Cecil (lion)

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Cecil (in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, 2010)

Cecil (* approx. 2002 ; † July 1, 2015 ) was a male African lion from Zimbabwe who became internationally known after an American dentist killed him under questionable circumstances on a hunting trip.

Life

Cecil lived in Hwange National Park . The lion is said to have been famous in Zimbabwe, but this is also called into question. The animal was easy to recognize by its partly black mane and wore a GPS collar, as the lions in Hwange National Park have been observed by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University since 1999 .

On July 1, 2015, Cecil was hit by an arrow from dentist Walter Palmer. According to press reports, the animal did not die immediately, but probably suffered pain for at least 24 hours. The hunter first lured Cecil out of the reservation, then shot him with the crossbow and killed him about a day later, beheaded and skinned him . It was illegal to lure the lion out of the reserve where it should not have been shot. Two Zimbabweans are supposed to answer for this fact.

Reactions from the public and authorities

As a result of ongoing international reporting, the event gained media attention in the last days of July 2015 in German-speaking countries as well. Several petitions were organized on the Internet, mainly in English, and were supported by over 100,000 people worldwide. The petition from Rainforest Rescue Against Trophy Hunting alone found 96,000 supporters.

Eventually, in the face of the protests, Palmer had to take the website of his dental practice in Minnesota, USA, offline. Furthermore, strangers quickly devastated the Palmers holiday home in Florida with graffiti that was visible from afar and the property with slaughterhouse waste . A call on the Internet addressed to Robert Mugabe , then President of Zimbabwe, was supported by more than 800,000 people.

Some reports assume that hunting outside the protected area was permitted. Palmer claims he did not know the importance of the animal. Reports that the dentist paid $ 50,000 for the hunting adventure caused particular outrage. Individual media researched possible criminal records and other hunting behavior of Palmer.

Zimbabwe's Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri called for Palmer's extradition at the end of July 2015. In early August 2015, in response to the incident, the responsible authorities in Zimbabwe tightened hunting regulations and asked all hunters on private land to leave the country immediately. However, a comprehensive ban on big game hunting in Zimbabwe was only in place for a few days. On August 11, it was announced that, with the exception of the western area near Hwange National Park, it would again be permitted in the country subject to conditions. The conditions stipulate that in future hunters must be accompanied by guards of the national parks when hunting at their own expense.

Consequences for the pride of lions

When a pack leader dies, a successor who conquers the territory usually kills all of the former pack leader's young. The scientists from the Oxford study and Johnny Rodrigues, the head of the local animal rights activist, initially assumed that Cecil's six boys would soon be killed. In the meantime, however, a lion of the same pack named Jericho has taken care of the cubs to which he was already used.

In July 2017, Cecil's six-year-old son Xanda was shot dead by a trophy hunter.

The consequences for Zimbabwe

Due to the high media attention and the negative coverage of the killing of the lion Cecil by Walter Palmer, significantly fewer hunters came to Zimbabwe in the period that followed. This meant that the country had to accept high financial losses and an overpopulation of lions.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Dead lion Cecil: Zimbabwe demands extradition of the hunter. In: Spiegel Online . July 31, 2015, accessed August 2, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Cecil the lion's killer revealed as American dentist , Telegraph. Retrieved July 29, 2015. 
  3. ^ Marc Felix Serrao: Police protection for big game hunters Walter Palmer. In: sueddeutsche.de . July 30, 2015, accessed August 2, 2015 .
  4. ↑ The Christian Science Monitor: Cecil the lion's killer denies guilt: When does hunting become poaching? . In: The Christian Science Monitor .
  5. ↑ Cecil: Zimbabwe's majestic lion remembered . In: Yahoo News . July 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ Cecil the lion: from king of the pride to the hunter's bow - Telegraph . In: The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved July 30, 2015. 
  7. ↑ C. Mornadin, AJ Loveridge, G. Segelbacher: Gene flow and immigration: genetic diversity and population structure of lions (Panthera leo) in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe . In: Conservation Genetics . June 2014, pp. 697-706. doi : 10.1007 / s10592-014-0571-6 .
  8. ↑ Cecil the lion's killer revealed as American dentist . In: The Daily Telegraph , July 28, 2015. 
  9. ↑ Man Accused in African Lion Death Thought Hunt Was Legal . In: The New York Times , July 28, 2015. 
  10. ↑ Statement in first 10 secs of the video news report Cecil the lion: US hunter 'regrets' killing . BBC News . July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  11. ↑ a b Zimbabwe's 'iconic' lion Cecil killed by hunter . BBC News.
  12. ^ Press report from August 6th
  13. ↑ Leo Cecil: US authorities start investigations after killing. In: t-online.de. July 31, 2015, accessed August 2, 2015 .
  14. ↑ German shoots giant elephants - trophy hunting must stop
  15. ↑ Horror over the death of a lion: US hunter lures, kills and beheads Cecil. In: n-tv.de. July 29, 2015, accessed August 2, 2015 .
  16. ↑ Press report from August 6, 2015
  17. ^ Zimbabwe demands extradition of US hunters. In: tagesspiegel.de . July 31, 2015, accessed August 10, 2015 .
  18. ↑ Death of Leo Cecil: US authorities investigate dentist. In: Spiegel Online . July 31, 2015, accessed August 10, 2015 .
  19. ↑ AP: US Man Accused in African Lion Death Thought Hunt Was Legal. In: nytimes.com. July 28, 2015, accessed August 2, 2015 .
  20. ^ After the death of "Cecil": Hunt for hunters. In: faz.net. August 4, 2015, accessed August 24, 2015 .
  21. ↑ After Cecil's killing: Zimbabwe allows big game hunting again. In: welt.de. August 12, 2015, accessed August 24, 2015 .
  22. ^ C. Packer, AE Pusey: Adaptations of female lions to infanticide by incoming males . In: American Naturalist . 121, No. 5, May 1983, pp. 716-28. doi : 10.1086 / 284097 .
  23. ^ Nicholas B. Elliot, Marion Valeix, David W. MacDonald, Andrew J. Loveridge: Social relationships affect dispersal timing revealing a delayed infanticide in African lions . In: Oikos . 123, No. 9, September 2014, pp. 1049-1056. doi : 10.1111 / oik.01266 .
  24. ↑ Cecil and the Conservation of Lions . Oxford University. 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  25. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 15, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.skynews.com.au
  26. ↑ Süddeutsche.de: The son of the lion Cecil is said to have been shot on July 20, 2017, accessed on July 20, 2017
  27. ↑ The “Cecil Effect”: Zimbabwe suffers from an overpopulation of lions . Outfox. February 23, 2016. Accessed March 30, 2016.
  28. ↑ 'Cecil effect' leaves park's lion at risk of cull The Telegraph of February 20, 2016