A South African anti-poaching champion was gored to death by a 2,900 pound rhinoceros after caring for the animal during a morning patrol.

Schoeman van Jaarsveld was surveying the Samara Karoo Reserve, located in the heart of South Africa’s Great Karoo region, when a double horned rhino burst out of cover and fatally impaled him, The US Sun reported. 

The tragic, freak accident took place on Thursday around 10:30 a.m. local time.

By the time emergency crews rushed to the scene, van Jaarsveld, 58, had already died from his injuries.

The 58-year-old conservationist was an anti-poaching champion and ran his own armed private security firm, Milk River Security, that protects rhinos from hunters, according to The Sun.

Van Jaarsveld and his team were on a mission to protect rare white and black rhinos from lethal poaching gangs who were known to be in the area.

Poaching gangs have killed 352 rhinos last year alone for their horns, which are more valuable than cocaine or gold, according to the Daily Mail. 

At the time of the fatal incident, the patrol team was tracking a black rhino through a GPS device strapped to its ankle to check up and care for the large mammal.

The killer rhino retreated into the 68,000 acre reserve after being scared off by members of van Jaarsveld’s patrol team. 

Tributes have flowed for the conservationist who was hailed as a “very good man” and a “dedicated professional.”

Van Jaarsveld trained 27-year-old field ranger, Arno Potgeiter, who said the anti-poaching champ “was very good at his job” and was told “he was out trying to track down a black rhino” at the time of his death.

“Something went very wrong and they came face to face and my friend was badly gored,” he said.

No shots were fired at the time of the incident and the rhino was not hurt, he said.

“Schoeman was a very good man,” Potgeiter said.

Another friend — who has not been identified — mourned van Jaarsveld as a “dedicated professional” who was “very tough and bush-wise,” and spent his life in nature “looking for the bad guys.”

“The attack was just explosive and Schoeman took the rhino’s horn,” the friend said. “The injury was basically untreatable without immediate medical help which was not available.”

Van Jaarsveld’s “loss has been deeply felt among the anti-poaching community and it is even more tragic that his life was taken by the very animal he was trying to keep safe,” the friend added.

A spokesperson for Samara Karoo Reserve, where the freak accident took place, said that van Jaarsveld was responsible for major, invaluable work protecting wildlife in the area — in particular rhinos.

“He will be sadly missed and we extend our deepest condolences to his family and team,” the spokesperson said, and praised his “highly professional” anti-poaching team.

“Schoeman was dedicated to conservation work and he and his team from Milk River Security are responsible for invaluable work protecting our wildlife and rhinos,” the spokesman added.

A member of the security team was left with minor injuries from the attack and an investigation is underway to determine what happened, the Reserve said.

“Our thoughts are with Schoeman’s family and friends and as a mark of respect we will be helping with the funeral following the tragic loss of a member of the Samara team.”

Van Jaarveld was known to carry out day and night patrols at the Samara Karoo Reserve and at surrounding game reserves to protect endeared wildlife from poachers.

The Reserve said they will continue his legacy in protecting South Africa’s most endangered, sought-after animals.

“He will be sadly missed but his work to protect our rhinos and wildlife continues,” the statement said.