Can we blame this lion for eating a poacher?

Poaching in South Africa is a huge problem.  Elephants are being wiped out, the rhinoceros is near extinction and now lions are being targeted.  Poaching methods are cruel.  Some poachers use guns, some use poison and some use knives.  Lions have been found bleeding to death with their paws cut off.  

It’s a terrible thought and a terrible way to die.

But the lions are fighting back though, and who can blame them.  Recently Kruger National Park game wardens found the remains of a poacher, and he had been eaten by the lion.  The lion in fact, left just his head.  It was a bit of a grizzly find for the authorities who then had to try and identify the poacher, although we are not sure how this would be possible. 

Lions are hunted in South Africa for their skins and to be used as trophies.  Lions are also poached for their bones and other body parts, which are used in parts of  Asia for various ‘medicinal’ properties.  It is a terrible death for the lion, and a terrible loss for South Africa too.  And remember, there are no medicinal properties in a lion.  It’s a terrible myth.

If you are on a safari, enjoy the animals though your own eyes.  Take photographs of them and enjoy the experience.  But if you are after lions for other awful reasons, South African officials are telling you to stay away.  One lion has eaten a poacher and possibly developed a taste for men with guns.  Stay away and be careful because although the poacher has not been identified, neither has the lion. 

Lion poaching is on the increase but South Africa are doing whatever they can to stop not just lion poaching, but all kinds of poaching. They have one message for poachers - You are not welcome.  Stay Away.