Son of Cecil the lion shot dead by trophy hunter in Zimbabwe

THE son of Cecil the lion – Zimbabwe’s beloved big cat, whose death at the hands of an American trophy hunter triggered widespread outrage two summers ago – has been killed as well, according to reports.

The Facebook group Lions of Hwange National Park said on Thursday that Xanda, who was 6 and had several cubs, was fatally shot several days ago by another trophy hunter in Zimbabwe.

“We can’t believe that now, 2 years since Cecil was killed, that his oldest Cub Xanda has met the same fate,” it said. “When will the Lions of Hwange National Park be left to live out their years as wild born free lions should?”

The group said Xanda was killed during a hunt organised by Richard Cooke Safaris, which did not respond to a request for comment. Cooke was not the shooter; a client was, according to the post.

Cecil was killed in nearly the same location in 2015. The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the 13-yearold black-maned lion was lured out of the national park and shot with a compound bow before being finished off with a rifle. His slaying provoked international outrage and intensified calls for bringing an end to trophy hunting in Africa.

Cecil was one of hundreds of Hwange National Park lions whose lives have been meticulously monitored by Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. His movements had been followed in “minute detail” from 2008 until his death in 2015, biologist David Macdonald wrote on the unit’s website. – The Washington Post