Poachers Killed By The Animals They Were Hunting: A List Of Gruesome Stories And Irony


(Claude Kleynhans/Instagram)

It never feels good to celebrate the death of another human, but when a poacher is killed by an animal they're hunting, the irony is almost irresistible. It's hard not to cheer on nature when it fights back against its oppressors, especially given how poaching, specifically big game hunting, is destroying the ecosystem.

Claude Kleynhans

Claude Kleynhans was a South African trophy hunter who spent years poaching animals across the continent. His company, Guwela Safaris, offered customers a menu of animals to kill and bragged that each trip guaranteed a "100% success" rate.

That success ended during a buffalo hunt in 2018. On May 22, Kleynhans shot and killed an African buffalo in the northern Limpopo Province of South Africa, but as he and his hunting party celebrated while loading the carcass into their vehicle, they were attacked by another buffalo from the same herd. The animal charged Kleynhans and gored him in the groin, severing his femoral artery and instantly killing him. His sister-in-law told a local news outlet, "He loved what he did. He died doing what he loved."