Jericho The Lion: Officials Update The World On Lion’s Fate As Outrage Over Cecil’s Death Continues

Jericho the Lion is not dead, officials say. Reports had surfaced recently that the lion who was close to Cecil the Lion had also been killed by a hunter in African. However, a new report released over the weekend states that those earlier reports were not correct. Jericho the Lion was not killed at all, according to National Geographic.

Reports of the lion’s death first surfaced on Saturday, but the new report was released just one day later. David Macdonald, director of Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), shared the latest on Jericho’s fate, and he said that, “Jericho was seen alive and well. He has been feeding on a giraffe kill with the lionesses from his pride.”

That report was released at 6:15 a.m. on Sunday morning.

The lions at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe have the eyes of the world focused on them since the death of Cecil the Lion made international headlines late last month. An American dentist killed the famous lion, and the death caused outrage around the world.

Many spoke out on social media, and many celebrities used their fame to call for action after Cecil’s death in July. Jimmy Kimmel attacked the dentist behind Cecil’s death during one of nightly monologues. He ended his speech with a plea for donations, and money started to pour into the organization that conducts the research at the Hwange National Park.

Walter Palmer owned his own dental practice in Minnesota, and the Yelp page of River Bluff Dental has also seen an influx of attacks against the dentist, according to International Business Times. After the death of Cecil, more than 4,300 reviews were left. Some even wished death upon Palmer. However, Yelp decided to wipe most of the negative reviews clean from the business’ page. That move angered people.

“Yelp’s autocratic censorship of this this [sic] historic, unprecedented outpouring of participation in public debate silenced and disempowered their loyal contributors and deceptively erased the debate from public view — apparently to protect River Bluff Dental and its criminal dentist Walter Palmer.”

As for Jericho the Lion, the focus turned to him after Cecil’s death. Some reports called Jericho the brother of Cecil, but that is not the case. Jericho did step in after Cecil’s tragic death to care for those cubs left behind. It was feared that another male lion would come in and kill those cubs left behind by Cecil.

Jericho did not allow that to happen. David Macdonald spoke about the natural way of life for lions. According to Daily Mail, he said that, “The natural law in lion society is that when a male dies and his weakened coalition is usurped, the new incoming males kill their predecessors’ cubs. This may not happen because Cecil’s brother is still holding the fort.”

However, MacDonald has now said in new statements that Jericho and Cecil were not related by blood.

“They were not related though their bond was one close to brotherhood. Male lions often form what are termed co-operative ‘coalitions’ with unrelated males in order to better compete with other males for territories and prides.”

Cecil’s death has sparked international calls for action. People want the illegal hunting of animals to stop. However, that has not happened. Washington has called for new hunting legislation since Cecil’s death. According to The Hill, Sen. Bob Menendez spoke about the new bill proposed in Washington since Cecil’s death called The Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act.

“Let’s not be cowardly lions when it comes to trophy killings. Cecil’s death was a preventable tragedy that highlights the need to extend the protections of the Endangered Species Act. When we have enough concern about the future of a species to propose it for listing, we should not be killing it for sport.”

As Cecil’s death angers the people of the world, conservations are fighting to get their message out. In New York City on Saturday night, photos of endangered animals lit up the Empire State Building, according to a recent Inquisitr report.

The event was held by the Oceanic Preservation Society and Discovery, and Cecil the Lion was one of the animals displayed on the Empire State Building. People in New York City shared images of the different photos displayed on their social media pages.

Hunters will not stop hunting overnight. Just days after the death of Cecil the Lion, five elephants, a mother and her four offspring, were killed in Kenya, according to the Washington Post. Elephants are often hunted because of their tusks. They can be sold for $1,000 each.

“The poaching of elephants has increased exponentially because of the demand for ivory in Asia, where it’s used for unproven medicinal purposes. Between 2010 and 2012, poachers killed more than 100,000 African elephants — a level of destruction that put the species on the road to extinction.”

What do you think of the latest update on Jericho the Lion?

[Photo: Twitter]