Sadly, this glorious creature was taken in the most heinous way. For the life of me I will never understand why humans do this.
Zimbabwe's most beloved lion, Cecil, killed by a trophy hunter.
July 26, 2015, By Pete Thomas. MSNnews
He was the King of Kings in his world and ruled the prides for over 10 years.
A Zimbabwean conservation charity said Monday that a foreign tourist could face criminal charges after allegedly using a bow and arrow to kill a much-loved lion called Cecil.
The lion, which was a popular attraction for visitors to the Hwange National Park, was shot outside the park two weeks ago by the tourist, who was reported to have paid $50,000 (45,000 euros) to the holder of the local hunting rights.
Local media reports said Cecil, the largest Zimbabwe lion, aged about 13 years, was lured out of the national park with bait, was beheaded and skinned after his death. Upon being shot with a crossbow, Cecil did not die immediately. The hunter followed Cecil for 2 days before shooting the lion and then had taken his head as a trophy.
Police and Zimbabwe Parks Authority both declined to comment on the allegations, which were made by the Zimbabwe Conservation Taskforce.
"We are still to establish the name and nationality of the hunter who is from Europe, but we believe they are likely to face criminal charges," Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the charity, told AFP.
"We've got allegations that $50,000 exchanged hands between the hunter and the concession owner. We have not got confirmation yet."
Park authority sources said the hunter, who was released after questioning, was thought to be Spanish, but some media reports said he was American. His whereabouts are not known.
Emmanuel Fundira, president of the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, confirmed that Cecil had been killed in a hunt.
"An iconic lion was shot and killed. This is a real loss to our tourism industry and it has caused a lot of anxiety," Fundira told AFP.
"Cecil was collared, indicating that he was selected for research purposes.
"He was popular with visitors to Hwange National Park who were fascinated by his black mane and always wanted to know his whereabouts."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I read this earlier in the morning and it had me distraught all day long. This is just not right! Cecil wasn't shot to protect a human life, he wasn't shot because he was injured, or because he was too old to be a successful part of the breeding population. Cecil was shot so someone could have the glory of killing an exotic animal and having it's head and hide mounted on the wall. I am not against hunting if the meat is used and the population needs to be thinned for safety purposes i.e., deer, some geese, etc. This was just plain evil and cruel greed. It's sad, so very sad.
I hope that Cecil's legacy lives on in the many cubs that he sired.