Outcries could be heard around the globe after a Minnesota dentist was identified as the man who killed Zimbabwe’s beloved Cecil the Lion. 

Dr. Walter Palmer was named by the Telegraph as the man who paid $55,000 to hunt the famous 13-year-old animal, luring him out of Hwange National Park with dead meat, piercing him with a bow and arrow, and then following him for 40 hours before shooting him dead with a rifle. Cecil was ultimately skinned and beheaded. 

Outrage ensued. People tweeted death threats directed at Palmer and posted contact information for his Bloomington, Minnesota, dental practice, BuzzFeed wrote. The Yelp page for his practice was flooded with over 6,000 reviews, lambasting Palmer for his actions and resulting in a one-star rating. 

He closed his dental practice and shut the blinds at the office, but that did not stop people from leaving stuffed animals and notes outside the building in memory of Cecil, Fox’s Minneapolis station KMSP reported. 

Celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel, Ricky Gervais and Victoria’s Secret supermodel Candice Swanepoel, who is South African, spoke out against the horrible act. 

Kimmel teared up while discussing the incident on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” He said, “Is it that difficult for you to get an erection that you need to kill things? If that’s the case, they have a pill for that — it works great.” 

Cecil was wearing a GPS collar as part of an ongoing research project with the University of Oxford, according to the Guardian. After he was killed, the collar was removed.

“Palmer shot Cecil with a bow and arrow, but this shot didn’t kill him,” Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said. “They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun. The hunters then found that the dead lion was wearing a tracking collar, which they unsuccessfully tried to hide.”

Palmer released a statement to the media, claiming he thought his hunt was legal: 

I hired several professional guides, and they secured all proper permits. To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled. 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. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt. Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion.

In 2006, Palmer pleaded guilty to killing a black bear in Wisconsin outside a permitted zone, NBC noted. He was given three years’ probation and a $3,000 fine. 

Almost 400,000 people have a signed a petition on Care2 demanding justice for Cecil. 

Find the definition of the following words and expressions.

1.    it is a strap of leather or other material that is put around the neck of an animal

2.    to persuade sb to do sg by offering them sg exciting

3.    to become emotional and cry a little

4.    high level of knowledge

5.    to make sg certain to happen

6.    a strong expression of anger

7.    to trust

8.    to criticize someone severely

9.    an official document that allows you to do sg

10.  a period of time when a criminal must behave well

Key:

1.    collar

2.    lure

3.    tear up

4.    expertise

5.    ensure

6.    outcry

7.    rely on

8.    lambast

9.    permit

10.  probation 

In another incredible real-life parallel, meerkat Bob acts like the movie character Timon as a drifter. The cheeky critter only comes to Marcell’s when he feels like it and enjoys free meals. Pictures show how the pair were inseparable from the beginning and are still good pals today – despite rapidly-growing Zinzi, now six months old, now vastly out-sizing her cheeky chum. And there’s nothing they like better than lion around together in South Africa’s summer heat.

Marcell added: "Bob seems to have a "Hakuna Matata" problem-free philosophy and taught Zinzi how to relax Zinzi was brought in at just one day old when Marcell realised her mother was refusing to feed her – a harsh reality of nature that could have meant the end of adorable Zinzi.

But almost as soon as the lion had moved in to the home, near Sun City, South Africa, Marcell quickly realised he wasn’t Zinzi’s only fan. Lively two-year-old Meerkat instantly took a shine to his new playmate. Amazingly Bob began following his much bigger friend day and night and would even snuggle in at nap time. "Bob likes having anything cute and cuddly around," said Marcell. "If it’ll lie down and cuddle him he will love it".   The pair quickly formed an unlikely friendship and were soon doing everything together.

Marcell said: "They play together, eat together and drink together. Whatever Zinzi was having in those first few days and weeks Bob would have as well". Bob is a celebrity face around the zoo, with some visitors coming back five or six times to see him again and again. ‘Meerkats can be very aggressive but he’s really cool’, said Marcell. "He’s got loads of friends around here who he goes and sees every day. He plays with the hyenas and other animals and they don’t mind him. He pretty much runs the whole farm," he joked.

Bob’s runs the sprawling Predator World Zoo and Game Farm, which covers 1,000 hectares in the country’s north-west. It is home to over 36 species of animal including leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, snakes and birds.