Rhino poacher trampled to death by elephants then eaten by lions at Kruger National Park in South Africa. Amen. Hallelujah! https://t.co/W0YiWzU8S8— Global Awareness 101 (@Mononoke__Hime) April 7, 2019
The Sun, UK
written by Jamie Pyatt
Sunday April 7, 2019
A POACHER hunting rhinos in the Kruger National Park met a gruesome end after being trampled to death by an elephant and then eaten by a pride of hungry lions.
Four other poachers who fled the game reserve in South Africa in terror were picked up by police and explained how a member of their gang had been killed.
They described how an angry elephant surprised them as they stalked endangered rhino and stamped their friend to death giving them a chance to run for safety.
Kruger Park Rangers immediately set out for the area known as Crocodile Bridge and sent up their airwing helicopter in a bid to find the dead man’s remains before it got dark.
KNP ranger Don English led the team out again at first light on Wednesday to recover the body.
But with no luck the police officers in the case re-interviewed the captured poachers to try and get more detail as to where the elephant attacked and killed their friend.
They found what was left of the poacher on Thursday but it appeared he had been eaten by a lion pride.
All that was left to bring back to the camp was the poacher's bloodied head some clothes.
KNP managing executive Glenn Phillips said: “Entering the Kruger illegally and on foot is not wise as it holds very many dangers and this incident is clear evidence of that.
“It was very sad to see the daughters of the deceased man mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains.”
Mr Phillips commended the search party for finding what was left of the poacher to give the family “some closure” and extended the parks’ condolences to his relatives.
The four arrested individuals remained in police custody and will appear in court for poaching soon.
In July last year at least three poachers were eaten by a lion pride at the Sibuya Game Reserve in Eastern Province, South Africa, after they broke into the park to hunt rhino.
Owner Nick Fox said a head and a number of bloodied parts and limbs were recovered along with just a single empty shoe and their high powered hunting rifles and an axe.
He said: “We are of course saddened at any loss of life but these men came to kill our animals and this sends out a powerful message to poachers that you will not always be the winner”.
The Kruger National Park is South Africa’s biggest reserve in the country and covers over 12,000 square miles and is home to the Big Five of rhino, elephant, buffalo, lion and leopard.
A SAPS police spokesman confirmed four men were in custody and they are investigating a fatality.
Only a skull and a pair of trousers remained after a suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and then eaten by lions in Kruger National Park, South African National Parks said https://t.co/KQxoXM1p9c— KTLA (@KTLA) April 7, 2019
KTLA5 News, Los Angeles local
written by CNN staff
Sunday April 7, 2019
Only a skull and a pair of trousers remained after a suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and then eaten by lions in Kruger National Park, South African National Parks said.
The incident happened after the man entered the park with four others to target rhinos, according to a parks service statement released Friday.
His family were notified of his death late Tuesday by his fellow poachers, and a search party led by Kruger’s regional manager, Don English, set out to recover the body. Rangers scoured on foot and police flew over the area, but due to failing light, it could not be found.
The search resumed Thursday morning and, with the help of added field rangers, what was left of his body was discovered.
“Indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants,” the statement said.
Glenn Phillips, the managing executive of Kruger National Park, extended his condolences to the man’s family.
“Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that,” he warned. “It is very sad to see the daughters of the deceased mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains.”
The four individuals who joined the illegal hunt were arrested Wednesday by the South African Police Service, and officers continue to investigate what happened.
The African rhino is targeted for its horn because of the belief among some who practice Eastern medicine that the horn has benefits as an aphrodisiac, making it more valuable than cocaine in parts of the world.
Of special concern is the black rhino, which is considered critically endangered after its population tumbled from about 65,000 to 1970 to 2,400 in 1995, according to Kruger National Park. Conservation efforts have since boosted their numbers, and the world’s remaining 5,000 or so black rhinos live predominantly in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
In 2016, there were between 349 and 465 black rhinos living at Kruger and between 6,600 and 7,800 white rhinos, who also suffer from poaching, South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs said.
Kruger is considered an intensive protection zone, and the government employs a range of resources to deter poaching, including aircraft, dogs, special rangers and an environmental crime investigation unit.
Of the 680 poaching and trafficking arrests made in 2016 by South Africa Police Services, 417 were in and around Kruger, the department said. In September, the department announced that six men — including two syndicate leaders, two police officers and a former police officer — had been arrested for trafficking in rhino horns.
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