said: “The client had taken a bow shot.
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“It definitely hit the right spot – the lungs – but it must have deflected off a bone.
“It still hit the lung but it was very shallow and the buffalo ran off.
“It was just myself, the hunter and the client. We followed the blood for four kilometres before calling the land manager.
“We left a 100m buffer zone from the last spot of blood we saw in case the buffalo doubled back and waited for the car.”
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The land manager arrived with the client’s rifle – also bringing two dogs to assist in tracking the wounded buffalo.
He separated from the group but stayed in the safe zone, trying to pick up on the animal’s trail using dogs.
Unexpectedly, the buffalo was less than 20m away and began chasing the lone man toward the rest of the group.
The hunter couldn’t shoot as the land manager was in his line of fire but as the animal flipped the landowner, the client took a risky shot and hit the buffalo.
Martin said: “It must have circled back and come closer than we thought.
“The guys were 20 meters away and they were still in the safe zone.”
He continued: “We spoke to the client and told him that was risky shot but he said he was on the buffalo the whole time.
“In hindsight, you can disapprove but if you look at the angle he was at that man wasn’t even in his line of sight.
“It was still a split-second decision and it could have gone either way.”
The land manager was treated in hospital with only minor injuries.
Martin added: “The pro hunters always have a first aid box. We cleaned the wound off and sent him to hospital.
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“He was happy to be alive when he got back. It might have been a combo of realising how lucky he was and the drugs but he was happy.”
The incident took place in 2021 but Martin only revealed the footage after it was released by the client this month.
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Katie Davis
