Dentist from Minnesota accused of killing Zimbabwe's beloved lion Cecil speaks

Photo: -, AFP / Getty Images This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July...

An avid Minnesota hunter accused of illegally killing Cecil, a handsome black-maned lion who was the star attraction at Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, said Tuesday that he thought everything about his trip was legal and wasn't aware of the animal's status "until the end of the hunt."

The killer of #Cecil the #Lion has been revealed as American dentist Walter Palmer (seen on left)!! #NoMoreCecils pic.twitter.com/yoYC1jZC5u — PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE (@Protect_Wldlife) July 28, 2015

Walter Palmer, who has a felony record in the U.S. related to shooting a black bear in Wisconsin, released a statement through a public relations firm after being identified by Zimbabwean authorities as the American involved in the July hunt. They said Palmer is being sought on poaching charges, but Palmer said he hasn't heard from U.S. or Zimbabwean authorities.

"I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt," said Palmer, a dentist who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie.

Initial reports indicated a Spaniard killed the lion but today the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force told the London Guardian the hunter was Palmer.

Palmer allegedly paid some $50,000 for the opportunity to kill the lion and left him skinned and beheaded on a farm adjacent to Zimbabwe's largest nature reserve.

With the help of professional guides, Palmer allegedly lured the lion from the reserve with food in the middle of the night, shot him with a bow and arrow, and tracked the dying beast for 40 hours before finally killing him with a gun on July 6, Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told the London Guardian.

Comfortable around safari vehicles, Cecil was the park's most photographed lion and over 13 years became a top tourist attraction, according to NationalGeographic.com. People from around the world came to adore him and many are expressing outrage over his death on social media. Some have tracked down the Facebook page of Palmer's dentist office and flooded it with angry comments. A petition demanding "Justice for Cecil" has been signed by nearly 20,000 people.

Earlier, an unnamed spokesperson for Palmer claimed the American hunter was "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 for Palmer told the London Guardian. "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."

Animals commonly killed by poachers

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Palmer is an accomplished hunter and a 2009 New York Times article on tule elk hunting touts his skills as he's described as being "capable of skewering a playing card from 100 yards with his compound bow." The article also reveals that Palmer was on probation for a year after making a false statement over the location of where he killed a bear in Wisconsin in 2006.

Authorities are investigating the killing of Cecil and have arrested two of the guides who led Palmer on his hunting trip. The Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Authority issued a statement saying a professional hunter named Theo Bronchorst with Bushman Safaris and a landowner from a farm adjacent to Hwange park face criminal charges and will appear in court in August.

Photo: Amy Forliti, AP This photo shows the dental offices of Walter James Palmer in...

"It is alleged that the hunter connived with the Antoinette land owner, Mr. Honest Trymore Ndlovu to kill the lion," the statement reads. "Ongoing investigations to date, suggest that the killing of the lion was illegal since the land owner was not allocated a lion on his hunting quota for 2015. Therefore, all persons implicated in this case are due to appear in court facing poaching charges."