American who killed protected lion: I didn't know it was Cecil
Zimbabwean police are searching for an American who allegedly shot a well-known, protected lion known as Cecil with a crossbow in a killing that has outraged conservationists and others.
Authorities today said two Zimbabwean men will appear in court for allegedly helping lure the lion outside of its protected area to kill it.
The American - now named as Walter James Palmer - faces poaching charges, according to police spokeswoman Charity Charamba.
The human who killed Cecil the Lion #CeciltheLion #WalterPalmer #StupidHumanhttp://t.co/DCoKvk660X pic.twitter.com/AYyf4fDySg
— The Skibbereen Eagle - Орел Скібберін (@theskibeagle) July 28, 2015
Palmer allegedly paid about $50,000 (€45,000) to hunt the lion, Zimbabwean conservationists said, though the hunter and his local partners maintain they didn’t know the lion they killed was protected.
Walter James Palmer was identified today by both the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force and the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe as the American hunter, a name that police then confirmed.
“We arrested two people and now we are looking for Palmer in connection with the same case,” said Charamba.
Emmanuel Fundira, the president of the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, said at a news conference that Palmer was from Minnesota and his current whereabouts were unknown.
Palmer issued a statement saying he was unaware that the lion was so well known and part of a study.
“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,” he said, maintaining that to his knowledge, everything about the hunt had been legal.
Full statement from Dr. Palmer regarding #CecilTheLion: pic.twitter.com/12FToGnxhJ
— Boua 🥟 (@boua_xiong) July 28, 2015
Attempts to reach Palmer, 55, at his two listed home numbers and his office by phone and in person were unsuccessful.
Palmer, an avid hunter, pleaded guilty in 2008 to making false statements to the US Fish and Wildlife Service about a black bear he shot dead in western Wisconsin outside the authorised hunting zone, according to court documents.
The two arrested Zimbabwean men – a professional hunter and a farm owner – face poaching charges, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority and the Safari Operators Association said in a joint statement.
Killing the lion was illegal because the farm owner did not have a hunting permit, the joint statement said. The lion was skinned and beheaded. The hunters tried to destroy the lion’s collar, fitted with a tracking device, but failed, the statement said.
If convicted, the men face up to 15 years in prison.
#CecilTheLion final photograph pic.twitter.com/nIsjlo9Bb0
— Internet Palace (@InternetPalace) July 28, 2015
The lion is believed to have been killed on July 1 in western Zimbabwe’s wildlife-rich Hwange region, its carcass discovered days later by trackers, the statement said.
The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said in a statement that an American paid the 50,000 dollars for the hunt. During a night-time hunt, the men tied a dead animal to their car to lure the lion out of a national park, said Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.
The American is believed to have shot it with a crossbow, injuring the animal. The wounded lion was found 40 hours later, and shot dead with a gun, Rodrigues said in the statement.
“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,” said Rodrigues.
The Zimbabwean hunter accused in the case claimed that Cecil was not specifically targeted, and the group only learned after the fact that they had killed a well-known lion, according to the Safari Operators Association.
Cecil, recognisable by his black mane, was being studied by an Oxford University research programme, the conservation group said.
Tourists regularly spotted his characteristic mane in the park over the last 13 years, said Lion Aid, a conservation group.
