The sad fate of Cecil, the lion
He was a proud animal, 13 years old, with a large hunting reserve in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Special feature: his particularly dark mane.
The lion Cecil was a favorite among park keepers, tourists, and researchers from Oxford University, who studied the behavior of lion-men. That's why Cecil also wore a collar with a GPS transmitter.
Interesting from a researcher's point of view, for example, is that Cecil initially hunted alone as an outsider, and then joined forces with the lion male Jericho. Together they were the bosses of a pack of several females.
But now Cecil is dead. The gamekeepers found his carcass and severed head at the entrance to the park. The Zimbabwe Environmental Protection Agency announced that he was shot dead by a US big game hunter. Apparently, he and another hunter have lured the lion out of the national park, where the shooting of animals is prohibited. They tied a dead animal to a jeep and took Cecil out of the safe area.
This video shows Cecil while he was alive.
Allegedly, the big game hunter, a dentist from Minnesota, has paid $ 55,000 for getting the big cat done. He first hurt him with a bow and arrow and then shot him many hours later with a rifle. The Zimbabwean authorities have announced they will sue for illegal hunting.
"I had no idea that the lion was a well-known darling"
In a statement to the Star Tribune, the man expressed regret over the act. "I had no idea that the lion was a well-known, local favorite, wore a collar and was part of a study until the end of the hunt," he quotes. "To the best of my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and was handled and executed properly."
But how credible is that? The hunter had already been sentenced a few years ago for illegal hunting.
Where do I get my license to shoot, skin and decapitate Minnesotan dentists? //t.co/cPH4LccD75 #CecilTheLion pic.twitter.com/1qeYpV7Ouc
? Stephen Mangan (@StephenMangan) July 28, 2015The anger over Cecil's launch is huge. Many animal lovers now wish the hunter himself death. Ever since the Environmental Protection Agency published its name, address and telephone number on the Internet, a real hunt has been going on, in some posts with the hashtag #CecilTheLion users are threatening to shoot the man. Even celebrities like Sharon Osborne condemned the act sharply.
Unfortunately that does not make Cecil alive again.
I hope that #WalterPalmer loses his home, his practice & his money. He has already lost his soul ...
? Sharon Osbourne (@MrsSOsbourne) July 28, 2015What can you do?
The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force is committed to protecting animals in Zimbabwe. It is mainly financed by donations. More info on zctfofficialsite.org.
A petition also calls on Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe to inform and kill Cecil: More info on thepetitionsite.com
