Killer of Cecil the lion was dentist from Minnesota, claim Zimbabwe officials

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Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force alleges trophy hunter shot one of Africa’s most famous lions near Hwange national park

Conservationists in Zimbabwe have accused an American man of being the alleged killer of Cecil, one of Africa’s most famous lions and the star attraction at the Hwange national park.

On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the man thought to have paid $50,000 (£32,000) for the chance to kill Cecil was not a Spaniard as originally believed, but US citizen Walter Palmer, from a small town near Minneapolis. The man left the lion skinned and headless on the outskirts of the park, the ZCTF’s Johnny Rodrigues said in a statement.

The hunt took place around 6 July. “They went hunting at night with a spotlight and they spotted Cecil,” Rodrigues said. “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.”



The hunter first shot at Cecil with a bow and arrow but failed to kill the lion. “They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun,” Rodrigues said.

A spokesman for Palmer told the Guardian that the hunter was “obviously quite upset over everything”.

“As far as I understand, Walter believes that he might have shot that lion that has been referred to as Cecil,” the spokesman said. “What he’ll tell you is that he had the proper legal permits and he had hired several professional guides, so he’s not denying that he may be the person who shot this lion. He is a big-game hunter; he hunts the world over.”

On Tuesday, Palmer - a dentist and married father of two - became a target as the Facebook page of his dental clinic was flooded with angry comments and threats. An online petition demanding justice for Cecil had gathered more than 12,000 signatures.

Palmer’s love of hunting is well-documented online. In 2009, he was interviewed by the New York Times about his slaying of an elk that was touted as a kill for the archery record books.

Noting that Palmer had learned to shoot at age five and was “capable of skewering a playing card from 100 yards with his compound bow,” the article said Palmer had paid $45,000 at auction to take part in the hunt, with the proceeds being used to help fund the elk habitat. As the hunting season began, Palmer was on probation for lying to authorities over the exact location where he had killed a black bear in northern Wisconsin in 2006.

A 2008 Flickr photo album by Trophy Hunt America and Porcupine Creek Outfitters, a company that leads hunting expeditions, shows Walter Palmer posing next to a variety of slain animals, including a wood bison and a lion. In another online photo Palmer and his bow and arrow sit next to a slain rhino, the caption stating that the photo was taken in South Africa.

The same company advertises trips to Africa, under the name Safari Connection. Photographs to advertise the company’s services show hunters posed next to elephants. Other expeditions show hunters posed next to polar bears amid snowy backdrops.

Two people who accompanied the hunter on his Zimbabwe trip were identified by authorities and arrested earlier this month, including Theo Bronkhorst, the founder of Bushman Safaris Zimbabwe which is believed to have organised the hunt. Both are facing poaching charges and due to appear in court in early August.

Zimbabwe National Parks confirmed the charges. “In this case, both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt,” it said in a statement. Bronkhorst’s hunting license has been suspended and efforts were being made to interview another employee of Bushman Safaris who was believed to have also taken part in the hunt.

The 13-year-old lion was wearing a GPS collar as part of an Oxford University research project that had been running since 1999, making it possible to trace his last movements. Rodrigues said the hunters tried to destroy the collar, but failed.


Walt Palmer and a Nevada California Bighorn.

The death of Cecil comes as Zimbabwe, like many countries in Africa, attempts to crack down on illegal hunting and poaching, said Rodrigues. “This has been going on too long. Cecil is the 23 or 24th lion that has been collared and then killed in Hwange. We have to try and stop it.”

Initially his organisation had said the whereabouts of Cecil’s head was unknown, sparking concerns that it would be sent abroad as a trophy. The fear brought conservationists and politicians together this week to call on the European Union to ban the import of lion heads, paws and skins as hunters’ trophies from African countries that cannot prove their lion populations are sustainable.

On Tuesday, Rodrigues said the head of the lion had been located in Zimbabwe and had been impounded to be used as evidence in the investigation.

The ZCTF said on Tuesday that it continued to mourn Cecil. Rodrigues pointed out that the hunter was believed to have paid just $50,000 to kill a creature that would have brought millions of dollars worth of tourism to the reserve.

Conservation authorities said they were also dealing with the likely consequences of Cecil’s death for his six cubs. “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.”

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/28/killer-of-cecil-the-lion-was-american-zimbabwe-officials-claim

Bastard shot him with a crossbow and the poor thing had it in him for nearly 2 days.  I'd hold Mr Dentist down and use his bloody drill on him without anaesthetic.   His dick must be the size of a pinhead.

