At least two suspected rhino poachers have been mauled to death and eaten by lions on a South African game reserve, officials say.
Rangers discovered the remains of two, possibly three, people in a lion enclosure in the Sibuya reserve, near the south-east town of Kenton-on-Sea.
A high-powered rifle and an axe were also found.
There has been a rise in poaching in Africa in recent years, to feed growing demand for rhino horn in parts of Asia.
In China, Vietnam and elsewhere, rhino horn is erroneously believed to have medicinal properties, even though it is made from the same material as human fingernails.
Sibuya reserve owner Nick Fox said in a statement on the reserve's Facebook page that the suspected poachers entered the reserve late on Sunday night or early on Monday morning.
"They strayed into a pride of lions - it's a big pride so they didn't have too much time," Mr Fox told AFP news agency.
"We're not sure how many there were - there's not much left of them."
The remains were first spotted at 16:30 local time on Tuesday (14:30 GMT).
An anti-poaching team arrived on the scene, where a hunting rifle with silencer, a long axe and wire-cutters - equipment generally used by rhino poachers - were also found. Several lions had to be tranquilised before the remains could be recovered, Mr Fox added.
Police have been patrolling the area in case any of the suspected poachers survived. Nine rhinos were killed by poachers in Eastern Cape province, where the reserve is located, this year alone. More than 7,000 have been killed in South Africa in the past decade.
Source
Rangers discovered the remains of two, possibly three, people in a lion enclosure in the Sibuya reserve, near the south-east town of Kenton-on-Sea.
A high-powered rifle and an axe were also found.
There has been a rise in poaching in Africa in recent years, to feed growing demand for rhino horn in parts of Asia.
In China, Vietnam and elsewhere, rhino horn is erroneously believed to have medicinal properties, even though it is made from the same material as human fingernails.
Sibuya reserve owner Nick Fox said in a statement on the reserve's Facebook page that the suspected poachers entered the reserve late on Sunday night or early on Monday morning.
"They strayed into a pride of lions - it's a big pride so they didn't have too much time," Mr Fox told AFP news agency.
"We're not sure how many there were - there's not much left of them."
The remains were first spotted at 16:30 local time on Tuesday (14:30 GMT).
An anti-poaching team arrived on the scene, where a hunting rifle with silencer, a long axe and wire-cutters - equipment generally used by rhino poachers - were also found. Several lions had to be tranquilised before the remains could be recovered, Mr Fox added.
Police have been patrolling the area in case any of the suspected poachers survived. Nine rhinos were killed by poachers in Eastern Cape province, where the reserve is located, this year alone. More than 7,000 have been killed in South Africa in the past decade.
Source
good riddance
Mwahaha.Love mother nature ❤💜👍
Divine Judgment
Bon appetit!
Too bad!
kitties got an early breakfast
Good fucken job
no doubt this article wasn't 'lion' (lying) about this. lol
KARMA GREAT GOING THREE FOR THE LIONS
Sometimes, karma throws us a 'bone'
Good news for a change!
Maybe if more poachers get killed ,They wont go after them anymore. Like I believe that.
I love good news. My favorite part was about there being so little left of the poachers that it was hard to know how many there were. That is too good.
jubiiii---nemasis win here :-)))))
Good news. They got what they deserved!
Hope the lions dont get food poisoning!
Thank you Lions for saving yourself. ❤️
There is a God after all!
There need to be stronger international efforts to protect endangered species. What happened here was unfortunate, but we must cut the demand for this.
Justifiable retribution! Once in awhile, fate takes a hand. These people are breaking the law and have no conscience about killing protected species. They think they can get away with it, so, they take their chances. I have no sympathy for their demise at all. They should not have been there.
The merciless bloody slaughter of innocent defenseless animals is one of the main reasons the coronavirus-19 was generated. Nature is very powerful, always on the track of evolution & she always wins. The reprehensible chopping up of exotic animals, chopping up live animals with their blood & guts spewing out is no longer a practice that Mother Nature will tolerate. When some people generate bad karma, we all pay
WELL DONE, PRIDE!
Thou shalt not kill was a law written for man. The Lion was King of Jungle. Lions know the laws of God. He may defend his queen and his family from Man. Man broke the Law.
Kudos for the lions!
I'd say that was poetic justice at its finest.....
good for the lions. keep on eating the poachers and the trophy hunters, none of them deserve to live, they r all murderers
Were two of them Eric and Donhoejr?