US dentist condemned for killing Zimbabwe lion
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E-mail Xinhua, July 30, 2015
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American dentist Walter James Palmer (L). [Photo/Trophy Hunt America] |
Conservationists in Zimbabwe have sharply criticized the killing of one of Zimbabwe's oldest and best known lion by an American dentist on trophy hunting early this month.
They said the poaching of 13-year old Cecil the lion, with its iconic black mane symbolizing power and strength, was a major drawback to Zimbabwe's conservation and safari industry in particular. Many foreign tourists came to Hwange, home to around 350 African lions, to be amazed by roaming black-maned male lions like Cecil.
The lion, now at an advance age as life expectancy of wild lions averages 14 years, caused an international outcry partly because it was collared as part of a decade-old study by Oxford University to exam the impact of trophy hunting on ecology and better understand the human-animal conflicts.
American dentist Walter James Palmer was identified as the suspect who killed Cecil with a gun shot with the assistance of two Zimbabweans - a professional hunter and a private farm owner - after they lured the lion out of wildlife-rich Hwange National Park on July 1 this year.
The two men appeared in court Wednesday facing poaching charges and the professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst was given 1,000 U.S. dollars bail.
The two face lengthy jail terms if convicted.
Palmer has admitted to killing the iconic lion but claims he was unaware the lion was protected.
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