Story highlights The lion was part of a research project and was wearing a GPS collar

Zimbabwe hunters group has suspended safari leader

(CNN) Cecil the lion is dead, killed illegally in Zimbabwe, authorities allege, by a foreign hunter or hunters who paid about $55,000 for the privilege.

Cecil was part of an Oxford University research project and wore a GPS collar.

He was lured out of a national park with food, shot with a crossbow, tracked for 40 more hours, then finished off with a gun, said Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force

The 13-year-old lion's head was reportedly cut off as a trophy, and his skin was taken as well. Rodrigues told CNN that the head and skin had been found and confiscated, and were being processed as evidence.

Cecil was killed July 6, Rodrigues said, allegedly by a Spaniard. But he said that as many as three hunters may have been involved, none of whom have been detained. The nationalities of those involved have not been confirmed.

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