(FILES) - This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called Cecil. US authorities launched an investigation on July 31, 2015 into the killing of the lion, as the American dentist who hunted the big cat remained in hiding amid mounting global outrage. Trophy hunter Walter Palmer killed Cecil the lion earlier this month after the feline was allegedly lured out of the Hwange National Park boundaries with a dead animal as bait. The professional Zimbabwean hunter who organized the hunt has been charged in Zimbabwe with failing to prevent an illegal hunt. AFP PHOTO / ZIMBABWE NATIONAL PARKS==RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT AFP PHOTO / ZIMBABWE NATIONAL PARKS - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS==
A DENTIST from Wisconsin goes hunting in Zimbabwe and bags its most famous lion, Cecil. In response, Cecil’s friends have gone hunting in Minnesota in the hope of bagging its most infamous dentist, Walter Palmer. Welcome to the world of charismatic mega-species, their predators and protectors. One thing is for sure: the predators are winning.
Last month, the Dallas Safari Club announced that one of its members had killed a black rhino in Namibia, one of four allotted for culling each year. The permit to do so had been auctioned for US$350,000 (RM1.33mil), which goes to the Namibian wildlife conservation service. Palmer paid US$50,000 (RM191,362) to kill Cecil, but who knows where that went.
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