Now he is being hunted by the authorities, I hope they track him down and throw his sorry arse in jail.

veya_victaous wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:Walter is probably sitting there in hiding asking why he's getting so much flak for this when others do it too. Well that's because he's become a symbol, along with Cecil. He's the fall-guy to an extent, and he deserves to be.

I would say to all the others who indulge in this kind of thing - you have been warned that many people do not approve, and if you continue, and if you sit there posing and smiling with an animal you killed, with your teeth gleaming in the sun, you will be judged. No amount of excuses about it being legal will make a difference.

If they insist on continuing, they should think twice before boasting and gloating about it on the internet.

+100000000000000

are they your own words?

Thank you Veya! Yes, they are my own words.

I think that is one of the best composed pieces that represent the way i feel.... without getting close to death threats  which is what is pretty much the way it turns out when I try and write it

veya_victaous wrote:I think that is one of the best composed pieces that represent the way i feel.... without getting close to death threats  which is what is pretty much the way it turns out when it try and write it

I know what you mean.

Thanks.

sassy wrote:

Nems wrote:Am I dreaming or were we on a forum where some bloke posted loads of pics of his daughter and the animals she had killed??

I believe it was ADO and the bloke was a Texan.

It was, you are right. He disappeared, wonder if she shot him too?!

He is now wanted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Zimbabwe wants to extradite him for poaching.

But, he has disappeared and his dental practice in Minnesota is closed.

Well I hope it was worth all those thousands of pounds he paid to maim and kill Cecil - or any other wild animal.

Original Quill wrote:He is now wanted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Zimbabwe wants to extradite him for poaching.

But, he has disappeared and his dental practice in Minnesota is closed.

Im sure American Law enforcement will be able to track and arrest him tout suite

Saw this and had to post it!

Raggamuffin wrote:

veya_victaous wrote:


+100000000000000

are they your own words?

Thank you Veya! Yes, they are my own words.

I second that. Pleased we agree on this @Raggamuffin.

Thrilled about this filthy murderous lout losing his business. He must be running scared but that is something at least. So sick of seeing this sort getting off scot free.

The worldwide herd of humans has grown too large. Time to cull the herd. Especially of this cretin dentist.

Now another hunter has today poached Jericho, who was Cecil's brother, Observers say Jericho was protecting Cecil's cubs and the pride. They have caught the poacher.

Bad luck.

Original Quill wrote:Now another hunter has today poached Jericho, who was Cecil's brother,  Observers say Jericho was protecting Cecil's cubs and the pride.  They have caught the poacher.

Bad luck.

According to our news this isn`t confirmed according to researches he is still alive ...i really hope so

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/01/jericho-not-dead-cecil-the-lion-zimbabwe

ZCTF - Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force
22 mins ·

Mistaken Identity - Jericho is in fact alive and well and has adopted Cecil's cubs. We were given 3 separate confirmed reports last night that is was Jericho. We could not reach the research station in Hwange to verify if Jericho was indeed alive after they reported that they were receiving signal from his collar.

We apologize for reporting that he had died but were confident that our sources were in fact correct. This was a case of mistaken identity, but a lion has in fact been killed...although we are relieved that it was not Jericho, we are not happy that yet another lion has been killed...

We understand that some people will be very upset about the report but please could we keep this face book page clear of derogatory slurs.

We would like to make it clear that we do NOT support trophy hunting and we do NOT issue permits or licenses to kill animals...in Zimbabwe. We are merely a concerned conservation group trying to help stop the slaughter of Zimbabwe's beautiful animals.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1076092745753274&id=246013052094585

Thank goodness for that, or the cubs would not have stood a chance.

Imight be wrong, but i'v never heard of a male lion adopting another males cubs. I WAS ALWAYS told that another lion would kill cubs if they were not his so he could mate with their mother. Anyone know about this?

THAT miserable excuse for a dentist is the most craven form of coward...

NOT ONLY a poor excuse for either a human or a real man; a despicable coward of a would-be "hunter"; and an illegal poacher (is there ever any such thing as a "legal" poacher ?);

CROSSBOWS are the cowardly and weak, pansy-wristed and lilly-livered non-archers' choice of weapon ~ favoured by those too stupid, incompetent and weak to ever bother to learn and use a recurve or compound bow, let alone the more traditional "bare" longbows and recurves...

AND THEN there's the "turkey shoot" approach to these so-called "safari" big game trophy hunts == certainly there's nothing sporting or natural about that despicable and inexcusable practice..

WHAT he deserves is a long, slow and painful death ~ tying him down over a bull ant nest comes to mind.

nicko wrote:Imight be wrong, but i'v never heard of a male lion adopting another males cubs.  I WAS ALWAYS told that another lion would kill cubs if they were not his so he could mate with their mother.     Anyone know about this?

