Cecil the lion: American tourist expresses 'regret' for killing iconic feline

Updated

An American dentist has expressed regret for killing a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called Cecil, explaining he was relying on his guides "to ensure a legal hunt".

Walter Palmer has come under fierce criticism after he was named as the hunter who killed Cecil, amid allegations it took the lion 40 hours to die.

Cecil, a popular attraction among many international visitors to the Hwange National Park, was reportedly lured outside the park's boundaries by bait and initially shot with a bow and arrow.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) charity said Mr Palmer and Zimbabwean professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst had gone hunting at night and tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil, who was aged about 13, out of the national park.

"Palmer shot Cecil with a bow and arrow but this shot didn't kill him," the charity alleged.

"They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun."

It added that the hunters unsuccessfully tried to hide the dead lion's tracking collar, which was part of a University of Oxford research program.

"Cecil was skinned and beheaded," the charity said.

"Walter Palmer apparently paid $50,000 for the kill and we assume Theo Bronkhorst received this money."

Palmer 'relied' on local guides to 'ensure legal hunt'

Zimbabwe hunting rules: Zimbabwe issues annual permits allowing foreign hunters to kill specific older beasts that are beyond breeding age.

Safari operators say the hunting business is used to raise money for conservation.

Elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, buffalo and antelope are among the wildlife permitted to be hunted in Zimbabwe.

Hunting is permitted in three different types of areas: governmental hunting areas, tribal hunting areas and private hunting areas.

Each area has its own hunting rules.

Professional guides must obtain permits and landowners are allocated hunting quotas.



Hunting is outlawed in Zimbabwe's national parks.

Investigations show the killing of Cecil was illegal because the land owner was not allocated a lion on his hunting quota for 2015.

Within hours of the news breaking, Mr Palmer's social media feeds were flooded with blistering attacks and threats.

Comments posted on Twitter about Mr Palmer included, "You are a disgusting excuse of a human" and "when does hunting season start on Walter Palmer".

The Twitter and Facebook accounts and website of his dental practice — River Bluff Dental in Minneapolis, Minnesota — were shut down.

Nobody was answering the phone at the dental practice and the voicemail box was overwhelmed.

By late afternoon there were more than 1,800 message about his practice on review site Yelp and a petition demanding justice for Cecil had garnered nearly 57,000 signatures.

"I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favourite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt," Mr Palmer said in a statement.

"I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt."

Mr Palmer said his guides had secured "all proper permits" for his bow-hunting trip in early July and that he had not yet been contacted by officials in Zimbabwe or the United States about the incident.

He added that he "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," the statement concluded.

Mr Palmer is well known in United States hunting circles as an expert shot with his bow and arrow, and has travelled across the world in pursue of leopards, buffalo, rhino, elk and other large mammals.

Palmer's hunting has attracted scrutiny in the past. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to lying to a US wildlife agent about a black bear he killed in Wisconsin two years before.

Palmer was accused of killing a bear about 65 kilometres outside his permitted zone, hauling the carcass back into the approved area and certifying falsely that it was killed there.

He was sentenced to one year probation and fined $US2,938.

Zimbabwean hunter and landowner to appear in court

Mr Bronkhorst and the local landowner Honest Ndlovu will appear in court on Wednesday to face poaching charges, the Zimbabwean Parks Authority said.

"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.

The statement made no mention of Mr Palmer, but added that Mr Bronkhorst's son Zane was also wanted for questioning.

The court hearing is due to be held in Victoria Falls on Wednesday.

Cecil's head and skin were recovered and would be used as evidence in court, ZCTF chairman Johnny Rodrigues said.

Some hunting of lions and other large animals is legal in countries such as South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, where permits are issued allowing hunters to kill specific older beasts that are beyond breeding age.

It is outlawed in Zimbabwe's national parks.

"We use hunting as a conservation tool. Hunting is only based on animals which have been vigorously checked in terms of qualifying," Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe president Emmanuel Fundira said at a news conference in the capital Harare.

Cecil was described by safari operators as an "iconic" animal, who was recognised by many visitors to Hwange for his distinctive black mane.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Cecil had cubs, which were likely to be killed by the lion that took over in the group's hierarchy.

AFP/Reuters

Topics: animals, human-interest, law-crime-and-justice, animal-welfare, zimbabwe

First posted