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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Conflicting reports from Zimbabwe on fate of Cecil the lion’s brother

The Columbian
Published:

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force reported Saturday that the brother of Cecil, the lion hunted and killed in Zimbabwe by a wealthy American dentist, was also illegally shot and killed, but researchers tracking the animal said he was alive.

The task force announced the death of the lion Jericho on Facebook. Johnny Rodrigues, a senior park official and head of the task force, told CNN that a hunter illegally shot Jericho in Hwange National Park.

But an Oxford University researcher told CNN that GPS tracking of Jericho indicated that he was alive and moving. Brent Stapelkamp, a field researcher who is part of a team tracking Jericho in Zimbabwe, said the GPS data didn’t suggest that anything was out of ordinary.

The killing of Cecil last month by Walter James Palmer of Minneapolis sparked global outrage. Cecil was a wild lion in Zimbabwe popular with locals and tourists. He also wore a GPS tag as part of the Oxford University wildlife research.

Palmer admitted hunting down the animal and was later bombarded with angry messages online and notes were left at his dental office in Minneapolis, Minnesota, condemning him.

Zimbabwe wants to extradite Palmer to stand trial on charges of illegally killing Cecil.

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