Lions Eat Suspected Lion Poacher

Authorities find remains, rifle in South African game park
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 12, 2018 11:44 AM CST
Suspected Lion Poacher Is Killed— by Lions
File photo of a yawning lion at a park in Zimbabwe.   (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)

A man believed to be illegally hunting lions in South Africa ended up being the prey himself. Authorities found the remains of the man in a private game park near the renowned Kruger National Park, and a police spokesman provides the grisly details to AFP: "It seems the victim was poaching in the game park when he was attacked and killed by lions," he says. "They ate his body, nearly all of it, and just left his head and some remains." Police still haven't identified the man, and the hunch that he was a poacher comes from the discovery of a rifle near the remains, reports the Sowetan.

The game park is in Limpopo province, where poaching has been on the increase in recent years. Body parts from lions and other big-game animals are in demand for use in traditional medicine in both Africa and Asia, reports the BBC. Last year, for example, multiple lions were found near a farm in Limpopo with their heads and paws cut off. (A rhino hunter in Namibia also learned the hard way about the dangers of his trade.)

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