In a stunning instance of the animal kingdom taking karma into its own hands – or rather, paws – at least three poachers were mauled to death and then eaten by lions earlier this week after they illegally entered the Sibuya Game Reserve in South Africa to hunt rhinos.
“They strayed into a pride of lions – it’s a big pride so they didn’t have too much time,” Sibuya Game Reserve’s owner, Nick Fox, told AFP Thursday. “We’re not sure how many there were – there’s not much left of them.
He added, however, that the clothing strewn around the scene points to there being at least three. Authorities believe the men entered the game reserve in the early hours of Monday; they were found dismembered the following day, the news agency reports.
In Africa, there are fewer than 25,000 rhinoceros left in the wild due to a boom in demand for their horns, which are sold on the black market in Asia for their supposed medicinal qualities. In fact, in South African parks and game reserves, these majestic, tank-like creatures are under daily assault. A May 2018 “60 Minutes” report revealed that they are being slaughtered at the shocking rate of three a day at the hands of poachers like the group killed in Sibuya.
Via Poachers eaten by lions after sneaking onto South African game reserve to hunt rhino.
For more about rhino rescue, see a report from CBS News.