Pride Of Lions Eats Rhino Poacher Alive In South Africa

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Poachers have been killing rhinos’ for the supposed qualities of their horns in ever-growing quantities. The Sibuya Game Reserve in South Africa has come up against poachers, primarily due to its many rhinos. But paybacks can be hell as “nature’s karma” showed.

Rangers patrolling the reserve came upon some rhino poachers who had met their well-deserved dues. The park’s rangers discovered what was left of two or three poachers. They had been torn to shreds and become lunch for some of the lions.

The owner of the park Nick Fox said that the lions had left so little of the poachers, that those investigating the remains could not even tell the number of poachers who had been killed, according to The Beauty of Planet Earth:

‘The only body part we found was one skull and one bit of pelvis, everything else was completely gone.’

In southeast Asia and especially in Vietnam, people think wrongly that the rhino horns cure illnesses. But they are made up of a fingernail-like substance. In spite of the danger, rhino hunters continue to illegally hunt the rhinos. They are motivated by the exorbitant payout of $100,000 for just two pounds of the material.

Fox says that the “lions are our watchers and guardians:”

‘The lions are our watchers and guardians and they (the poachers) picked the wrong pride and became a meal.’

International criminal gangs are behind many of the poachers, according to the Save The Rhino organization:

‘Poachers are now being supplied by international criminal gangs with sophisticated equipment to track and kill rhinos. Frequently a tranquilizer gun is used to bring the rhino down, before its horn is hacked off.

‘[Doing so means] leaving the rhino to wake up and bleed to death very painfully and slowly. Poachers are often armed with guns themselves, making them very dangerous for the anti-poaching teams who put their lives on the line to protect rhinos.’

Normally the poachers travel in threes, so that is why Fox guessed that number. The lions also left three pairs of shoes and gloves as evidence of his estimate. The park contains the “Big 5.” That means the larger animals including buffalos, elephants, leopards, and of course, rhinos and lions are all contained in a 30-square-mile area.

The reserve’s anti-poaching dogs barked in the earliest morning hours, indicating that there was a problem on the morning the men were killed. The individual who handles the dogs heard a sound emanating from the lions. But he did not think much of it, since this was typical lion behavior.

The park’s rangers later came upon the rhino hunters’ bodies — at least what was left. At that point, the park’s employees notified the local police of the incident. The poachers left behind typical tools necessary for them to steal rhino horns. These included an ax, wire cutters, and “a high-powered rifle, Beauty of Planet Earth added:

‘A search party using a helicopter couldn’t find any survivors. Police are also trying to determine the exact number of people eaten.’

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Fox continued:

‘(These are) a surefire sign of rhino poachers. We found enough body parts and three pairs of empty shoes which suggest to us that the lions ate at least three of them but it is thick bush and there could be more.’

Now there are only 29,000 rhinos left on the planet with 80 percent of them remaining in South Africa.

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Poachers have continued to hunt the rhino, willing to take their chances. The South African Department of Environmental Affairs said that 1,028 rhinos were killed in South Africa in 2017. That number continued to decline since then.

Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.


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