Jericho, Cecil's Lion Sibling Still Alive In Zimbabwe

Second lion poached by hunters in Zimbabwe on July 2, but the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force reported it was Jericho, Cecil's lion sibling. A lion collar monitor on Jericho is still sending satellite signals that Jericho is moving with a female lion companion and alive.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

August 1, 2015

Zimbabwe - On Saturday, Jericho the lion, Cecil's surviving brother was reported poached and killed by an illegally hunter around 4:00 p.m. Zimbabwe time, Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) posted on their Facebook account and reported by CNN. But a satellite image monitoring Jericho, who is wearing a monitor is still sending movement signals, which indicates he is still alive at a protected reserve, according to a www dot avetelemetry dot com image posted by Drew Abrahamson's Facebook account.

Bhejame Trust Facebook account posted on Saturday, "False information being put out about Jericho - brother to Cecil - being shot today. According to Brent Staplekamp at Hwange Lion Research, Jericho was alive and well at 8:30 tonight and moving around Antoinette Estate (where Cecil was shot) with a female. I can assure you no one is hunting lion on Antoinette after the Cecil incident!!
This false information probably stems from a current Parks investigation into another lion shot on a nearby farm on 2nd July. More information to follow."

The current report stems from an investigation of a second lion that was poached after Cecil was killed, according Bhejame Trust.

On July 1st, Cecil, a famous protected lion was lured to an area by poachers for an illegal hunt. Walter J. Palmer, a Bloomington dentist in Minnesota allegedly paid $50K to hunt the lion. He shot Cecil with a bow and arrow, but just wounded him. Palmer and another hunter, Theo Bronkhorst tracked Cecil for 40 hours and then shot him dead.
Palmer is now wanted by the Zimbabwe government and is seeking extradition for poaching a protected lion. Honest Nd lovu, a land owner and Bronkhorst have been arrested and charged with poaching. Bronkhorst posted $1K cash bond and was released. Nd lovu has a court appearance on August 5.

Cecil has 24 surviving cubs and Jericho is protecting them, according to the ZCTF.

Palmer, 55, is a federal convicted felon and can not own a weapon. In April 2008, Palmer pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court in Western Wisconsin for making false statements to the Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about poaching a lack bear out of an authorized hunting zone. On September 1, 2006, Palmer was with a group of hunters that killed a black bear at a zone where he didn't have a permit too and then tried to claim that he killed it at another zone. Palmer was sentenced to year probation and fined $3K. In 2006, Minnesota court records show that Palmer paid more than $127K to a former receptionist at his dental clinic for sexual harassment. In 2003, Palmer was convicted for fishing without a license, a misdemeanor charge in Minnesota.