A suspected poacher was mauled to death and eaten by a pack of lions close to South Africa’s Kruger National Park, police said on Monday.
The little remains that were left of the victim’s body were found over the weekend in the bush at a private game park near Hoedspruit in the northern province of Limpopo.
Reports indicate that poaching has been rampant in the area over recent years.
“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,” Limpopo police spokesman Moatshe Ngoepe said.
The police said they suspect the victim was a poacher because they found a loaded hunting rifle near the body.
Efforts to establish the victim’s identity are still on-going.
Last year, several lions were found poisoned near a farm in the same province with their heads and paws sawn off.
It is widely believed that lion body parts are used in traditional medicine.
