Horrific photos show lion killed by poacher's snares in Zimbabwe

Shocking photos of a dead adult lion wrapped in snares by a river in Zimbabwe have emerged.

Photos shared by an animal welfare fund have revealed the torturous devices used by poachers to trap wildlife in African national parks.

The Kariba Animal Welfare Fund Trust released several pictures of a full-grown male lion with cables wrapped around his neck and stomach. The organisation said the animal is believed to have died after the wires tore open its throat.

"This magnificent beast did not stand a chance of survival with not 1 but 2 wires wrapped around him," a post read on the trust's Facebook page.

"He managed to break that off after it had sliced through him leaving his stomach half hanging out. During this time he then had cables wrapped around his neck which finally finished him off.

"The only insignificant small mercy was that he died after feasting on an impala that was also snared," the trust added, sharing a photo of the carcass that the lion ate for its last meal.

The lion was on his own and it is not clear whether he belonged to a pride living in the quarry.

After the animal was found, rangers immediately destroyed the carcass so that "no one could gain from any part of him."

Kariba trust said the Nyanayana river, the area where the lion was discovered, is "notorious for snare laying"and other forms of poaching.

A week before the lion's death, rangers had swept the area and removed a large number of cable snares, according to the trust. Wildlife managers urged people to come forward if they had any information on those responsible for trapping animals in the area.