‘No lion is safe’: Blondie the lion lured from protected research area and killed

A trophy hunter who killed a lion in Zimbabwe that was part of a study has drawn criticism from wildlife advocates. It mirrors another incident in which a research lion named Cecil was killed by an American hunter in the same country, outside of the same national park, a decade ago. That case also led to backlash.

Blondie the lion

The most recent lion killed, named Blondie, was part of an Oxford University research project and was equipped with a collar sponsored by Africa Geographic, a safari company.

The company announced that Blondie was killed by a hunter in June near Hwange National Park. Officials said the trophy hunter used bait to get Blondie to wander out of the protected area and into an area where hunting is permitted. 

A spokesperson for Zimbabwe’s National Parks told The Associated Press on Thursday that the hunter legally killed the lion and had obtained the necessary permits.

Zimbabwe law states that up to 100 lions can be hunted annually. In most cases, foreign hunters pay tens of thousands of dollars to hunt lions, often collecting the head or skin as a souvenir. 

Critics speak out against killing

Africa Geographic CEO Simon Espley condemned the killing. He said the death of Blondie makes “a mockery of ethics” that trophy hunters maintain they adhere to because the lion, described as a breeding male in the prime of his life, wore a highly visible research collar. Hunting enthusiasts say they solely kill older lions that are no longer breeding. 

“That Blondie’s prominent collar did not prevent him from being offered to a hunting client confirms the stark reality that no lion is safe from trophy hunting guns,” Espley said.

Lion hunts are a polarizing issue. Advocates for hunting argue it raises money for conservation efforts, while some critics want trophy hunting banned altogether. 

African countries differ in regulations. Kenya has outlawed commercial hunts, while in Zimbabwe and South Africa, they are legal. Botswana rescinded a previous ban on the practice six years ago.

Official defends hunter

Zimbabwe Parks Agency spokesperson, Tinashe Farawo, said that funds from hunts are integral to supporting wildlife conservation efforts in southern Africa, which are in dire need of money. He came to the hunter’s defense, arguing that hunts often happen under the cover of night, and Blondie’s collar may not have been seen by the big game hunter. 

He told the AP that he did not have knowledge of Blondie being lured out of his protected area by bait, but argued that there isn’t anything “unethical or illegal about that for anyone who knows how lions are hunted. This is how people hunt.”

Farawo added, “Our rangers were present. All the paperwork was in order. Collars are for research purposes, but they don’t make the animal immune to hunting.” 

Officials have declined to identify the hunter who killed Blondie. 

A decade after Cecil’s death

Following the death of Cecil the lion in 2015,  a lot of anger was directed toward the hunter who killed him, Walter Palmer, a Minnesota dentist and big game hunter who lured Cecil out of the very same national park in Zimbabwe. Cecil was also part of a study by Oxford University.