The circle of life has yet again been fucked by humanity.
Another one of Cecil the Lion‘s sons suffered the same fate as his father after being shot and killed by a big game trophy hunter in Zimbabwe.
The Hwange National Park reports that 6-year-old Xanda, the father of several young cubs, was killed just outside the park — not far from where Cecil was killed in 2015.
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Xanda’s murderer was on a trophy hunt organized by pro hunter Richard Cooke of RC Safaris. The big cat’s brother had also been killed on one of Cooke’s previous expeditions.
The renowned hunter did not reveal the name of the client, who most likely spend upwards of $50,000 for the shoot and Xanda’s head to be cured and mounted.
At the time of his death, Xanda was wearing a tracking collar fitted by researchers led by Oxford University‘s Andrew Loveridge.
The scientist, who has studied the Hwange lions for many years, was monitoring Xanda’s movements in hopes of implementing a 5km no-hunting zone around the park to protect the lions that roam outside park. He told The Daily Telegraph:
“I fitted it last October. It was monitored almost daily and we were aware that Xanda and his pride was spending a lot of time out of the park in the last six months, but there is not much we can do about that… Richard Cooke is one of the ‘good’ guys. He is ethical and he returned the collar and communicated what had happened. His hunt was legal and Xanda was over six years old so it is all within the stipulated regulations.”
Of course, others are less forgiving.
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The Facebook group Lions of Hwange National Park was appalled at Cooke for taking the life of yet another majestic animal, writing in a post:
“Today we heard that a few days ago, Xanda, the son of #CecilTheLion has been shot on a trophy hunt by Zimbabwe PH Richard Cooke. Cooke also killed Xanda’s brother in 2015, he was only about 4 years old then. Xanda is still a young father at 6.2 years old and has several young cubs. We can’t believe that now, 2 years since Cecil was killed, that his oldest Cub #Xanda has met the same fate.”
So heartbreaking. R.I.P., Xanda.
[Image via Disney.]
Original article –
Trophy Hunter Kills Cecil The Lion’s Son Xanda Outside Of National Park
