Having neglected my blog on lions for a long time (last post is in 2009), I must update on this trending and tragic news about Cecil the Lion. Long story short - On July 1, 2015, a well-known lion named Cecil was hunted for sport in Zimbabwe by an American dentist for a sum of only $50K.
What makes this News??
1)Cecil is no ordinary lion. He was a study lion for Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University as part of a scientific project on the conservation of lions. Cecil's movements were tracked with a GPS collar.
2)Cecil was tragically killed JUST for sport and targeted because he is not just an ordinary lion. He was lured away from the national park (which is illegal), where he and other lions are supposed to be protected. After that, he was wounded by many arrows, and then the killers skinned and beheaded him. Cecil's cubs are also at risk of being killed by other male lions, looking to take over his pride.
3)Cecil was sort of an attraction and his life lost can also be considered some money lost for Zimbabwe tourism. He is often seen by tourists on safaris, and people like to visit him at the national park.
4)Cecil is a handsome and majestic lion. He had a Life that was taken away from him. He was supposed to be protected and die naturally (whether fighting with other lions or sickness or old age). The only thing that is somewhat comforting is the lifespan of a lion in a wild is about 10-14 years (as per quick Google Search). In captivity, it is about 27 years. Maybe Cecil could've been one handsome lion that could've made it. Now, we will never know.
Jimmy Kimmel has mentioned the organization that was studying Cecil and the conservation of lions towards the end of the video. Take some time to visit the website and read about Cecil and the conservation of lions: http://wildcru.org/.
