The Southern white rhino thought to be extinct has been saved through conservation efforts but the Northern white rhino and the Western black weren’t as lucky. The extinction of these magnificent beasts which have roamed the planet probably longer than our species has is really sad to witness. That is why every country is investing more money every day to protect its wild animals from poachers. Poaching isn’t as easy as it might sound though since Karma sometimes plays its part better than human conservation efforts. Here is a look at 10 poaching trips that went horribly wrong for the poachers.
Rhino Poacher Killed By Elephants Then Eaten By Lions
Yes, poaching is a dangerous and unpredictable career and anything can happen in the wild. In 2019, a group of rhino poachers entered South Africa’s Kruger National Park on foot but before they met any rhinos, they were attacked by elephants. Some escaped but one was trampled and killed. Elephants did the killing and left the body which was later eaten by lions and only his skull and a pair of trousers were discovered at the spot. He now left the park officials the hard task of sending the remains to the family and having to console them.
Indian Poacher That Shot Himself
India is another country that has struggled with poachers for years although poachers in India are rarely on the winning side. In 2017, a group of four poachers entered the Thattekad Bird Sanctuary in Kerala at night. They didn’t notice a herd of elephants in their path in the darkness, and when they attacked, the group took off. One was injured in the confusion while the other accidentally shot himself in the thigh. The elephants killed him afterwards while his counterparts escaped with their lives.
Van Zyl
Nile crocodiles are not on the endangered animal’s list but poaching and climate change are pushing them closer and closer to it. Scott Van Zyl was a known big game hunter who even owned a company that did guided tours for people willing to hunt elephants and lions in Africa. For a man that had spent years hunting lions, rhinos and elephants, his trip to Zimbabwe to hunt crocodiles didn’t seem like the most dangerous of his many adventures.
It is not clear whether his trip to hunt Nile crocodiles in the Zambezi was legal, but after separating with his local tracker to find crocodiles along the river, only his dogs returned. His remains were later recovered from three crocodiles that were shot at the place where Mr Scott’s rucksack and rifle were found.
Theunis Botha
Big Game hunting is considered a sport by some, but to the people leading conservation efforts in Africa, it is nothing more than licensed poaching. Many people still pay expensive fees to kill poor elephants just like Theunis Botha and his friend did in 2017. Botha was known for shooting leopards and even had a website that offered “exciting experience,” for tourists that wanted to shoot animals in Southern Africa. While on one such expedition in May of 2017, Botha and his group startled a herd of mating elephants causing one angry elephant to lift him by the trunk. Botha’s friend shot the elephant in a bid to save him, but the dying elephant collapsed on Botha and they both died.
Vladimir Markov
Tigers are one of the largest cats in the world but they are on the brink of extinction with less than 4,000 of them left in the whole world. Poaching is the biggest threat to the existence of the big cats and the likes of Vladimir Markov; a former Siberian tiger poacher, are to blame for the problem. In the winter of 1997, Markov went poaching and shot a tiger in the process. The wounded tiger escaped, so the poacher took part of its kill and helped himself to it not knowing that tigers remember.
The tiger tracked down Markov’s camp and destroyed everything in his tent that had his scent on it. It then waited for him at the camp door for over 12 hours until he returned before attacking and killing him. It then ate his remains completing what has come to be known as the most shocking incident of a tiger’s revenge.
Buffalo Hunter Gored By Another Buffalo
Buffalos are aggressive animals and they don’t look nicely to other animals or people that threaten their species. In most cases, you may think that the danger is over once you kill the animal you are hunting, but not if that animal is a buffalo. Claude Kleynhans, a former cop, was a well-known buffalo hunter in South Africa. He was leading a hunting party in May of 2018 when he killed a buffalo. While loading the carcass onto his truck, another angry herd mate of the dead buffalo charged Mr Kleynhans from the bush and gored his femoral artery killing him almost instantly.
Three Poachers Eaten By Lions In Sibuya Game Reserve
The Sibuya private game reserve in South Africa which is home to many rhinos and elephants was seen as a prime hunting ground by poachers until lions took revenge on one group in 2018. The only trace found of the three poachers were three pairs of shoes with remains of their limbs inside, the wire cutting equipment they carried, rifles and axes they intended to use to chop off rhino tusks. The three never got a chance to escape once a pride of lions cornered them in the night.
Jose Monzalvez
Jose Monzalvez was known globally as a trophy hunter that took lots of pictures next to the carcasses of dead elephants. Monzalvez met the same unfortunate end as his South African counterpart, Botha, in 2018 while shooting elephants in Namibia. Monzalvez was charged by a herd of elephants in Kalkfeld, Namibia where he got trampled while preparing to shoot one of them. It is not clear why he didn’t manage to take the shot before the elephant reached him but he didn’t make it.
Solomon Manjoro
The hardest part of poaching is getting your aim right, if you escape from the park rangers of course. Solomon Manjoro and his friend entered the Charara national Park in Zimbabwe hoping to kill some elephants for trophies. The two inexperienced poachers couldn’t even get their aim of the elephant right though. They injured one elephant which charged them in anger and killed Manjoro while his friend escaped with his life only to be caught by rangers. His accomplice was of some use after all as he helped the authorities retrieve Manjoro’s remains.
The Poacher Eaten By Lions While Escaping From Hippos
Kruger National is a dangerous place to poach but poachers still try. In 2010, a group of three entered the world-famous park to kill rhinos and elephants when they met hippos instead. While running away, one poacher ran straight into a pride of hungry lions which turned him into a feast. Only his skull, clothes and equipment were recovered at the scene after his two accomplices reported him missing to the authorities.
If you ask me these ten people got EXACTLY what they deserved. If you don’t think so do sound odd in the comments below.
