Zim’s top lion dies at Hwange National Park
A Zimbabwe lion named Jericho has died!
Jericho became famous when he inherited the young family of Cecil the famous lion that was killed by American hunter, dentist Walter Palmer, in 2016 at Hwange National Park sparking international condemnation for trophy hunting.
Palmer used a bow and arrow to hunt and kill Cecil.
Jericho was almost the same age as Cecil, he died at 13 years old.
The satisfying thing about Jericho’s demise is that he died due to natural causes most likely age related.
Older lions struggle to catch prey and they often go for days without food, unlike their younger counterparts.
Jericho was closer to Cecil as the two alpha lions shared two prides of six lionesses and an estimated 24 young cubs.
According to reports, Jericho, who became famous after an international outrage over the death of Cecil was found dead last week on Saturday, “under a Diospyros bush in the shade and did not appear to have struggled prior to death.”
“The carcass was intact with no sign of any damage caused by scavengers,” read a report prepared by Andrew Loveridge and Jane Hunt from the Hwange Lion Research Project.
“Jericho had been fitted with a Global Positioning System (GPS) collar on July 5, 2016. Data from this collar reveal the lion last moved on the 25th of October, four days prior to the discovery of the carcass.
“This suggests he died at around this date and this is consistent with the opinion of Dr Rees (veterinarian Rob Rees),” the Hawange Lion Reasearch Project reported.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers, together with the researchers, removed the carcass.
Meanwhile, the samples for post-mortem will be taken to the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust laboratory for further analysis, if this is possible, considering the advanced state of putrefaction.
