Cecil had clung to life for 40 excruciating hours, an arrow jutting from his bleeding flank, as he outwitted palmer and his hunting guides for almost two days.
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The U.S. Justice Department said it does not comment on extradition requests. The wounded cat was later tracked down and Palmer allegedly killed it with a gun, they said.
Hunting lions is legal in many countries in Africa where supporters say, if properly regulated, it can generate much needed revenue that can be used on conservation. If found guilty, Palmer – who has gone into hiding – can face 10 years in jail for poaching charges.
Zimbabwe wildlife officials today denied rumours that Jericho the lion had also been killed in a similar way to his brother who was shot dead by American trophy hunter Walter Palmer. “He looks alive and well to me as far as I can tell”, said Brent Stapelkamp, field researcher for the Hwange Lion Research Project, who is monitoring the pride.
The head of Zimbabwe’s Safari Operators Association, Emmanuel Fundira, said the new restrictions would hit earnings from hunting, which generated $45 million in 2014. Loveridge also said Cecil and Jericho are not brothers, but rather were friendly to each other.
At a minimum, the conflict over Jericho added to the angst in the wake of Cecil’s killing, which provoked an global outrage because he was a protected animal.
Another American doctor appears to have illegally killed a lion in Zimbabwe in an illegal hunt with a bow and arrow several months ago.
The Minister of Environment, Water and Climate Oppah Muchinguri said that they are appealing to the proper authorities for Palmer’s extradition, the Associated Press reports.
“We apologize for reporting that (Jericho) had died but were confident that our sources were in fact correct”, the conservation task force said in a Facebook post Sunday.
USA Today reported that a hunter illegally operating in the park killed Jericho on Saturday.
“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt,” Palmer said in a statement.
Since Cecil’s death, Jericho has been observed in the park protecting Cecil’s cubs.
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He is accused of “breaching hunting regulations in that he hunted without a quota and permit at his Railway Farm 31 and is also the owner of Nyala Safaris which conducted the hunt”, the authority said. Instead he said they found the lion early the next morning and killed it with the crossbow.
