A toddler has been mauled to death by a leopard in South Africa's Kruger National Park.
Two-year-old Courtney Ntimane was in the garden of a fenced-off compound where he lived within the park whilst he and his family were enjoying a barbecue.
It is thought that the smell of the cooking meat on the barbecue attracted the big cat before it attacked the young boy.
The Mirror reports that father, Isaiah heard his young son scream and ran from the house to see him in the jaws of the huge predator.
He believes that the leopard climbed a tree near to the fence around his house before jumping in under the cover of darkness.
Mr Ntimane told local newspaper The Star that his son doesn't ordinarily live with him, but was visiting him at his work living quarters for a barbecue.
The 35-year-old said: "I was walking to my cottage and Courtney followed me. I didn't notice that he was behind me because I had left him there playing with his mother's phone.
"Just when I got to my cottage and closing the door behind me, I heard screams coming from outside and I rushed back out to see what the commotion was all about."
Mr Ntimane ran back outside but the cat already had his son in its jaws and was trying to drag him back over the fence to eat him outside the compound.
The leopard dropped Courtney and his dad managed to rush him to hospital but it was too late. He was declared dead on arrival at Shongwe Hospital.
Mr Ntimane continued: "It is hard for me and my wife and I cannot even leave my cottage to go to work because when I walk out I get flashbacks of what happened.
"The memory of it is all too painful."
A spokesperson for Kruger National Park said that park rangers were forced to track the leopard down and kill it before it killed again.
Ike Phaahla said: "On hearing of the incident two of our rangers went out to search for the animal and it was shot dead to remove the danger of another falling victim.
"There is interaction between animals and visitors to the KNP and this may result in species like a leopard getting habituated to people and losing their fear of them.
"The change in natural behaviour can then lead to unfortunate incidents such as this."
Fundisile Mketeni, CEO of South African National Parks, also sent his condolences to the family.
He said: "It is an unfortunate risk that our staff experience when they live and work in environments like the KNP with animals but these events are very rare but always tragic when they occur.
"This is the risk that we live with on a daily basis as we help to conserve our many animal species for the benefit of all.
"May the young toddler's soul rest in eternal peace."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: World News, Animals