Reputation of another U.S. trophy hunter ravaged online
A second American is wanted in Zimbabwe for hunting another lion. Zimbabwe wildlife officials named Dr. Jan Casimir Seski as a suspect in a new investigation into an illegal lion hunt this past April, three months before the death of Cecil the lion.
Like the American hunter who killed Cecil, Seski's reputation has also been ravaged on the Internet by opponents of trophy hunting, reports CBS News correspondent Anna Werner.
Pictures posted online show Seski's prowess with the bow and arrow as he poses with numerous animals he has killed through the years. But officials in Zimbabwe now want to speak with him about the lion he hunted in April, which they say happened without the proper permit.
"Our law enforcement officers are looking into the matter so that we can really understand what transpired and if what ever happened in April was illegally done," said Prince Mupazviriho, permanent secretary of Zimbabwe's Environment, Water and Climate Ministry.
Seski is a well-known gynecologist and oncologist in the Pittsburgh area. He has not responded to numerous attempts by CBS News to contact him.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) says about 600 lions are killed legally every year on trophy hunts, and 60 percent of those end up in the U.S.
"The scarcity is helping to drive the killing of these creatures," IFAW North American regional director Jeff Flocken said. "It's not something to be proud of. It's not something to show pictures of, standing behind dead animals. It's just seen these days as being perverse."
Zimbabwe wildlife officially claim Seski hunted the big cat on a farm next to Hwange National Park, where Cecil the lion had been a fixture.
Cecil's death sparked worldwide outrage that forced Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who shot, beheaded and skinned the beloved lion, into hiding.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said Palmer's representative finally reached out to them late last week. Palmer has not been charged in Zimbabwe, but officials there want him extradited.
This weekend, Zimbabwe suspended all lion, leopard and elephant hunts outside Hwange and banned bow hunting.
"There have been a number of positive developments since this tragedy with Cecil has occurred. ... We're very optimistic that Zimbabwe is going to take this matter very seriously," Flocken said.
At this point, Seski has not been charged, nor are officials in Zimbabwe seeking his extradition.
There were also reports this weekend that Jericho, another male lion in Cecil's pride, had been killed by hunters. But officials said Jericho was actually still alive and caring for Cecil's cubs.