LOVE Island quitter Ollie Williams hoped to make a fast buck by flogging an £8,000 stuffed buffalo head on eBay, The Sun can reveal.
It comes as the disgraced reality star claimed he has never shot as a trophy hunter and was a passionate conservationist.
Ollie, 23, missed out on a potential £50,000 prize pot by leaving the show just three days in, after nearly 40,000 people signed a petition to have him kicked out.
He listed the stuffed buffalo mount on eBay after bagging the taxidermy at an auction for just £648.70 and had hoped to make some cash from its sale, The Sun understands.
It was described as "used" by the trophy hunter who offered courier delivery from Egham, Surrey, where Ollie studied criminology at Royal Holloway University. The item was listed as a “Taxidermy Cape Buffalo Shoulder Mount” and had been for sale since August.
A source told The Sun: "Ollie had gone to Holts auctioneers in Norfolk in June and spotted this cape buffalo shoulder mount. He thought it would be an investment and hoped he'd be able to sell it and make a profit but nobody ever bought it."
The cape buffalo, widely known as the African buffalo, is often hunted as part of the 'Big Five' by trophy hunters. There are roughly 900,000 of the animals in the wild and a male can reach heights of 6ft and weigh just under a tonne (997kg).
The shoulder mount was pulled from eBay last night after The Sun contacted his representatives for a comment. The ex Love Islander is also selling a textbook on £20 palaeontology, another book on an introduction to global geophysics for £30 and a glass TV stand at £49.
Ollie has previously used his official Love Island Instagram account to share his delight about gunning down primates. Under a video of an antelope he wrote: “Nothing like a 10 yard baboon though…”.
It comes as the Lanhydrock Estate has been placed under 24-hour guard after animal rights activists targeted the £750,000 plot amid fury over his hunting.
His parents, Andrew and Clare Williams, have hired round-the-clock security to keep the estate safe after animal rights activists left them threats on an answer machine message.
Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed they were investigating alleged threats made to the former Love Island contestant.The Sun has previously revealed photos of the viscount-in-waiting posing next to slaughtered animals in Africa, some of which were endangered.
Photos showed the disgraced Love Islander posing beside a warthog, water buffalo and giant eland to promote his hunting business Cornish Sporting Agency which was taken offline in November 2018 and ran trips to South Africa and Mozambique to kill big game.
The giant eland — a type of antelope — has been listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Last night he insisted he had never shot as a trophy hunter but had volunteered in a conservation and anti-poaching programme and had observed the culling of old or sick animals. Ollie is set to inherit a £15.8million fortune as the heir to the Lanhydrock Estate in Cornwall.
In a statement Ollie said: "Having left the Love Island house I have become aware of the press stories circulating in the UK. I would like to make a number of comments on the various claims and accusations.
"I had no knowledge of the stories until I had left the Love Island villa and all cast members are unaware of any news stories while they are on the programme.
"My reasons for leaving Love Island are as communicated on the show. I did not shoot any of the animals shown in the photographs nor have I ever shot as a trophy hunter.
“I did volunteer to take part in the conservation and anti-poaching programme in Mozambique, a part off which involves old or sick animals being culled. I was there as an observer. The Cornish Sporting Agency was set up in 2017 and has never traded.
"I feel very passionately about conservation and will continue to support sustainable conservation causes around the globe. These benefit the natural world and the animals which live within it, even if certain elements appear controversial when viewed out of context.
"As I am no longer in Love Island, I will comment no further on this issue."
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