Wild animals are being poached on a massive scale, with millions of individual animals of thousands of species worldwide killed or captured from their native habitats.
Illegally taking animals from the wild threatens many species with extinction. South Africa, which is home to about 80 per cent of the world rhino population, has been hit hardest, with much of the poaching concentrated on the Kruger park.
South African rangers have recovered the skull of the man in the vast Kruger sanctuary, which has borne the impact of much of the country’s poaching crisis.
A suspected rhino poacher was trampled to death by an elephant and his body devoured by lions in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, officials said Monday.
According to a park spokesman, rangers were alerted after the victim’s alleged accomplices told his family that he had been crushed to death by an elephant.
The man’s remains were discovered on Thursday after a two-day search involving aircraft and rangers on foot, with the help of the victim’s accomplices.
“Our field rangers looked around the area and made the unfortunate discovery of a skull. That was the only remaining part of the deceased,” Kruger national park spokesman Isaac Phaahla said.
He said a pride of lions was thought to have been in the area and were believed to have devoured the man’s remains. “But the family were grateful that at least they have the bone to go and bury and they know what happened,” Phaahla said.
Four of the man’s accomplices have since been arrested and are expected to appear in court this week. The demand for rhino horn has placed Africa at the epicentre of a global poaching and trafficking crisis.
In 2018, 769 rhinos were poached in South Africa alone, according to the country’s environment ministry. More than 7,100 animals have been killed over the past decade.