A 39-year-old game reserve employee was attacked and killed by a hyena while watching television at a lodge in Mpumalanga, police said on Sunday.

Superintendent Abie Khoabane said the man, identified as John Khoza, was watching television in a room at the Inyathi Sabi Sand Game Reserve near Kruger National Park when the carnivore pounced.

The hyena was apparently invited by the smell of meat that was being cooked in the lodge at about 12:20am on Sunday, Khoabane said.

"Another employee who was in the next room heard the man scream and called security guards for help. The guards scared off the animal by hitting it with a sjambok, but the man was already dead after it bit him on the neck," Khoabane said.
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