Cecil The Lion: a sad story indeed

Trevor · July 30, 2015, 02:00:29 AM

I have no words for the lunatic who shot a protected lion in my birth country of Zimbabwe: none printable, anyway.

http://www.news24.com/Green/News/US-dentist-I-thought-lion-hunt-was-legal-20150729

I would like to hunt him down and mount his head on my wall.

Alex · July 30, 2015, 04:24:30 AM

My wife mentioned this morning that the US was looking into wither or not he had broken any laws in the states by killing it, so its possible he could be prosecuted for it.

Just a shame that doesn't bring the animal back. I have no problem with killing animals for food, but hunting trophies just disgust me.

Newt · July 30, 2015, 06:41:05 AM

74% of the adult male lions in Africa die by hunting.

The plan was to lure ("bait") the animal out of the sanctuary, to privately-owned land where it is legal to hunt. "Baiting" IS legal in Zimbabwe. The only problem here is that the landowner had to have a lion listed on their hunting license - and this landowner did not have one listed for 2015. That makes the hunt/killing illegal.

The dentist is saying he relied completely on the expertise of the professional hunting guides. This guy has hundreds of trophy kills all over the world. He brags about hunting since he was 5 years old. We are to believe that when he was TOLD to shoot what was obviously a male lion, while they had been hunting for another kind of cat (leopard, I think) he did not question it. Donkey dust.

Sorry: with his extensive experience I do not buy the "I was completely following the directions of my guides so it is not my fault" excuse.

Extradite the bastard. I think they should go all "Naked Prey" on him.

Trevor · July 30, 2015, 08:01:21 AM

Quote from: Newt on July 30, 2015, 06:41:05 AM
Extradite the bastard. I think they should go all "Naked Prey" on him.

Agreed:

indianasmith · July 30, 2015, 08:58:39 AM

I don't have an issue with hunting, not even with trophy hunting if it is done legally and the fees and licenses are dedicated to wildlife conservation.

I do have an issue with luring an animal from a protected region to private land for the sole purpose of killing it.
It appears several laws were broken.

ER · July 30, 2015, 09:31:26 AM

This story, as enraging as it is painfully sad, touches something deep in me, because when I was little my grandpa used to go off on hunting expeditions to far away places and I hated so much when he'd do that, killing animals just for the sake of taking their lives. I think he was a high energy type person, instinctive, with a great need for....I don't know, sensory input, and these trips he'd take every year were a big part of who he was. I have absolutely zero empathetic understanding of how killing an animal can validate someone, but obviously to some people it does. My grandfather was wonderful to me but his fondness for hunting is one of two things I wish had been different about him, and when I read about this lion's slaying by that dentist, it really jerked me back to feelings of a sort I hadn't had since I was a child, and I was surprised at just how much it did affect me. Personally, I think Trevor's got the right idea up there for what should happen to the hunter and his guides in this case.

lester1/2jr · July 30, 2015, 09:54:42 AM

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/why-killing-a-lion-is-the-most-cowardly-thing-you-can-do#.wkG6OmELqm

Why Killing A Lion Is The Most Cowardly Thing You Can Do

Leah · July 30, 2015, 11:21:55 AM

The guy said that he didn't know that Cecil was a beloved animal. I call BS on that, since I think hunters are supposed to know which animals to hunt is okay and not okay.

Newt · July 30, 2015, 11:37:29 AM

He also said he did not realise it had a radio collar on until after the lion was 'taken'.

I'm thinking it is very possible they used the gps in the collar to locate the lion in the first place. But that is pure speculation on my part.

For me the capper to the whole scenario is that he shot the lion with an arrow, failed to kill it and then took 40 hours to track it down and give the wounded lion the coup de grace with a gun. Can you imagine living with an arrow from what was supposed to be a kill shot lodged in you for 40 hours? Torture, much?

GOOD hunters should be upset with him. Clearly he stinks at it. I won't speculate on how much he stinks at being a human being, though I strongly suspect he's not so good at that, either.

Jimmy Kimmel said it all, and very well:
http://youtu.be/_LzXpE1mjqA

indianasmith · July 30, 2015, 02:57:22 PM

I think the outrage does exceed the crime a bit in this case.

A hunter shot an animal. It's not the end of the world.

It's worth noting that the animal in question was an apex predator that would have just as soon eaten any of the college girls posting outraged memes over his fate as he would a gazelle.

Newt · July 30, 2015, 07:11:57 PM

The guy did something illegal and wrong. The pointlessness of it all just makes it all that much harder to take.

The hunter also indirectly will have caused the deaths of all this lion's current crop of cubs. That's what happens when a new male takes over: kills all the existing cubs.

Under the circumstances, this particular lion should not have been at risk of being killed by a human.

The lion was somewhat acclimated to humans being near him, not 'tame' by any means, but he would not necessarily been as wary as he should have been. Then they shone a spotlight on him so the hunter could see him to shoot him. There's fair for you - blind the animal with lights and take your shot. Yup that guy was really in maximum danger there. I wonder if he 'jacklights' deer when he is at home.

I really do hope, Indy, that you are not trying to imply the hunter killed the lion in self defence? This particular lion was by all accounts considered very "well behaved" by the sanctuary staff and was popular with the visitors as a result. Certainly it might be natural for a lion to prey upon humans - that is, any that were foolish enough to present themselves as prey. I don't think anyone expects a wild predator to be a big stuffed toy. Even little airheaded girlies who are crying about the lion being killed.

It is not so much that a lion has died; it is how this act and attitudes about it (and involved in it) reflect the current state of human behaviour and ethics.

Allhallowsday · July 30, 2015, 08:16:14 PM

Quote from: indianasmith on July 30, 2015, 02:57:22 PM
I think the outrage does exceed the crime a bit in this case.

A hunter shot an animal. It's not the end of the world.

It's worth noting that the animal in question was an apex predator that would have just as soon eaten any of the college girls posting outraged memes over his fate as he would a gazelle.

Are you sure "it's not the end of the world"? It was CECIL the Lion's nature to be an "apex predator". It is apparently OUR nature to use our superior intellect and culture to build lots of things, including killing machines.
Part of the outrage is also the skinning and beheading of the animal. The head has been claimed by Zimbabwean authorities.
CECIL the Lion has become iconic. The mere fact that so many people care bodes well for our future.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/11772528/Cecil-the-lions-head-handed-over-to-police.html

ER · July 30, 2015, 09:39:11 PM

Imagine if the Planned Parenthood video from a fortnight ago had generated this much collective outrage.

Allhallowsday · July 30, 2015, 10:10:37 PM

Quote from: ER on July 30, 2015, 09:39:11 PM
Imagine if the Planned Parenthood video from a fortnight ago had generated this much collective outrage.

That video, however, is suspect. If there is truth to that story, it is disgusting and must be stopped. I do think that many people are walking around with cadaver skin in their bodies after surgery and may not know it.

We live in a world full of horror and dread. Your avatar has long been that beautiful tiger. The destruction of the natural world is merely symptomatic of our world's ills. This story about CECIL is embarrassing particularly for Americans. We're angry.

http://news.yahoo.com/minnesota-man-killed-lion-keeps-low-profile-amid-055219642.html#

lester1/2jr · July 30, 2015, 10:24:45 PM

He also hunted him with a bow and arrow and tracked him for 40 hours. a slow miserable death.

Quote
It's worth noting that the animal in question was an apex predator that would have just as soon eaten any of the college girls posting outraged memes over his fate as he would a gazelle.

yeah it's just us outraged college girls who are mad. and none of us know what a lion is