Cecil Redux: Xanda

[Hank2211]

This just in from The Telegraph (London newspaper):

One of Cecil the Lion’s cubs has been shot dead by a big game trophy hunter in Zimbabwe, just two years after his father was killed in similar circumstances.

The six-year-old lion named Xanda, who was in his prime, was killed just outside the Hwange National Park in north west Zimbabwe, not far from where Cecil was killed in 2015.

His death was discovered because Xanda was wearing an an electronic collar, fitted by researchers monitoring his movements in the area.

When the Zimbabwean professional hunter on the shoot, Richard Cooke from RC Safaris, discovered the dead lion had a collar, he handed it back to the researchers.

Andrew Loveridge from the Department of Zoology at Oxford University, which has a team supplying and fixing collars which monitor the lions in the Hwange National Park, said: "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 6 years old so it is all within the stipulated regulations.”

Mr Loveridge said he hoped that there would soon be a 5km exclusion zone around the Hwange National Park so that hunters would no longer accidentally shoot collared lions that wonder outside the boundary of the Park.

Cecil the Lion had wandered outside of the Park to the area of his birth, close to the boundary.

Mr Cooke, a well known professional hunter who lives in Victoria Falls, did not answer his phones on Thursday and has not yet revealed the name of his client. But most lion shooters are from the US, UK, Germany or South Africa.

Walter James Palmer, a 55-year-old dentist from Minnesota, US, was discovered to have paid US$65,000 (about £50,000 in today's exchange rate) to shoot and kill the much-loved lion with a bow and arrow.

He was forced to abandon his practice in suburban Minneapolis for weeks amid an international outcry over his actions.

Seems a bit more balanced than the last time, but there is plenty of time for the rains to come!

 

[Redruff]

And rain it will.

R.

 

[Royal27]

I don't know if it will rain, not this time and not with this "story."

Cecil was the perfect storm in so many ways. And, much of the storm was disproven in the end. Sounds as if this one is being called totally legit from day one.

And with the FAKE NEWS cry people aren't quite as gullible (true antis won't care if anything is fake, but the masses just might).

Mr Loveridge said he hoped that there would soon be a 5km exclusion zone around the Hwange National Park so that hunters would no longer accidentally shoot collared lions that wonder outside the boundary of the Park.

This is funny. How would that boundary stop a lion that went 6km footsie of the park from being shot? It's obvious what the attempt is here. Add 5km today, 5 tomorrow, rinse, repeat.

 

[Wheels]

Wonder what the odds are that Johnny Rodriguez is behind the release of this story. The donation money from Cecil has probably run out and he needs to support his lifestyle.

 

[Royal27]

Wonder what the odds are that Johnny Rodriguez is behind the release of this story. The donation money from Cecil has probably run out and he needs to support his lifestyle.

Funny, I thought about Ole Johnny while I was posting.

Kinda weird... at least on FB he seemed to disappear, or ZCTF didn't have many posts anyway....

I wonder if perhaps the donation money didn't dry up rather quickly, and if at least to him directly it never really was that much. The bronze Cecil statue project sure as heck never got off the ground. As I recall money was returned to donors.

That statue was a great example of antis like Johnny not using money to help the animal's, but rather to feed ego, or make profit. Those things don't go as unnoticed as we sometimes think.

 

[dory]

It was even front page news here in New Zealand this morning .
The story was written by Lindsey Bever and Karen Brulliard ?
Whoever the hell they are .
Funny enough the web version of our paper took the comments section awy from the story .
That was a top idea .

 

[wesheltonj]

Xanda, Cecil son shot

Looks like the Sh*t Storm is about to start back up.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...nda-killed-trophy-hunter-nearhwange-national/

One of Cecil the Lion’s cubs has been shot dead by a big game trophy hunter in Zimbabwe, just two years after his father was killed in similar circumstances.

The six-year-old lion named Xanda, who was in his prime, was killed just outside the Hwange National Park in north west Zimbabwe, not far from where Cecil was killed in 2015.

His death was discovered because Xanda was wearing an an electronic collar, fitted by researchers monitoring his movements in the area.

When the Zimbabwean professional hunter on the shoot, Richard Cooke from RC Safaris, discovered the dead lion had a collar, he handed it back to the researchers.

Andrew Loveridge from the Department of Zoology at Oxford University, which has a team supplying and fixing collars which monitor the lions in the Hwange National Park, said: "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.

Xanda the Lion, son of Cecil CREDIT: PICASA
“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 6 years old so it is all within the stipulated regulations.”


Mr Loveridge said he hoped that there would soon be a 5km exclusion zone around the Hwange National Park so that hunters would no longer accidentally shoot collared lions that wonder outside the boundary of the Park.

Cecil the Lion had wandered outside of the Park to the area of his birth, close to the boundary.

Mr Cooke, a well known professional hunter who lives in Victoria Falls, did not answer his phones on Thursday and has not yet revealed the name of his client. But most lion shooters are from the US, UK, Germany or South Africa.

Archive video of Cecil the Lion and his pride

01:21

The client may have paid about £40 000 for the shoot and for Xanda’s head to be cured and mounted and sent to him wherever he lives.

Cecil the Lion's death on July 1, 2015, caused global outrage and threw a spotlight on trophy hunting in Africa.

