Jericho Is Alive And Is Not Cecil’s Brother
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The lion named Jericho is alive, and is not Cecil’s brother after all.
Amid conflicting accounts on Saturday that Jericho, who was reported to be the ‘brother’ of Cecil the lion, was feared dead, a Zimbabwean wildlife authority has now said that Jericho is still alive.
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, the government authority on wildlife in Zimbabwe, said Sunday that Jericho is living and being monitored by Brent Stapelkamp of the Lion Research Project.
The authority also emphasized that Jericho is a ‘coalition’ partner to Cecil, not a blood-related sibling.
Earlier
Earlier reports that Cecil the Lion’s brother Jericho had been shot dead are being disputed:
The brother of Cecil, the lion killed in Zimbabwe by an American hunter last month, is not dead, a researcher monitoring the pride told Reuters, contradicting media reports that Jericho had been killed.
“He looks alive and well to me as far as I can tell,” said Brent Stapelkamp, field researcher for the Hwange Lion Research Project which is monitoring the lion with a GPS tag.
A group called the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force posted on its Facebook page that Jericho had been killed at 4 p.m. on Saturday, a report picked up by some Western news media that was rapidly spread on Twitter.
2:31pmEDT: Another tragedy in Zimbabwe when Jericho was shot by poachers. Jericho was looking after Cecil’s cubs, and his death makes the family even more vulnerable.
The animal was protecting his lion cubs after he was shot dead by Minnesota dentist, Walter Palmer earlier this month, sparking outrage around the world.
Johnny Rodrigues, Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said in a statement: ‘It is with great sadness and regret that we report that Jericho was shot dead at 4pm this afternoon.
‘We have no further details but will advise as soon as we know more.’
Before his death there had been concerns Jericho would not be able to hold the territory of Cecil’s cubs alone and could be chased away by rival lions.
Unprotected, the lionesses and cubs are now under threat and also move away or be killed.
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