The man, who was heard screaming as he was attacked by the pride at the Ingwelala Private Nature Reserve in Hoedspruit, was killed quickly and devoured – apart from his head.

A local worker from a nearby nature reserve said: “The head was still there but the lions had eaten most of the rest.

“A scream was heard and the lions were scattered by the sound of gunshots but it was too late to do anything for him. He was eaten.”

There are fewer than 20,000 lions left in the wild in Africa. Their bones are prized in the Far East, where their skeletons can command prices of up to £7,000 and their skins £3,000.

British wildlife photographer, Charlie Lynham, 59, who lives near the reserve said that if the man was indeed a poacher “it would seem very possible that you have poetic justice here”.

He added: “Lions are not a particular danger in daylight but after dark, then that is another matter.

“It is purely speculation on my part but it would seem they either walked into a pride of lions in the darkness or they were stalked and attacked and a man was taken down and eaten.”

He added: “If you go out walking in the bush in the dark then I am afraid you are fair game in the wild and there is no way that anyone can attribute any blame to those lions for this kill.”