https://youtu.be/_LzXpE1mjqA

Jimmy Kimmel got choked up last night as he shared his thoughts about the death of Cecil the Lion, reportedly killed by American dentist Walter Palmer on July 6th.

Cecil wasn’t just a lion, he was a star in Hwange National Park – Zimbabwe’s largest game reserve – known for how friendly he was to visitors. He led two prides containing six lionesses and 12 cubs along with another lion, Jericho. He was also part of a research project and had a GPS collar to track his movements.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) said the hunters used bait to lure Cecil outside Hwange National Park during a night hunt. Mr. Palmer is said to have shot Cecil with a bow, injuring him. Cecil got away and it took a professional hunter 40 hours to track him and shoot him dead with a gun; then the 13-year-old lion was beheaded and skinned. The hunters tried to destroy the GPS collar, but failed, according to the ZCTF.

cecil

Zimbabwean police said they are looking for Palmer and have arrested the two Zimbabwean men who accompanied him on the hunt, professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst and farm owner Honest Ndlovu, for not having the required hunting permit.

Meanwhile, Palmer hasn’t been spotted since he was identified as Cecil’s killer but did give a statement to local Minneapolis outlet KARE11 on Tuesday. “In early July, I was in Zimbabwe on a bow hunting trip for big game. I hired several professional guides and they secured all proper permits. To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted. I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt. I have not been contacted by authorities in Zimbabwe or in the U.S. about this situation, but will assist them in any inquiries they may have. Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion.”

This is a photo from outside his dentist office in Miineapolis yesterday:

Even though it is the circle of life, it still feels like a further tragedy that the six cubs of Cecil’s will almost certainly now be killed by the new male lion in the pride in order to encourage the lionesses to mate with him.

PHOTO CREDIT: Brent Stapelkamp
PHOTO CREDIT: Brent Stapelkamp
If you’d like to donate to Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, the wildlife preservation group which studied and kept track of Cecil, please visit http://www.wildcru.org/

https://youtu.be/H4a2htZ2wIQ