Killing of Cecil the lion - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
 
 
 
 
Cecil at Hwange National Park in 2010
 
 
 
 
  
 
   
 
    
Species
 
    
Lion
 
   
 
   
 
    
Sex
 
    
Male
 
   
 
   
 
    
Born
 
    
c._2002
 
   
 
   
 
    
Died
 
    
1 July 2015 (aged 13)
 Hwange District, Zimbabwe
 
   
 
   
 
    
Residence
 
    
Hwange National Park
 
   
 
   
 
    
Named after
 
    
Cecil Rhodes
 
   
 
  
 
 
  
 
Cecil (c. 2002 - 1 July 2015) was a male Southwest African lion (Panthera leo bleyenberghi) who lived primarily in the Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. The lion was a major attraction at the park and was being studied and tracked by the University of Oxford as part of a larger study.
  
 
Cecil was wounded with an arrow by Walter Palmer, an American recreational big-game hunter, was then tracked, and on 1 July 2015, reportedly killed with a rifle approximately 40 hours later. Palmer himself claims that Cecil was killed with a bow and arrow in much less than 40 hours after the lion was first wounded. He was 13 years old when killed. Two men in Zimbabwe are being prosecuted in relation to the hunt. Palmer had a permit and was not charged with any crime. Authorities in Zimbabwe have said he is free to visit the country as a tourist but not as a hunter.