The Telegraph broke the news that Walter James Palmer, a 55-year-old dentist from Minnesota, US, was discovered to have paid US$65,000 (about £50,000 in today's exchange rate) to shoot and kill the much-loved lion with a bow and arrow.

He was forced to abandon his practice in suburban Minneapolis for weeks amid an international outcry over his actions.

Who is Walter Palmer? What we know about Cecil the lion's killer

02:30

Conservation groups in Zimbabwe and around the world reacted angrily too - partly because the Cecil was known to visitors and seemingly enjoyed human contact, and partly because of the way in which he was killed.


The 13-year-old big cat and shot at night near his birth place, close to the national park. He didn't die immediately and was tracked down the following day and finished off.

His head was curing in Bulawayo in preparation to be dried and mounted when police seized it. Charges against Dr Palmer were later withdrawn.

Following the incident, many US hunters cancelled trips to Zimbabwe as the massive level of negative media coverage dominated headlines for weeks.

However, some have begun returning to Zimbabwe as the US ban on the importation of trophies has been lifted.

More then 70 per cent of funds to safeguard Zimbabwe’s wildlife and catch poachers comes from revenue from professional hunters.

 

[Royal27]

Posted here already
https://www.africahunting.com/threads/cecil-redux-xanda.39462/#post-376819

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

 

[GuttormG]

Father, son, area of his birth, his death...

Not really sure they understand the difference between man and beast...

 

[Excessexpress]

Father, son, area of his birth, his death...

Not really sure they understand the difference between man and beast...

Clearly not, but a quick look at the comments provides a reassuring reminder that in the event of an apocalyptic event affecting our species, there will be plenty that will starve ahead of us.

 

[Bruce]

Not sure what went down here, but I presume the collar was not visible. If a collar is seen on any animal it should NOT be shot!!
The storm approaches....

 

[LivingTheDream]

I don't think this one is going to blow up too bad. The anti's have so much more to be angry about...Trump and grizzly delisting. And it isn't a slow News week, there is Trump, Maxine Walters, Catilyn Jenner and Kid Rocks Senate run, Russia, Mueller, stock market, etc.

I think this one will pass over quickly. It was posted on Drudge, but has already been moved off due to lack of clicks.

 

[Nhoro]

Not sure what went down here, but I presume the collar was not visible. If a collar is seen on any animal it should NOT be shot!!
The storm approaches....

It is completely legal to harvest an animal with a collar in Zimbabwe and in fact is part of the data collected.The data is used for many purposes, one of which is hunting quotas and the impact of trophy hunting on lion populations.

 

[Bruce]

I stand corrected.. thanks for that. I personally, would not shoot a collared animal, unless specifically asked to do so by the authorities.

 

[Royal27]

I stand corrected.. thanks for that. I personally, would not shoot a collared animal, unless specifically asked to do so by the authorities.

Why not? Just curious.

And by the way, I tend to agree. In my case it's more about wanting to be the first human to touch them, not anything to do with the actual research itself.

Not saying I wouldn't do it, but certainly not preference anymore than I want to shoot a kudu that was unloaded from a trailer.

 

[Nhoro]

I would say it is entirely up to the hunter whether they take the shot or not. I think the collars are a wonderful tool to collect data, part of which is hunting data. That data benefits hunters in the form of sustainable quotas and it keeps lion populations viable.It can also help detect poachers and has helped in the past to catch poachers. They can often be difficult to see.Personally, I think these hunters did the right thing anyway and the press is getting a whole bunch of sensational sales.Here in Zim, most people hardly heard about Cecil.The huge media circus doesn't seem to have resulted in any money into lion conservation, in fact it seriously dented hunting and earnings of hunting concessions- result is less anti poaching patrols and more poaching.

 

[Bruce]

Why not? Just curious.

And by the way, I tend to agree. In my case it's more about wanting to be the first human to touch them, not anything to do with the actual research itself.

Not saying I wouldn't do it, but certainly not preference anymore than I want to shoot a kudu that was unloaded from a trailer.

You sum it up well...if I see a collared animal, I immediately think of some research/programme etc. Its almost like a "tame "animal being monitored and not a free wild animal. I get the research and control side of it... they put collars on "some "animals for a reason... then don't shoot it, unless directed/ requested to do so ( my opinion).
I am going to do some reading up on this issue, just to get my mind clear on this!

 

[Nhoro]

Part of the data they collect is the length of time a lion holds a pride and mortality etc. Hunting will definitely impact a population, so I see it as part of their data.You harvest a lion- is that sustainable ? The research tell us that.For their research to be valid, hunted lions need to be studied and the impact of hunting studied too. Hunters are part of the environment that the lions live in. I also think that lions wander or are pushed out of the park by other prides. hunters harvest a few but many roam in peace. Those same farms could (and were) filled with cattle and lions shot on sight. Anyone interested should look for a book by Ted Davidson, first warden of Hwange. Land use was different back then ! Animal capture for zoos, lots of poaching in and around the new park. What exists now is a far cry from 100 years ago.

 

[Brent in Az]

Even though this week Lion was legally taken, I feel that outfitters should quit hunting the perimeter boundaries of these high profile areas.

The negative attention is not good.