Only the skull and a pair of pants of a suspected rhino poacher in South Africa have been recovered by rangers after he was allegedly killed by an elephant in Kruger National Park last week.
The family of the deceased reportedly received a call from the poacher's accomplices who said their relative had been killed by an elephant while they were attempting to poach a rhino, a spokesperson from Kruger National Park said in a statement.
The family of the man contacted rangers, resulting in an aerial and foot search in which the remains were discovered. Authorities said it was likely a group of lions had devoured the majority of the body.
Four more alleged poachers have been arrested after the incident and will appear in court "in due course", the statement said.
Rangers believe a group of lions devoured the remains for the poacher. Source: AAP
“Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that," managing executive of Kruger National Park Glenn Phillips said in a statement.
"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.”
In February last year, lions are believed to have killed and eaten a poacher in the same national park, leaving behind only his "head and some remains".
"It seems the victim was poaching in the game park when he was attacked and killed by lions," local police said at the time.
South Africa is home to nearly 80 per cent of the world's rhinos, according to Save the Rhino group, with more than 1,000 killed each year between 2013 and 2017.
More than half of all poaching in South Africa occurs in Kruger National Park, the group said.
"With so much security effort focused on Kruger, how can more than 400 rhinos continue to be poached," the Save the Rhino website reads.
