A Rhino Poacher Was Killed by an Elephant, Then Eaten by Lions

Poaching involves two risks right off the bat. First, pretty much the entirety of humanity despises you because you go out of your way to deplete the population endangered animals. Second, you're putting yourself at risk of those animals killing you.

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Shutterstock

Poaching involves two big risks right off the bat. First, pretty much the entirety of humanity despises you because you go out of your way to deplete the population endangered animals. Second, you're putting yourself at serious risk of one of those animals killing you. If the ethical component wasn't enough to dissuade people, you'd think the whole death thing would be.

And yet, poachers are still poaching and getting killed while doing it -- for instance, the unlucky man who was recently attempting to hunt rhinos but was instead trampled by an elephant, then eaten by lions.

He and four others illegally entered South Africa's Kruger National Park to hunt on Monday. According to CNN, after the man was trampled, his accomplices carried him to the road, hoping he'd be found, and left the park. Once his family was notified, a search party was sent out, but they weren't able to find him until Thursday.

"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," a statement from the park said.

"Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that," Glenn Phillips, the managing executive of Kruger National Park said. "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."

Three of the four others who were on the hunt were arrested by the South African Police Service.

In case the moral of the story wasn't obvious here: Don't poach.


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James Chrisman is a News Writer at Thrillist. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @james_chrisman2.