Overview
Cecil the Lion was a 13-year-old celebrity black-maned lion who was fatally shot by Walter James Palmer, an American dentist and hunter from Bloomington, Minnesota, at the Hwange national park on July 1st, 2015.
Background
On July 1st, 2015, the treasured lion of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park was found dead on the outskirts of the habitat, skinned and beheaded after being fatally wounded by a hunter with an arrow and rifle bullet. The news of Cecil’s gruesome death was met with public outrage in Zimbabwe and the international conservation communities overseas, as the lion was well-known for his natural flair in human interactions. In the ensuing investigation by the Zimbabwean officials, two men were charged with poaching, Theo Bronkhorst and Bushmen Safaris, the owners of the bordering properties where the lion was killed.
Notable Developments
Hunter’s Identity
On July 27th, The Telegraph published an exclusive report identifying Cecil’s killer as Walter James Palmer, an American dentist and avid hunter from Bloomington, Minnesota, citing two independent sources and a copy of Palmer’s hunting permit. According to the article, Palmer reportedly paid the local guides $55,000 (£35,000) to lure Cecil half a mile outside of the national park using bait for an opportunity to hunt him with a bow and arrow. When he failed to pin down the famous lion with the arrow, Palmer and his guides then tracked him for nearly 48 hours before locating and killing the wounded animal.
Online Reaction
On April 28th, the hashtag #CecilTheLion rose to the top of the trending topics list on Twitter in the United States; according to Topsy Analytics[9], #CecilTheLion was mentioned over 127,000 times within the first 24 hours. In addition, many took their rage to the alleged hunter’s Yelp page for his dentistry practice[10] by downvoting his ratings and flooding the image gallery with shock media.
Petition
In addition, a petition was launched on the White House’s We The People[11] platform for extradition of American citizen Walter James Palmer to the criminal justice system in Zimbabwe.
Search Interest
External References
[1]The Guardian – Zimbabwean authorities hunt Spaniard accused of killing Cecil the lion
[2]The Telegraph – Cecil the lion’s killer revealed as American dentist
[3]BBC– Zimbabwe’s ‘iconic’ lion Cecil killed by hunter
[4]Trophy Hunt America – Walt Palmer
[5]Daily Mail – The hunter hunted – American dentist who paid $55,000 to kill Africa’s most famous lion goes into hiding and says he ‘did nothing wrong’ as Zimbabwe police demand to speak to him
[6]Reddit – Cecil the Lion’s Killer Revealed as American
[7]The Daily Dot – American dentist identified as killer of beloved lion
[8]Salon – The dentist who reportedly killed Cecil the lion is getting absolutely destroyed on Yelp
[9]Topsy – Tweet Counts for #CecilTheLion
[10]Yelp – Walter J Palmer, DDS
[11]WeThePeople – Extradite Minnesotan Walter James Palmer to face justice in Zimbabwe.