As far as I've ever heard/read you are correct.

Vintage wrote:

nicko wrote:
Imight be wrong, but i'v never heard of a male lion adopting another males cubs.  I WAS ALWAYS told that another lion would kill cubs if they were not his so he could mate with their mother.     Anyone know about this?

As far as I've ever heard/read you are correct.

THE news reports that I have seen and heard over here had him guarding the pride, rather than "adopting" the cubs...

THAT'S why I like to check more than just one or two sources, as no doubt many online "animal lover" commentators are "anthropomorphising" this incident..

Apparently Cecil is protecting the cubs at the moment but usually the new leader of the pride does kill the previous leaders cubs.

nicko wrote:Imight be wrong, but i'v never heard of a male lion adopting another males cubs.  I WAS ALWAYS told that another lion would kill cubs if they were not his so he could mate with their mother.     Anyone know about this?

apparently they were co leaders originally and they are brothers and apparently increasingly common for a 'coalition of brothers' to take over
it is not unheard of probably more because they are unsure and genetically close enough

veya_victaous wrote:

nicko wrote:Imight be wrong, but i'v never heard of a male lion adopting another males cubs.  I WAS ALWAYS told that another lion would kill cubs if they were not his so he could mate with their mother.     Anyone know about this?

apparently they were co leaders originally and they are brothers and apparently increasingly common for a 'coalition of brothers' to take over
it is not unheard of probably more because they are unsure and genetically close enough

Right. If nothing else, keep it in the family. With a 2-male pride, how could you be sure anyway? Lions can't afford DNA tests.

Cecil The Lion's Cub Killed By Another Male Trying To Mate With Its Mother

One of Cecil the Lion’s cubs has been apparently been killed by a rival male.

The intruder is thought to have tried to mate with the cub’s mother when he killed it.

According to the Daily Mail, following Cecil’s death it had appeared that his cubs were being cared for by his brother, Jericho.

But unfortunately this did not last and they were abandoned.

Fears have now been raised that the remaining cubs may also be killed by the adult lion in an attempt to assert dominance.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/08/09/cecil-the-lion-cub-killed-male-mate-mother_n_7961964.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

So not only Cecil but likely his cubs too. The sooner they find Walter Palmer and let justice be served the better.  Maybe a similar fate.............his head a memento on a killers wall, disgusting

victorismyhero wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:Some people have said that it's only caused outrage because Cecil was popular and/or famous. The point is that this man's activities were not known about by the world until he attacked Cecil.

I hope this leads to a mass disapproval of trophy hunting generally.

agreed...

trophy hunting has no place in decent society....

and anyway


I dont mind shooting and eating fiver hazel bigwig and silver
or even
rudolph, donner, blitzen, prancer dasher etc
or even bambi

but SIMBA.....noooooooooooooooo

Watership down! I like you.

If you're gonna eat Simba I don't have as many objections. But killing Simba just for fun. Yeah. You need to be eaten by hyenas.

I am sure a few of the poster here might like to sign the petition to Convince the last transporters of murder
trophies to stop

The killing of Cecil the lion gave the world a vivid example of the pain and misery left behind by globe-trotting elites whose primary hobby is killing prized specimens of the most beloved and threatened wild animals on the planet.
Sadly, Cecil's story is not unique – and while hunters continue to kill African lions they are contributing to the steady decline of a species already on the brink. 
We would like to thank all our supporters who have helped convince 44 airlines to no longer transport hunting trophies from Africa, but we still need to lock in Fedex, UPS and South African Airways.
Today we are turning up the wattage in our campaign against trophy killing by releasing a new video In Memory of Cecil.


The killing of Cecil gave the world an inkling of the depravity and selfishness of this subculture that threatens to drive wildlife into extinction. Please share this video with people who care and take action for Cecil by visiting our website here. We need your help to convince these courier companies and airlines to rethink their policies and put an end to wildlife trophies leaving Africa.
Many thanks again for your help.
Regards,

Verna Simpson
Director, HSI Australia


Please note our video may not be suitable for young viewers.

http://hsi.org.au/go/to/1846/cecil-the-lion-a-senseless-killing.html#.VhsoVSt348D

DONE

Posing with his kill: German hunter pays £39,000 to shoot largest elephant in Africa for 50 YEARS - just three months after Cecil the Lion was slain

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3274724/Anger-biggest-elephant-shot-living-memory-killed-German-hunter-Zimbabwean-game-park.html#ixzz3oiVPzyLp
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Fucking Bastard!

I agree with Vic's comment.