A big cat poacher has been killed and eaten by the lions he was hunting.
The man was hunting a pride of lions at Ingwelala Private Nature Reserve close to the Kruger National Park in South Africa when he was attacked by the lions, police said.
The lions ate most of the man’s body apart from his head before they were chased off.
Police have so far been unable to identify the man because he was not carrying anything that could identify him.
Initially they thought he was a tractor driver who worked for the game reserve, but they later ruled this out.
Police Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said, according to MailOnline, “The process of identifying this body has already commenced and it might be made easier as his head was amongst the remains found at the scene.”
He also said, according to AFP, “It seems the victim was poaching in the game park when he was attacked and killed by lions. They ate his body, nearly all of it, and just left his head and some remains.”
Someone who works at a nearby reserve was quoted by MailOnline as saying the area is lion territory and adding, “A scream was heard and the lions were scattered by the sound of gunshots but it was too late to do anything for him. He was eaten.”
Poachers target lions because their body parts are used in traditional medicine. In the Far East, a skeleton can fetch up to $9,500, skin up to $4,000, and teeth up to $700 each.
From The Epoch Times
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