Three poachers who broke into a South African game reserve to hunt rhinos found themselves victims to a pride of lions who attacked and ate them.
This come-to-blows occurred on the Sibuya Game Reserve Kenton-on-Sea in Eastern Province, South Africa.
Staff at the park found hunting rifles with silencer, wire cutters and an axe used to cut rhino horns at the bloody scene.
A helicopter was brought in to search for other casualties to no avail as yet.
Owner Nick Fox, 60, said in a press release on Facebook:
We found enough body parts and three pairs of empty shoes which suggest to us that the lions ate at least three of them but it is thick bush and there could be more.
They came heavily armed with hunting rifles and axes which we have recovered and enough food to last them for several days so we suspect they were after all of our rhinos here. But the lions are our watchers and guardians and they picked the wrong pride and became a meal.
Whilst we are saddened at any loss of life the poachers came here to kill our animals and this sends out a very clear message to any other poachers that you will not always be the winner.
The lions may have eaten more of them it is difficult to tell as the area is very thick with bush and you cannot be sure what they have taken off to feed on elsewhere.
The best estimate we have so far is that three of the gang were eaten.
They were armed with high powered rifles with silencers, an axe for the horns, wire cutters and side arms, so were clearly intent on killing rhinos and cutting off their horns.
