Poacher Eaten By Lion In South Africa

A man who was believed to be a poacher was attacked and eaten by lions in South Africa this weekend, according to South Africa’s News24.

Police originally thought that the man, 46, who was found dead was an employee of the private nature reserve where the man was attacked. But after locating the employee believed to be missing and finding a gun near the body, the police believe the mauled person was a poacher. The identity of the man has not been released.

About 665 lion carcasses are exported from Africa annually. Lions are also known as one of South Africa’s most deadly animals. It is especially a problem in Kruger National Park, where at least 10 people are killed by lions each year.

Hunting lions is not fully banned by South African law, though there are certain restrictions, including not hunting a lion if it was bred in captivity and then released in an enclosed space to be killed, in a controlled environment, with the use of an immobilizing agent or with the use of a gin trap.

The practice of hunting lions for sport was highly criticized in 2015, when a dentist named Walter James Parker killed a lion lovingly known as Cecil in Zimbabwe after luring him out of the Hwange National Park, where Cecil the Lion was legally protected.