Tourist suspected of illegally killing lion in Zimbabwe
A tourist is suspected of paying a safari operator $55,000 in order to kill Cecil, a 13-year-old lion who lived in a national park in Zimbabwe.
Cecil was well known, and wore a GPS collar as part of a research project with Oxford University. Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told CNN that Cecil was lured out of a national park with food, shot with a crossbow, tracked for 40 more hours, and then shot and killed July 6. Rodrigues said Cecil's skin and head, which was cut off as a trophy, were found and are being held as evidence. The tourist is believed to be a Spaniard, and three other people may have been involved.
Only the operator of the safari, a member of the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association, has been arrested, and has a hearing set for August 6. Cecil's death is hitting David Macdonald of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit hard. "It's not many months ago that I watched Cecil with my hand on my heart as he strayed toward a hunting concession," he said. "On that occasion he turned back into the protection of the park, but this time he made a fatal mistake and I feel deeply sad, personally." Macdonald said that research has shown when a male lion is killed, it has a ripple effect and can lead to the deaths of other males and his cubs. Cecil regularly mated with about six lionesses, and leaves behind around 24 cubs.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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