First there was Cecil, a Zimbabwean lion whose 2015 killing by an American hunter ignited international outrage. Now Cecil’s son Xanda has been killed in the same area, bringing fresh scrutiny on the “trophy” hunting of a species whose numbers in the wild have plummeted.
A group called World Heritage Species says Xanda was killed on or around July 7 just outside Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park and that the unidentified hunter is a client of Zimbabwean professional hunter Richard Cooke.
The group says the hunt was reportedly legal.
Some conservation groups are harshly criticizing the hunt. Still, experts have warned that Africa’s lions face greater threats, including human encroachment on their habitats and the poaching of animals for food, which deprives lions of prey.