Poachers pose a serious threat towards the safety and well being of endangered and rare animals of the wild. The game reserves of South Africa are a regular target for the poachers who hunt for rhinos in order to harvest their horns.

The poachers who entered Sibuya Game Reserve in South Africa had malintent in their minds but they were not ready for what came next. Over the last few years, the Sibuya Game Reserve in South Africa has faced several intrusion by poachers attracted to reserve’s vast diversity of animals.

Now, in what some are seeing as nature’s payback, the group of poachers who entered the reserve to hunt rhinos was devoured by a pride of hungry lions. It has been estimated that about 2-3 people were devoured alive by the beasts and were attacked between the timeline of Sunday night and Monday morning, according to a statement by the reserve. So little of their remains were left, mainly consisting of bloodied and partly-eaten body parts, that the investigators were not even sure how many people were killed.

Nick Fox, the owner of the reserve, reported that one of the reserve’s anti-poaching dogs gave a warning at around 4:30 am on July 2. The dog’s handler had heard a commotion from the lions but ignored it as it was a typical behaviour that time of the morning.
Later on, one of the rangers stumbled upon the remains and on further investigation with the assistance of the authorities, gear was found scattered throughout the bushes, which included a high-powered rifle with a silencer, an axe and wire cutters, “which is a surefire sign of rhino poachers,” Fox informed.

Rhinos are poached regularly for their horns which supposedly have great medicinal value and are sold for as much as $100,000 per kilogram and with horns averaging around 2 to 7 pounds each, a poacher could potentially make up to $300,000 per horn.

Search is ongoing for other survivors, however, chances of finding any look slim. Although the incident was sad, people couldn’t help thinking of it as ‘karma’ or an act of justice. This incident should serve as a warning to other poachers who illegally hunt wild animals. Fox concluded his statement by saying, “The lions are our watchers and guardians and they picked the wrong pride and became a meal”.