Cover image via abc.net.au
A suspected poacher was mauled to death and almost completely eaten by a pride lions in a private reserve in South Africa last Friday, 9 February
Image via Emaze
According to The Independent, the man was heard screaming for his life at the Ingwelala Private Nature Reserve in Hoedspruit, outside Phalaborwa.
However, the lions quickly killed their victim and devoured most of his body before they were scared off with gunshots, leaving his head untouched.
Image via Mirror
Police initially thought the deceased man was a tractor driver who worked at the private game reserve
According to News24, Lieutenant Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said, "It was thought that his tractor broke down and the lions got him as he walked back to the compound."
However, it was later discovered that the man who got mauled was an entirely different individual, as the tractor driver was found alive and well.
After further investigation, police found a hunting rifle in the vicinity of the attack, which led them to believe that the man who was killed might have been a poacher instead
"It seems the victim was poaching in the private game park when he was attacked and killed by lions," Moatshe Ngoepe told AFP.
"The process of identifying the deceased has already commenced and it might be made possible by the fact that his head is amongst the remains that were found at the scene," he added.
The Department of Home Affairs was called upon to help them identify the suspected poacher.
