Farmer killed by water buffaloes he bought one day before at auction
Water buffaloes can weigh up to 1,200 pounds and have pointed horns up to 60 inches long
Two water buffaloes killed an Oklahoma farmer Friday who had purchased them at a livestock auction the previous day, according to local police.
The victim, identified as Bradley McMichael, was found by police and fire personnel with "multiple deep lacerations that proved to be fatal," police said.
"It is believed that while tending to the animals, he became trapped inside their enclosure," according to police. Both of the water buffaloes were put down by responding officers as they attempted to reach McMichael and process the scene.
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A call was placed Friday around 8:35 p.m. that an individual had been attacked on a farm in Jones, OK, located about 20 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, according to CBS News. When they first arrived, officers were unable to reach McMichael "due to the aggressive behavior of the animals," a police news release said.
The first responders put down one of the buffaloes in order to reach him, then put down the second one after it "became increasingly agitated and posed a threat to emergency personnel," the release said.
Water buffaloes — which are found in North and South America, as well as Europe, Africa and Australia — are large bovines that generally weigh between 660 and 1,210 pounds. Their pointed horns are typically in a semicircle shape and can grow to dozens of inches long.
McMichael's family told KFOR that he had purchased the water buffaloes the previous day, and that purchasing livestock was a passion of his.
“The cattle farming, that that’s his thing," said Amy Smith, his ex-wife. "He’s been here his whole life, and he’s done that his whole life. So he’s an experienced cattle handler and a farmer."
“He was at the auction Thursday night and he loved to be there, he was in good spirits. The best mood I’ve seen him in a while,” Jennifer Green, McMichael’s girlfriend, said.
Ryan McMichael, his son, said McMichael had taught him how to farm. “He was my father, and he taught me everything I know, really."
"His farm was his dream," a Facebook page that appeared to be for McMichael's farm wrote.
