{"id":4895,"date":"2017-07-20T11:44:54","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T19:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/animalliberationpressoffice.org\/NAALPO\/?p=4895"},"modified":"2017-07-23T11:46:29","modified_gmt":"2017-07-23T19:46:29","slug":"two-years-after-cecil-the-lions-death-son-xanda-killed-by-game-hunter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/animalliberationpressoffice.org\/NAALPO\/2017\/07\/20\/two-years-after-cecil-the-lions-death-son-xanda-killed-by-game-hunter\/","title":{"rendered":"Two years after Cecil the lion\u2019s death, son Xanda killed by game hunter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(CNN) \u2013\u00a0\"\"<\/cite><\/strong>Cecil the lion\u2019s 6-year-old son was shot and killed by a big-game trophy hunter in western Zimbabwe earlier this month, according to a source familiar with the hunt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Xanda had been tracked with a fitted GPS satellite collar since 2015, the same year his father was killed. His death on July 7 was first indicated by a lack of movement data from the collar.<\/div>\n
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The lion, which was in his prime, had roamed outside the bounds of Hwange National Park and into the Ngamo Forest Area \u2014 land that offers little to no protection for the lions, as game hunters are legally able to shoot for sport there if they possess the right permits.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0\u201cHe was shot two kilometers from the park boundary in the Ngamo Forest,\u201d said Dr. Andrew Loveridge, a research fellow and project leader with Oxford University\u2019s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit who had fitted Xanda\u2019s GPS collar. \u201cAs researchers, we are saddened at the death of a well-known study animal we have monitored since birth,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n
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According to the source familiar with the hunt, the safari was led by a professional hunter whose client was a Spanish national. The source said the hunt was a legal expedition and that the outfitter had been properly registered.<\/div>\n
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On Friday, Tinashe Farawo, a Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Authority spokesman, confirmed the \u201cunfortunate incident\u201d and said that authorities would be issuing a full statement \u201csoon.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The basic circumstances of how Xanda was killed largely mirrors father Cecil\u2019s death just two years ago \u2014\u00a0one that prompted outrage<\/a>\u00a0among animal rights activists and conservationists worldwide.<\/div>\n
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In July 2015, 13-year-old Cecil was lured out of the park boundary with food, shot with a crossbow, tracked for 40 more hours, then finished off with a gun, according to authorities.\u00a0The big cat was skinned\u00a0<\/a>and his head reportedly cut off as a trophy.<\/div>\n
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The killer, Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer, his professional hunter guide and the owner of the land where the hunt took place\u00a0were initially accused of an illegal hunt<\/a>\u00a0under the country\u2019s Parks and Wildlife Act. A decision was made later\u00a0not to press charges<\/a>\u00a0against Palmer.<\/div>\n
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Facebook group Lions of Hwange National Park posted that Xanda had been shot by a trophy hunter several days ago.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe can\u2019t believe that now, 2 years since Cecil was killed, that his oldest Cub Xanda has met the same fate,\u201d the post read. \u201cWhen will the Lions of Hwange National Park be left to live out their years as wild born free lions should?\u201d<\/div>\n
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Masha Kalinina from Humane Society International condemned the shooting and urged Zimbabwe to trophy hunting altogether, citing Botswana and Kenya\u2019s conservation efforts.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe killing of Xanda just goes to show that trophy hunters have learned nothing from the international outcry that followed Cecil\u2019s death. They continue at a time when lions face a conservation crisis in Africa, with as few as 20,000 lions left in the wild. Xanda was a well-studied lion like this father and critical to conservation efforts in Zimbabwe,\u201d Kalinina said.<\/div>\n
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African lion populations have fallen almost 60% over the past three decades, with fewer than 30,000 African lions \u2013 and possibly as little as 20,000 estimated to remain today, according to Humane Society International.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(CNN) \u2013\u00a0Cecil the lion\u2019s 6-year-old son was shot and killed by a big-game trophy hunter in western Zimbabwe earlier this month, according to a source familiar with the hunt. Xanda had been tracked with a fitted GPS satellite collar since 2015, the same year his father was killed. His death on July 7 was first … <\/p>\n

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