At least two rhino poachers have been mauled to death and eaten by lions on a South African game reserve, officials say.

A ranger escorting guests on a safari drive this week at the Sibuya Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape discovered the remains of two, possibly three, people close to a pride of lions.

“We suspect two were killed, possibly three,” Sibuya owner Nick Fox said Friday morning (AEST).

“They strayed into a pride of lions – it’s a big pride so they didn’t have too much time,” he told AFP.

“We’re not sure how many there were – there’s not much left of them.”

An axe and three pairs of shoes and gloves were later found when police and an anti-poaching unit arrived. The lions had been heard making a commotion in the early hours of Monday.

Earlier, Mr Fox said in a statement on the reserve’s Facebook page that the suspected poachers entered the Sibuya Game Reserve on Sunday night or Monday morning.

He said it is not clear exactly how many poachers were killed, suggesting six people could be dead and that police are investigating.

“We thought they must have been rhino poachers but the axe confirmed it,” Mr Fox said.

“They use the rifle to shoot the animal and the axe to remove the horn.

“Clearly, the poachers had walked into a pride of six lions and some, if not all had been killed.”

South Africa is home to more than 80 per cent of the world’s rhinos, whose population has been depleted by poaching for buyers in Vietnam and China where rhino horn is coveted as an ingredient in traditional medicine.

Nine rhinos have been killed by poachers in the East Cape province this year alone, while more than 7000 rhinos were killed in South Africa in the last decade.

-with AAP