CECIL the lion, a famous black-maned resident of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, died at the hands of an American dentist, conservationists claim.

    They say Walter Palmer paid US$50,000 to hunt and kill Cecil with a bow and arrow. The incident occurred around July 6, with a professional hunting outfit reportedly luring Cecil outside the boundaries of the protected reserve using a dead animal as bait.

    “Mr. Palmer shot Cecil with a bow and arrow but this shot didn’t kill him,” Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said in a statement. “They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun. Cecil, who was known all over the world, would have earned millions of dollars just from sightseeing. Palmer apparently paid US$50,000 for the kill.”

    It wasn’t the first kill for Palmer, who has multiple photos posted on the website Trophy Hunt America showing the Minnesota resident posing with dead lions, rhinos, water buffalo, warthogs, and other animals.

    The Telegraph reported from two independent sources that Palmer was indeed the hunter listed on the permit documents, and a spokesperson for Palmer told the news outlet that Palmer believes he is the one responsible for the lion’s death.

    “As far as I understand, Walter believes that he might have shot that lion that has been referred to as Cecil,” the spokesperson said. “What he’ll tell you is that he had the proper legal permits and he had hired several professional guides, so he’s not denying that he may be the person who shot this lion. He is a big-game hunter; he hunts the world over.”

    Theo Bronkhorst, the professional hunter who led Palmer to Cecil, has reportedly been suspended indefinitely from the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association for the way the hunt was carried out.

    “ZPHGA reiterates it will not tolerate any illegal hunting or any unethical practices by any of its members and their staff,” the organization said in a statement.

    Tributes to the lion in one of the country’s national parks have poured in at a location thousands of miles away from Palmer’s office in Bloomington, Minnesota. Protesters dressed as “dentist hunters” also threw stuffed lions at his house.

    The hunter’s office and practice website have become a target for animal rights activists disgusted at the dentist’s actions, which saw Zimbabwe authorities look for him in connection with poaching Tuesday.

    The death of Cecil not only means one less endangered African lion in the world but also could mean the demise of a whole line of cubs sired by the leader of the Hwange pride.

    (SD-Agencies)