Man killed by charging buffalo at Spanish safari park

The 42-year-old man was reportedly carrying out maintainance at Safari Aitana outside Alicante on Wednesday morning.

For as of yet unknown reasons, he was charged, gored and dragged for a few metres by a buffalo, resulting in his death, a local Civil Guard spokesman told The Local.

“All we know is that he was working and then he was charged by a buffalo,” the spokesman said.

He was taken to hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Some Spanish media outlets were reporting that the man had stepped outside of a security zone when the incident occurred, but the Civil Guard told The Local they could not confirm this.

Authorities are still investigating what happened.

The Safari Aitana told The Local that it had no statement to make to the press at this time.

The safari advertises itself online as an “authentic safari by car, just like in Africa” and aims to provide a more natural way to observe animals than in a zoo. The safari also says it works with endangered species organizations.

The attraction houses animals from almost every continent: Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia.

The safari has several different kinds of buffalo: the American buffalo, the African forest buffalo, and the Asian water buffalo. It is not yet clear which kind of buffalo gored the man.