Forensic scientists have their work cut out to identify the remains of alleged rhino poachers devoured by a pride of six lions at an Eastern Cape game reserve this week.
Police recovered the remains — estimated to be those of three men — from Sibuya Game Reserve near Kenton-on-Sea on Wednesday. Owner Nick Fox said the remains were discovered on Tuesday by a game guide who saw a human skull.
Fox said the reserve was under siege from sophisticated poachers who had wiped out his breeding herd of rhinos in 2016. Syndicates were targeting private reserves in the Eastern Cape because Kruger National Park was no longer a soft target.
He ruled out the possibility that the suspects were locals, suggesting "they are either from up north or Mozambique".
After the game guide raised the alarm, Fox and his antipoaching unit went to the scene and found a large-calibre rifle with a silencer lying in the bush, side cutters and a backpack full of food.
"We realised that the lions had eaten someone and called the police, but it was getting dark and unsafe. We decided to meet again in the morning and got a vet in to dart the entire pride to give us a 90-minute window period so that we could search the area," said Fox.
Fox said his unit also found an axe, which would probably have been used to chop off rhino horns.
"I am sure there were two or three people. Traditionally a poaching gang is three people - one with the axe and one with the rifle and the other one carries the supplies and the horns," he said.
"We found three pairs of shoes and gloves. Whether others escaped, we don't know. We are still searching the reserve. We had helicopters in and tracker dogs."
The antipoaching unit is on high alert.
Fox said the game reserve remained open for business. His response to questions about the future of the lions suggested he intended to keep the pride.
Provincial police spokeswoman Captain Mali Govender said police had opened an inquest docket.
"Investigators and specialists combed the scene and managed to retrieve remains which were taken by the Department of Health to conduct forensic testing," she said.
"Investigation continues and at this stage we are unable to speculate as to how the remains ended up at the scene."
lThree men - Jabulani Ndlovu, Forget Ndlovu and Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu - will appear in the High Court in Grahamstown on July 16 on more than 50 charges related to rhino poaching in the Eastern Cape. They are accused of poaching and illegally harvesting the horns of 13 rhino over five years.
Among the charges is unlawful possession of the tranquilliser opioid agents M99 and thiafentanil as well as illegal possession of ammunition...