The killing of Cecil, the beloved lion!

[brihacharan]

I came across this post on the internet.....and My Heart Sank!
The killing of Cecil, the beloved lion, has outraged the world

An American dentist is identified to be the hunter of Zimbabwe’s most famous lion, and he’s now receiving death threats on the Internet.
Cecil, Zimbabwe’s most famous lion was killed in early July and the case has drawn global attention. The beloved big cat had a painful death; he took 40 hours to breathe his last.

There was outrage over the killing then; and now a wealthy American dentist has been identified as the hunter, who used a bow and arrow to shoot Cecil.

The lion, which was the most popular attraction at the Hwange National Park, was lured outside the park’s boundaries by bait and shot. It was later skinned and beheaded.

"The offender is a gentleman who is an American called Walter James Palmer," Emmanuel Fundira, president of the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, said at a news conference in Harare.

The American tourist is believed to have paid about $50,000 to go on the hunt. According to police official, two Zimbabweans had been arrested in the case and charged with poaching offences. They could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. Palmer may also face similar charges.

The dentist said that he regretted shooting the Cecil, but insisted that he believed he was on a legal hunt.

In a statement, Palmer told Colorado News that the authorities had not contacted him yet.
"I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favourite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt.”

But the Internet is unforgiving. The Twitter and Facebook accounts and website of Palmer’s dental practice -- River Bluff Dental in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota -- were shut down Tuesday after being flooded with blistering attacks, reports AFP.

On Twitter, he received death threats and the contact information for Palmer’s dental practice was shared.

“Let us hope that Walter Palmer, who "bravely" killed a magnificent lion in Zimbabwe with a compound bow and arrows, meets a similar fate soon, tweeted Steve Proud.

Another Twitter user said, “Truly. I'd put a cross bow bolt through Walter Palmer then track him from 40 hrs, shoot him, behead him, skin him and sleep peacefully.”

The dental practice run Palmer was closed and a note was placed on the door referring visitors to a public relations firm, according to local press.

Cecil, aged about 13, was a part an Oxford University study and. had been outfitted with a GPS collar. Safari operators said he was an "iconic" animal who was recognized by many visitors to Hwange due to his distinctive black mane.

Cecil is now in the Happy Hunting Grounds......May His Soul RIP!
Briha

[chicky]

Dear Brihacharan,

I saw the article too, and am greatly aggrieved . It's sad to think how arrogant some of us have become. To kill without any reason, makes them inhuman.
A sad sad day indeed...

Chicky

[Rajat]

Thanks for posting Briha Ji. Been watching this story for the last couple of days.

A news article on BBC two days ago may be seen below:


The lion, named Cecil, was shot with a crossbow and rifle, before being beheaded and skinned.

The 13-year-old lion was a major tourist attraction at Zimbabwe's famous Hwange National Park.

Zimbabwe, like many African countries, is battling to curb illegal hunting and poaching which threatens to make some of its wildlife extinct.
Mr Rodrigues, the head of Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said the use of a bow and arrow heralded a new trend aimed at avoiding arrest.
"It's more silent. If you want to do anything illegal, that's the way to do it," he told BBC's Newsday programme.

However, the lion, which had a distinctive black mane, did not die immediately and was followed for more than 40 hours before it was shot with rifle, Mr Rodrigues said.
The animal had a GPS collar for a research project by UK-based Oxford University, allowing authorities to track its movements.

Cecil's six cubs will be killed as the new lion who takes over the pride will not allow them to live, the conservationist says
Mr Rodrigues said Cecil's killing was tragic.
"He never bothered anybody. He was one of the most beautiful animals to look at."
The lion had been "baited" out of the park, a tactic which hunters used to portray their action as legal, Mr Rodrigues said.
Two guides had been arrested and if it was confirmed that the hunter was a Spaniard, "we will expose him for what he is", he added.

The six cubs of Cecil will now be killed, as a new male lion in the pride will not allow them to live in order to encourage the lionesses to mate with him.
"That's how it works... it's in the wild; it's nature taking its course," Mr Rodrigues said.

[aadhaulya]

Very sad indeed.

Atul

[Hammerhead]

The hunt was legal,

Here is Canadian version.....





remember prashant's dilemma of a legal hunt.



I would defend the hunter to the bone. ........... later

Been busy like crazy but here's an atricle to start with ...........
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morn ... -big-game/

[xl_target]

Just think of this.
Zimbabwe's most famous lion?
No one had heard of Cecil before this. Had you? I'm willing to bet 99.9% of Zimbabweans hadn't either.
You can do extensive google searches and you won't come up with Cecil Rex, The Bush, Zimbabwe before this incident.
Keep in mind this is a news article from a very anti-gun, anti-hunting press talking about a Lion named by the Rangers in that particular park.

If a poacher had shot Cecil, you think this would have made the news?
He would have been just another statistic among so many others.

That being said there seem to be some not so kosher activities going on with this particular outfitter.
When you hunt in Africa, you are totally dependent on your "professional" to get you to the game.
On the other hand, this particular hunter has apparently had some brushes with the law over his previous hunting activities.
Is that true? I don't know as I only have what I have read in the press and they would never lie, would they?
If it was not a fair chase hunt, then this guy deserves to be vilified. If it was, it's just another slow news day and besmirching a man's reputation is just "business".

[chicky]

I feel that hunting and killing for pleasure puts one in the same category as a Terrorist.
You don't have to prove your Machoism or the lack of it , by killing, simply because you can.

There are other ways to prove your courage and to enjoy, we should all do a serious rethink.

