Cecil the lion researcher: Ban lion-hunting completely

“Whilst Jericho is still alive, the cubs have a higher chance of survival as he was an integral member of the pride”.

New images from African Bush Camps show the cubs snoozing and cautiously peering into a camera.

“They’ve fought each other in the past and Cecil even killed Jericho’s father when he refused to be driven out”.

As concerns continue to grow that he could become the next prize for trophy hunters, a park source said: “Jericho has now taken over another pride and has been seen with other females”. Experts say they will have to keep moving to remain safe, but fear the young cubs are not up to the task.

The death of Cecil the lion has prompted an online firestorm, forcing the Minnesota dentist to go into hiding and to temporarily close his Bloomington office. There were erroneous reports that Jericho had been killed, but researchers in Zimbabwe dismissed them. They’re investigating, but have no leads.

The ban was imposed on August 2 in the wake of global outrage over the killing of Cecil by a US dentist on an illegal hunt just outside Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe. “They seem to have Minnesota circled on the map and I think I saw one lion on the phone on hold with SouthWest”.

However, a tiny fraction of those visitors want more than just pictures and memories of their safari, and are prepared to pay huge amounts of money to kill an animal and take it home as a trophy.

A Zimbabwean Cabinet minister has called for the extradition of Palmer, who says he relied on his professional guides to ensure the hunt was legal. Cecil suffered for hours until he was tracked down and killed.

His comments come as a range of wildlife preservation bodies, including the Zambia Wildlife Authority and the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative, mark World Lion Day today to celebrate the animals and raise awareness of their plight.

Palmer hasn’t spoken publicly about the illegal kill of Cecil, though he has issued an apology to his patients.