Buffalo Rams Australian Man Into Fence, Crushes Windpipe

A buffalo attacked an Australian man in his 50s, with its sharp horns that pinned him into a fence and crushed his windpipe, according to a medical report.

The man from the Australia city of Wagga Wagga survived the incident, which has highlighted once again the dangers of the Australian outback life.

The victim also hypopharyngeal perforation due to the punctured windpipe.

Buffalo attacks have occurred in the past, notably related encounters and incidents that were unprovoked.

In Australia, the case in the medical report outlines the differences in the different types of buffalo species and their nature.

The case of the Wagga Wagga man talks about the rare complication called hypopharyngeal perforation, which affecting the throat.

Australia Buffalo Attack

(Photo : Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

The medical report was published in the British Medical Journal Case Reports, where researchers shed light on the possible pathogenesis of the disease, which is believed to have caused by blunt force trauma.

The case study started with the premise that a male in his 50s arrived by ambulance at a regional Australian hospital after being crushed instead of being gored.

Different parts of the man's body were reportedly crushed, including the abdomen, lower limbs, and torso, according to the study's description of the accident.

The buffalo attack victim was sent to the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, where one of the doctors named Jack Peter Archer cited research suggesting that the condition can be potentially life-threatening, who told Newsweek.

Despite the man's severe condition, the BMJ case reports patient can still recover.

There are still no reports that would suggest the Australian man either provoked or not the wild animal.

Also Read: Study on Foot and Mouth Disease Among African Buffalo Offers Understanding on Pathogens

What is Hypopharyngeal Perforation?

In January 2022, a study published in the Journal of Surgical Case Reports shows that a 75-year-old male suffered from hypopharyngeal perforation, which is more of a respiratory syndrome.

The elderly man complained of him experiencing odynophagia and severe neck pain.

Such accidents are often occur during road traffic accident which affects the person's throat, particularly the paryngoesphl, which are the windpipe and the esophagus.

Related Buffalo Encounters

As a comparison, current windpipe injuries are often linked to road accidents, where most often is the hitting of the neck along the wheel during a road traffic accident.

However, one might take into consideration during a buffalo attack the nature, species, and size of the said wild animal, which are categorized into two species in Australia.

First, there is the river buffalo whose horns can grow but curl backwards.

On the other hand, the horns of the swamp buffalo can grow outwards and become dangerous due to its pointed edge.

In recent years, buffalo encounters have occurred in Australia, according to Newsweek.

In 2017, a charging buffalo sent a 61-year-old tour guide into the hospital after the latter jumped into action as the buffalo was charging another man.

In 2020, a Sydney woman was attacked by a buffalo, causing the victim's leg to be injured.