(CNN) Suspected poachers sneaked onto a South African game reserve to hunt rhinos, but a pride of lions found them instead.

A guide at the Sibuya Game Reserve spotted what appeared to be human remains on Tuesday near the group of lions, according to reserve owner Nick Fox. It was getting too dark to search the area, so police came back the next day with the reserve's anti-poaching unit and other specialists.

The remains were strewn over an area covered with thick brush and Fox said it was impossible to know how many people were killed.

Investigators did find three pairs of boots and three pairs of gloves.

They also found a high-powered rifle with a silencer, wire cutters and an ax that Fox said would have been used to remove a slain rhino's horns.

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