This is the shocking moment a buffalo flipped a man into the air and punctured his leg in a near-deadly encounter.

Martin Müller, 43, a videographer, was hired to film a hunting trip in Eastern Cape, South Africa, and captured the incident on camera.

The video shows a man running from a buffalo before being flipped into the air amid a barrage of bullets.

The injured man, whose name was withheld, was assisting the group of hunters when he was attacked by the animal.

The expedition was booked by an American client, also not named, who hired Martin and a professional hunter to assist him.

The incident happened when the buffalo ran away after being hit by an arrow.

The group wanted to avoid leaving the animal suffering overnight so they called the land manager to bring a firearm.

Martin, who owns a production company in Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa, said: "The client had taken a bow shot."

"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."

The land manager arrived with the client’s rifle. He also brought two dogs to assist in tracking the wounded buffalo.

The land manager 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 daring 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."

"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.