Malawi Police said on Thursday that they have discovered the body of a fisherman killed by a crocodile.

The crocodile is the latest example of the human-versus-animal fight for space and resources seen in much of Africa.

Henry Kasinja, 29, was fishing in a river in Nkhotakota district when he was attacked by the reptile, police spokesperson, Ignatius Esau told dpa.

“After efforts by his friends to rescue him proved futile, a search was made and three days later, his body was found floating dead in the same river with the right hand eaten,’’ Esau said.

He said police and medical personnel visited the scene and their post-mortem established that the fisherman died due to suffocation and loss of blood caused by the severe wounds.

In December another man was killed by a crocodile in Malawi, where fishermen and rural people washing their clothes in the rivers risk becoming the victims of animals.