Suspected rhino poacher killed by elephant, then eaten by lions

A pride of lions got to the remains of a suspected rhino poacher in South Africa's Kruger National Park before rangers did, leaving behind just his skull and pants.

Officials at the park, South Africa's largest game reserve, said they received a call last week from the man's family, who said he entered the park on Tuesday night with four accomplices. As they set out to find rhinos to poach, an elephant "suddenly" attacked, killing the man, a police official recounted. The other men told his family that they carried his body to a road, before exiting the park.

Rangers set out to find the man's body, but by the time they got to where he was left, "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 park said. Glenn Phillips, managing executive of Kruger National Park, warned others who might follow in this man's footsteps that entering the reserve "illegally and on foot is not wise. It holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that."

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The four accomplices have been arrested and will soon appear in court, NPR reports. Due to poaching and drought, there are only about 5,000 rhinos in Kruger National Park, down from 9,000 in 2014.