Cecil Immortalised In Bronze

Cecil the lion, who died at the hands of hunters in Zimbabwe, will be honoured with a life-sized bronze statue.

14:42 07 August 2015

Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force has announced its plan to honour Cecil the lion with a life-sized bronze statue, which will be erected at the entrance to the park where he lived.

 

Cecil was shot by US dentist Walter Palmer in July and his death as prompted worldwide outrage. Mr Palmer, who said that he thought the hunt was legal, has went into hiding while two Zimbabwean men have been arrested over the killing.

 

Cheryl Rodrigues of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said: "Cecil was such an icon and it's created such a fuss everywhere we thought it would be nice to do it."

 

John Binda of Birds for Africa has been commissioned to make the statue. Mr Binda, a metal sculptor for 24 years, said he was “a little bit thunderstruck” to be chosen. He added: “There’s a hell of a lot of pressure.”

 

"We are going to have to be detached from the emotion and get on with the job."

 

But some have criticised the plan, with people writing on the organisation’s Facebook page to just use the funds to counter corruption and improve conservation.