Chicky

[xl_target]

Unless you're a pure vegetarian, you can't really belittle hunting. Still, even vegetarians take life.

If you buy your meat at a supermarket, the only difference between you and a hunter is that the hunter kills his own meat. You on the other hand have someone else kill your animals for you. Meat isn't grown in vats, harvested, packaged and sold in a market. Someone kills the animal, often in horrible slaughterhouse conditions. Not to mention the leather for you shoes, belts and wallets. Someone kills an animal to get those products. What's the difference?

In the USA, one of the wealthiest countries on this earth, no one needs to hunt. You can buy pretty much every animal byproduct neatly packaged somewhere. Yet very large numbers of people hunt. Guess what? The fees from hunting and fishing licences, tax from sales of ammo and firearms pays for arguably the best National, State and local parks on the planet. The treehuggers who visit there, pay a pittance to gain entry and partake in this largess. These fees (billions of dollars) pay for the rangers that staff and run these parks and the amenities that exist there. These terrorists, as you call them, carry the freight for conservation, not the hippies who run around in the woods chanting to the spirits. People hunt because they enjoy it, maybe obeying some primal instinct handed down in their genes from the dawn of mankind.

If you can ever see some of the old 1950's through the 1970's videos of the fabled game sanctuaries in Africa, you will see game like in no other place on earth. Today, there is nowhere near anything like that. For example, Kenya has banned hunting in its game sanctuaries and the money has gradually dried up. Due to lack of resources, today, poachers run rampant and uncontrolled through many of those parks. While they still have a lot of game, many of Africa's parks today are mere shadows of what they were. Thousands of camera wielding tourists still tour those sanctuaries, yet the money is nowhere near what it used to be, to the detriment of those animals.

Conservation is a science and has precious little to do with feelings. Only by rigid applications of scientific conservation principles will the game on this earth be preserved. Hunting, along with culling is one tool in the conservationists toolbox. Culling is an expense that pays no money into conservation coffers, hunting does. I shudder at the lack of education of today's youth, and worry about the future of this planet; where feelings are more important the scientific truth.

[brihacharan]

I received this on my 'whatsapp' ....just sharing it with you guys!


Briha

[SMJ]

The killing of this lion was a sad affair - obviously its difficult to say whether it was a legally sanctioned hunt and the authorities had a change of mind later or what - nobody really knows.
This particular case is now going to bring forth a debate on a massive scale about "legally sanctioned hunts"

I just wanted to share that I read a book "Whispers in the Wild" by a gentlemen called ERC Davidar. ERC was a hunter and a game warden in the Nilgiris who was one of the first people in the Nilgiris to establish an elephant corridor from the Sigur plateau to the Kalhatti slopes as well as one of the first to undertake an extensive study of the Nilgiri Tahr population and establishing a sanctuary which was Mukruthi National Park. His place the famous "Cheetal Walk" was one of the top ten places in the world for wildlife viewing. Unfortunately after the demise of his son Mark the place has now become off limits to outsiders.

In his book, together with another famous hunter Richard Radcliffe tried hard to get the government to the lift the blanket ban on hunting as both ERC and Richard (both were also presidents of the Nilgiri Wildlife Association Richard succeeding ERC) foresaw that without organized and regularized hunting there was far more destruction by poachers and anti social elements who caused immense damage. ERC mentions that licensed hunters would curb these activities as many licensed hunters of those times also reported what happened in the forest about illegal or wrongful activities and thus kept an eye which kept these activities at bay. However in the same book he also admits that the nouvea rich of the time who took licenses to hunt had no respect as the older sportsman (who were rapidly becoming a rare breed) did and hunted from a jeep not by way of tracking- wantonly shot at an animal without understanding what they were firing at (weather young or old, a female of the species, a female in cub) and of course there was no follow up of the wounded beast to ensure it was put out of its misery.The poor animal was left to possibly suffer and die.

Thus the biggest question is that if legal hunts were sanctioned would the hunters of today show the same amount of respect to their "sport" or leave them to die a painful death. Take this hunt as an example- legal or not this lion was shot with a bow and arrow (did this idiot dentist think he was a Masai warrior??) and in pain for 40 hours before being put out of its misery!! It does not matter if it was a famous lion or not but to shoot this majestic beast with a bow and arrow and make it suffer was deplorable to say the least!

I am not debating with anyone here but a personal point of view is that "if its not for the pot, it should not be shot" .

[Mark]

And where is all this global outrage and concern when a child dies from poverty, or simply a lack of safe clean water in their neighborhood?

[ckkalyan]

Sad, very sad - but I would give the dentist, Palmer the benefit of doubt in this case, pending an extensive investigation.

Interestingly Cecil John Rhodes was the founder of Rhodesia now known as Zimbabwe. No prize for guessing who this magnificient lion was named after!



To my knowledge, Zimbabwe ranks amongst one of the most corrupt countries in the world; extreme poverty and enormous wealth tread side by side. Need I say more?

[chicky]

Well said SMJ, couldn't have put it any better. Filling coffers being an excuse to hunt, is a serious anomaly .
But then everyone has their own views and I am not trying to impose views, but merely voicing them ... I hope people realise the difference of hunting and killing.

Chicky

[ckkalyan]

You make some very valid points on this topic xl_target - nice work!

Pertinent point of view and analysis SMJ!

[snIPer]

Cecil .. who?? - Never heard the name after Cecil B. DeMille.
Its a case of legal hunting gone bad - the "authorised" game warden who planned the hunt should be held responsible.

/S