THE killing of one of Zimbabwe’s most famous lions, Cecil, has made headlines around the world, including here in South Africa.
I received the news directly from that stalwart Zimbabwean conservation NGO, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, and its equally stalwart chairman, Johnny Rodrigues.
The ZCTF reported recently that one of Zimbabwe’s most famous lions, Cecil, had been shot by a sport hunter just outside the Hwange National Park, Cecil’s home territory. A subsequent report from Johnny last week says that the shooter was an American client and his guide a Zimbabwean professional hunter. This is part of that report:
“On or about July 6, Walter Palmer was taken to Hwange National Park by professional hunter, Theo Bronkhorst. They went hunting at night with a spotlight and they spotted Cecil. They tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil out of the park and they scented an area about half a kilometre from the park.
“Palmer shot Cecil with a bow and arrow but this shot didn’t kill him. They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun. They found that he was fitted with a GPS collar because he was being studied by the Hwange Lion Research, funded by Oxford University, so they tried to destroy the collar but failed because it was found.
“Cecil was skinned and beheaded. We don’t know the whereabouts of the head. Palmer apparently paid US$50 000 (about R625 000) for the kill and we assume Bronkhorst received this money. Cecil, who was known all over the world, would have earned millions of dollars just from sightseeing. There was apparently no quota or licence for a lion to be killed in this area.
“The saddest part of all is that now that Cecil is dead, the next lion in the hierarchy, Jericho will most likely kill all Cecil’s cubs so that he can insert his own bloodline into the females. This is standard procedure for lions.”
The American hunter, a dentist in Minneapolis who already has a felony record in the United States for an illegal hunt, has closed his rooms because of public reaction and he and his family have gone into hiding.
The American government has opened an investigation into the incident and has suggested that Palmer comes out of hiding.
In Zimbabwe, both the government and the Zimbabwean Parks and Wildlife Management Authority have condemned the hunt and have called for Palmer’s extradition to face poaching charges.
Meanwhile, the professional hunter has appeared in court on illegal hunting charges and has been released on bail, his licence suspended, and the owner of the farm on which the hunt took place, Honest Ndlovu, is due to appear in court to face related charges.
Cecil the lion was 13 years old, a rare black maned male. He was internationally renowned and people from all over the world visited Hwange National Park just to get a glimpse of him and hopefully a photograph. He was truly a wildlife celebrity.
Sources: ZCTF, News24.com, SABC-TV3, Natal Mercury, Daily Maverick, London Daily Telegraph, Care2Causes.
