Lions kill 3 poachers who broke into South African nature reserve to slaughter rhinos

In a shocking incident which seemingly upheld the law of the nature, a gang of poachers who had broken into a South African game reserve to hunt rhinos were instead attacked and eaten by a pride of hungry lions.

At least three hunters are believed to have been devoured by the predators, judging by the bloody scene on the Sibuya Game Reserve near Kenton-on-Sea in Eastern Province, South Africa.

One head and a number of bloodied body parts and limbs have been recovered from the area, along with three pairs of empty shoes.

Staff at Sibuya also found high powered hunting rifles with silencers, wire cutters and an axe used by poachers to cut off rhino horns.

A helicopter was called in to search for more possible poachers, but none have so far been found.

Speaking about the incident, owner Nick Fox said, “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.”

He further added that they had come heavily armed with hinting rifles and exes which they recovered and enough food to last them for several days.

He said they suspected the poachers were after the rhinos there.

'But the lions are our watchers and guardians and they picked the wrong pride and became a meal,” he added.

The game reserve is one of the most popular in the Eastern Cape and apart from rhinos and lions, Sibuya's 30 square miles is also is home to the rest of Africa's Big Five: elephant, buffalo and leopard.

In 2016, the reserve lost three rhinos when poachers got into the park and shot them dead and cut off their horns.

However, this time the hunters became the hunted, when they got in the way of the resident lion pride.