Big cat poacher is mauled to death and devoured by the pack of lions he hunted in South Africa – leaving only his head uneaten
The man's agonising screams for help raised the alarm but the lions quickly killed him and devoured most of his body before being chased off at the private game reserve in South Africa
A SUSPECTED big cat poacher was killed and eaten by a pride of lions he was believed to be hunting at a private game reserve in South Africa.
His agonising screams for help raised the alarm but the lions quickly killed the man and devoured most of his body before being chased off.
The head was left untouched and is the only means available to police of identifying the man who was carrying no documents.
It comes just months after poacher Luteni Muhararukua was charged and killed by a rhino he was hunting for its horn in nearby Namibia.
Police at first thought the dead man was a tractor driver who worked at the game reserve but when he turned up alive they realised the victim may have been a poacher.
A hunting rifle was found close to what was left of the blood-drenched body which police believe belonged to the victim of the lions.
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This is not the first time poachers have been killed while hunting animals.
A few weeks ago in another South African region, Pero Jelenic, 75, was killed by a stray bullet while taking aim at a Lion.
His friend Slavko Pernar told Croatia's Jutarnji List newspaper he was drawn to South Africa after hunting "everything that could be hunted in Europe".
Jelenic was apparely looking to add a lion to his macabre "collection".
Sergey Terekhov, 53, shot himself in the stomach in Russia after one of his hunting dogs excitedly jumped on him - and died en route to hospital.
In November 2017, a hunter died in France’s Compiegne forest after a deer unexpectedly charged towards him, impaling his chest with its antlers.
Animal bones, skeletons and horns sell for a high premium in Far Eastern markets where punters mistakenly believe ivory can cure anything from cancer to hangovers.
In July 2015, Walter Palmer sparked an international outcry shooting dead Cecil the Lion to the anger of NGOs, governments and social media users worldwide.
According to the WWF, in 2011, more than 25 metric tons of Ivory was recovered from illegal traders, which would have come from over 2500 elephants.
The organisation has stressed the harmful effects poaching can have on wildlife populations and rural communities, who often depend on them as a food source.
Even Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is now entering the debate, writing in The Times in December that significant action needs to be taken against the global illicit ivory and poaching trades.
Police in Limpopo have called in the Department of Home Affairs to help them to try to find out who the dead man is.
Police Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said: “The person who who we first thought it was believed to be an employee who was driving a tractor.
“It was thought his tractor broke down and the lions got him as he walked back to the compound, but he was found to be alive.
“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”.
Lions kill up to 250 people a year in Africa. A male weighs 190kg and a female 130kg, and they can run at over 80km an hour.
There are less than 20,000 left in the wild in Africa. Their bones are worth a small fortune in the Far East with a skeleton fetching up to £7,000, the skin £3,000, and teeth fetching £500 each.
Their bones have become highly prized in the the Far East as tiger bones are becoming rarer and rarer with their threat of extinction.
The lions attacked the suspected poacher at the Ingwelala Private Nature Reserve in Hoedspruit outside Phalaborwa.
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The owner of the reserve, who identified himself as Josh, said he was told not to speak to the media because the police investigation was still under way.
A local worker, who works at a nearby nature reserve, described the area as lion territory and added:"The head was still there but the lions had eaten most of the rest.
"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".
Mr Ngoepe confirmed police were investigating the possibility the deceased might have been a poacher after a hunting rifle was found near the scene.
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