American Hunter Killed Cecil, Beloved Lion That Was Lured Out of Its Sanctuary
By KATIE ROGERS

Cecil, a 13-year-old lion, wandered out of his sanctuary in a national park in Zimbabwe this month, following the scent of a potential snack.

At the other end of Cecil’s search was a lure, placed there by hunters who, conservationists say, wanted their prey to cross into unprotected territory so they could kill him.

Cecil, well known to those who visited the Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe for his jet black mane, was beheaded, according to conservation officials. His corpse was left to rot in the sun.

Zimbabwean officials said that Dr. Walter J. Palmer, an American hunter known for killing big game with a bow and arrow, killed Cecil, and was being sought on poaching charges.

Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Cecil was lured out of a protected game preserve one night in early July by a hunting party that tied a dead animal to a car.

The first shot, which the authorities say came from Dr. Palmer’s crossbow, was not enough to kill the lion. Cecil was tracked for nearly two days before Dr. Palmer killed him with a gun.

The details of the lion’s death have outraged nature enthusiasts and conservationists around the world who are troubled by wealthy big-game hunters who pay tens of thousands of dollars for licenses to kill protected animals for trophies and sport.

Hunting advocates and some conservationists argue that, if done responsibly, the selling of expensive licenses to big-game hunters can help pay for efforts to protect endangered species. In 2013, the Dallas Safari Club in Texas fought for the right to sell at auction a permit for the hunting of a black rhino in Namibia, setting off a debate over the practice.

The group argued that a limited hunt helped thin the herd of weak rhinos so the population could grow, and that the $350,000 paid in 2014 by a reality show host to hunt the animal would help fund Namibia’s conservation efforts.

In 2009, Dr. Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, paid $45,000 at an auction to help preserve an elk habitat in California.

A big-game hunter who prides himself on his skills in hunting without firearms, Dr. Palmer was profiled in 2009 in The New York Times, when he shot an elk dead from 75 yards with a compound bow in pursuit of a new bowhunting record. The Telegraph in Britain reported on Tuesday that he paid around $54,000 for the opportunity to hunt a lion.

Thousands of people have signed a petition, intended for Zimbabwe’s president, demanding justice for Cecil, and angry animal rights supporters have gone online to express their outrage at Dr. Palmer.

Once he was named as the hunter who killed Cecil, Dr. Palmer’s dentistry website was taken offline, and social media users quickly created a parody Facebook page for his office. His Yelp page was also overrun with indignant commenters.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on Tuesday that Dr. Palmer’s dentistry office had abruptly closed. A makeshift memorial featuring plush animal toys had been set up outside the office on Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement, Dr. Palmer defended his actions, saying that he believed what he had done was legal.

“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt,” Dr. Palmer said. “I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt.”

He said he had not yet been contacted by the authorities in Zimbabwe.

Dr. Palmer has had past legal problems related to hunting. He faced probation after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to making a false statement to federal officials about where, exactly, a black bear was killed in Wisconsin.

Attempts to reach Dr. Palmer on Tuesday at his home and his office were unsuccessful.

美牙醫殺辛巴威人氣獅王 全球公憤通緝他

美國一名牙醫神箭手誘殺辛巴威國家公園內的一頭明星獅子王，在全球引起公憤，辛巴威一名狩獵嚮導和一名地主廿九日因協助非法狩獵出庭應訊，而這名美國牙醫則成了通緝犯，罪名是非法殺死獅子。

十三歲的雄獅塞西爾（Cecil）在萬基國家公園（Hwange National Park）深受遊客喜愛，以深黑色鬃毛和對遊客友善聞名，並參與英國牛津大學研究，戴著追蹤定位項圈。

CNN報導，明尼蘇達州的牙醫巴默（Walter James Palmer）付給辛巴威狩獵嚮導布朗克斯特五萬美元獵殺這頭名獅。辛巴威保育工作小組組長羅德里格茲說，獵殺過程十分殘忍。

他說，七月六日，布朗克斯特帶巴默進入萬基國家公園，「他們在夜晚用探照燈狩獵，看到了塞西爾。他們把一隻死動物綁在車上，引誘塞西爾走出國家公園，把牠引到離公園半公里的私人土地。」

羅德里格茲說，巴默用弓箭射傷塞西爾，沒能殺死牠。兩人繼續追蹤這頭雄獅，四十小時後才找到牠並開槍打死。他們發現牠戴了定位項圈，試圖摧毀項圈。

他說，塞西爾被剝皮和砍頭，但牠的頭下落不明，「最悲慘的是，塞西爾死了，繼承獅王第一順位的雄獅傑利可（Jericho）很可能殺死塞西爾的所有幼獅，與母獅交配，傳宗接代，這是獅群社會的標準程序。」塞西爾生前與副手傑利可一起領導的獅群，有六頭母獅和十二頭幼獅。

紐約時報報導指出，巴默是神射手獵人，他最自豪的是不用槍，他2009年用複合弓在七十五碼外射死一頭麋鹿，紐約時報當時還為他寫了一篇報導。

巴默廿九日聲明說，他雇用有狩獵許可的專業嚮導，「就我所知，這趟旅程合法。我在結束時才知道我殺死了深受當地人喜愛的名獅，還有定位項圈和參與研究。我依賴當地嚮導的專業，確保合法狩獵。」

這不是巴默第一次非法狩獵，他2006年在威斯康辛州非法獵殺一頭黑熊，因不實陳述被判緩刑一年，罰款近三千美元。

巴默誘殺塞西爾的消息曝光後，成千上萬人連署向辛巴威總統請願，要求將凶手繩之以法。保護動物人士在網路上表達對巴默的憤怒。

巴默的牙科和網站都已關閉，網友立刻為他的牙科設立臉書惡搞頁面，被憤怒的言論塞爆。

專業嚮導布朗克斯特和地主恩德洛夫廿九日出庭。辛巴威國家公園管理局說，恩德洛夫沒有狩獵許可，布朗克斯特的執照被吊銷，他們獵到的獅子被沒收。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/world/africa/american-hunter-is-accused-of-killing-cecil-a-beloved-lion-in-zimbabwe.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytimes.com/world/20150729/c29lion/zh-hant/

2015-07-30．聯合報．A13．國際．編譯田思怡