What Has Become of Cecil the Lion?

Last week, the death of Zimbabwe's most notorious lion - Cecil - rocked the lion-advocacy community back on its heels. A tragedy which resonated with conservationists and activists alike, the tragic end of Cecil continues to make waves, especially in light of an ongoing investigation into the lion's death.

Cecil, the most well known lion in Zimbabwe, was shot last week by a Spanish trophy hunter. The shot, which apparently did not kill Cecil right away and actually resulted in a two-day tracking expedition in which Cecil was eventually found and killed, was illegal; Cecil did not live nor exist on the land on which he was shot but, rather, he had wandered across an invisible barrier from the land of Wildneress Safaris onto hunting land, when he was eventually shot by the trophy hunter.

The Spanish hunter, who claims to have had no knowledge about Cecils' status, was outraged by the incident; rumors and reports claim that the hunting outfit which took the Spanish hunter out to shoot a lion actually knew who Cecil was, but allowed the hunt anyway and later tried to destroy this evidence of knowledge by attempting to break and hide Cecil's tracking collar. Obvioulsy, that last-ditch effort failed. Cecil was shot with a bow & arrow, which did not kill him immedietly, hence the two-day expedition to find him.

Adam Cruise, in a piece released today for News 24, relates that Cecil's hide was removed from his body along with his head, for trophy. Cecil was known as the King of Hwange, as he resided in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Zim hunters are insisting the hunt was legal, but the rest of us remain unconvinced.

You can read Adam Cruise's article here: Cecil the lion was skiined and his head removed