A suspected rhino poacher was killed in South Africa’s Kruger National Park by an elephant last week and his body was then eaten by lions, ABC News reported over the weekend.
Park officials recovered the remains of the man, whose identity has not been released. Evidence indicates that lions devoured the body, "leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants," according to officials.
Others who were with the man had told his family that they were in the park to illegally hunt rhinos when he was attacked by an elephant. The family then contacted authorities, who sent out a search party.
Kruger National Park managing executive Glen Phillips said in a statement that "entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that. It is very sad to see the daughters of the diseased mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains."
Three people who were part of the illegal hunt were arrested and appeared in court on charges of possessing firearms and ammunition without a license, conspiracy to poach and trespassing, CNN reported. They were remanded to custody.
Kruger is an intensive protection zone, and the government uses a wide range of resources to combat poaching.
Among some who practice Eastern medicine, the African rhino is considered very valuable, because of the belief that its horn has benefits as an aphrodisiac.
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