Poaching in this case really didn't pay

South Africa - Kruger National Park

Not supposed to be hunting in there, nor poaching..

A poacher got mauled by an elephant (or two) and then ended up being eaten by lions..

A suspected rhino poacher in South Africa was killed by an elephant before his body was apparently devoured by lions, authorities said. A search team in Kruger National Park was only able to recover a skull and a pair of pants.

South African National Parks said Friday that the victim and four accomplices were trying to poach a rhino Tuesday evening. The accomplices called the victim's family and said he had been killed by an elephant.

An initial search party was unable to locate the body. During a search Thursday morning, authorities found the few remains of the suspected poacher. "Indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains," the park service said.

The South African Police Service said two of his alleged accomplices were arrested with rifles and ammunition in their possession.

ref: http://www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpa...rks-24822.html

In a statement released by SANParks on April 2, 2007 chief executive officer David Mabunda says there will be no hunting in national parks.

http://www.krugerpark.co.za/images/1...n-den-berg.jpg

http://www.krugerpark.co.za/images/1...n-den-berg.jpg

I guess this is what it looks like when karma works FAST

Jeez, the thoughts that raced through his head at that instant. But, desperate and ignorant people fulfill their descriptions.

I despise poachers of any kind, but the fact that the practice continues suggests that there is too much money exchanging hands. When nature does its thing, it is definitely KARMA at its best.
Hoping the animals get as smart or smarter than the people hunting them.

The elephants in Kruger national park, South Africa most definitely don't like humans.. or human's things..

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mOj1Cdwz8O4

this is a vid from safari guides how they are viewing elephant encounters..

a gun shot no doubt could trigger some behavior like squash the poacher into the ground.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=gabqew5znZQ

(above 4 minutes) - these people just don't get it..

and in this one, people on the ground are attacked by an elephant..

https://youtu.be/alNGVMqWrOI

for a poacher to have angered the elephant in the brush most definitely could have gotten him squashed - one's not going to outrun on foot one of these guys..

look at the attitudes of these folk in the videos - most interesting..

15.April 2019 South African polize seize 167 rhino horns
(worth 300 million Rand/21,6 million Dollar)

In February 2019 Hong Kong airport police seized 40 kg (24 rhino horns), 21 horns were seized at Istanbul Airport, Turkey. In April 2019 82,5 kg destined for Malaysia. In January 2019 South African police seized 116 kg (over 30 pieces) before take off to Dubai. In August 2018 authorities discovered 50 pieces in Kuala Lumpur. Just few recent examples.

Since 2006 there have been 583 seizures of rhino horn, involving approx. 5000 kg, equivalent to about 1,770 individual horns. https://eia-international.org/illega...es-rhino-horn/

The former British colony Hong Kong is one of the world’s primary wildlife trafficking transit points.

Rhino horn is used in traditional medicine, as an aphrodisiac and as a status symbol. It is also used as a drug (rhino horn powder mixed with alcohol/water or snorted like cocaine).

Rhino horn is worth more than gold or platin. It is one of the most profitable commodities of the international black markets.

A complete front horn can weigh 6 kg (back horn 2 kg). Price per kg = up to 30.000 - 50.000 $

25.000 animals are left across Africa. Over the past decade 7100 rhinos were killed (769 rhinos in 2018). That makes 2 animals killed daily.

The Poacher‘s Pipeline:
level 1 villagers, poor people who hire the fire arms and kill on the ground
level 2 gang masters who organize and finance the arms and transport
level 3 dealers who organize the export
level 4 importers, dealers in China
level 5 consumers

The Poachers Pipeline l Al Jazeera Investigations (2016)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=JMguWY99q6s

Who ‚owns‘ Hong Kong? Who are the consumers? What are the ultimate benefits of consuming rhino horn? The media coverage implies that traffic/consumation of rhino horn exists only in China/East Asia. What about the West?

Rhinoceros horn trafficking has become a billion dollar business.

The illegal rhino horn trade is used by criminal syndicates to finance all sorts of illegal activity. Human trafficking organizations, drug traffickers, arms traffickers (including Joseph Kony‘s Lord‘s Resistance Army and al-Shabab) are financed in part by the illegal ivory- and rhino horn trade. The illegal wildlife trade destabilizes key governments across Africa. It has become the fourth-largest illegal economy in the world.

Media coverage never gets tired of emphasasing that the entire demand of rhino horn is based on pure, unadulterated bull****. Stressing the stupidity of pretending that rhino horn is a drug or can cure anything. Rhino horn allegedly has zero medicinal or psychoactive effects. People who've been misled are spending $30.000 a pound for something worth no more than cut fingernails or hair. And of course only the Chinese and the Vietnamese are the bad guys. Oh, it’s just the new rich youth of Hanoi using it as party drug. A business of such dimensions isn‘t just limited to certain countries.

People able and willing to spend such amounts of money and being stupid, gullible and misled - that doesn‘t go together well. Who are the buyers? And why Rhino horn? I suppose there are no hints to be found except someone will be able to detect their tracks in the depths of the darknet.