JONES, Okla. (KFOR) An Oklahoma man died Friday after being attacked by two water buffalo he had purchased the day before.
Police in Jones, Oklahoma, first got the call that Bradley McMichael had been attacked by the water buffalo at about 8:30 p.m. Friday night. Police said both animals had to be put down due to their aggressive behavior toward people at the scene.
“We take those animals for granted because they’re docile and they are kind and gentle for the most part, but you need to be worried because every moment you’re in that field, you are in danger because the animal could decide otherwise and there’s not much you can do,” McMichael’s friend Matthew Clary said.
“This wasn’t his first experience handling livestock,” McMichael’s girlfriend Jennifer Green said. “He knew what precautions to take, but livestock are unpredictable and things happen.”
Police originally couldn’t get to McMichael, saying one of the animals was being too aggressive. Officials put the animal down, after which they found McMichael with “multiple deep lacerations that proved to be fatal.”
“It’s part of the risk of being involved with something like that,” Green said.
While on scene, police said the second water buffalo became agitated and threatening, so they had to put it down as well. An investigation found that McMichael had bought the water buffalo at an auction a day earlier.
“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,” Green said.
His family remembers him as a man they called larger than life, and added that he died doing what he loved, which was looking after livestock.
“Everybody knew him. He grew up here. His family been here for a long time. He loved farming. He loved his livestock,” Green said.
