Palmer on the lam as Zimbabwe asks for his extradition to face charges.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Dr. Walter Palmer, the U.S. dentist who killed the lion Cecil in Zimbabwe, wanted to shoot a “very large elephant,” his guide and professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst told the Daily Telegraph Thursday.
Bronkhorst told the Telegraph that after killing the lion in Hwange National Park, Palmer asked him if he could find an elephant whose tusk weighed at least 63 pounds. “I told him I would not be able to find one so big, so the client left the next day,” he affirmed.
Prosecutors charged Bronkhorst Wednesday for failing to prevent Palmer from unlawfully killing Cecil. However, they are yet to charge Honest Ndlovu — a second suspect and farm owner — who has been named as an accomplice. Ndlovu appeared in court Wednesday.
Bronkhorst told The Telegraph that he only saw the collar around Cecil’s neck after the beast was wounded and tracked overnight.
“I was devastated,” Bronkhorst said. “I could not have seen the collar at night. We would never shoot a collared animal. I was devastated, and so was (Palmer), we were both upset, and I panicked and took it off and put it in a tree. I should have taken it to [the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority], I admit that. … We took the head and skin, as the client had paid for the trophy.”
While outrage continues to pour forth from every corner of the globe, locals don’t seem fazed by the killing, reported the Daily Mail.
“What is so special about this one,” asked Tryphina Kaseke, a used-clothes dealer on the streets of Harare. “Are you saying that all this noise is about a dead lion? Lions are killed all the time in this country,” he added.