Zimbabwe's Cecil the lion was slaughtered by a United States trophy hunter in a killing that has perhaps delivered a fatal blow to a certain American fascination with Hemingway's great white hunter.
Walter Palmer, a Minneapolis dentist, reportedly paid $68,000 to kill the lion.
Cecil was christened by Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research which had been observing lions in Hwange National Park since 1999 to track the impact of sport hunting beyond the park on the lion population within the park.
He was named for the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes who founded Rhodesia but ever since he was first spotted in 2008 his distinctive black fringed mane made him a symbol of pride for Zimbabweans. He was known around the world.
The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity said Palmer and professional Zimbabwean hunter Theo Bronkhorst went out at night with a spotlight on July 1 and tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil into range outside the national park.
"Palmer shot Cecil with a bow and arrow but this shot didn't kill him. They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun. Cecil was skinned and beheaded. We don't know the whereabouts of the head," the charity said.
When the killing became public this week, the internet fell on Walter Palmer from a great height.
The Google page for his River Bluff dental practice was swamped by outraged comments and black humour, his Facebook page was shut down, photographs of his previous trophy kills including elephants, bison, elk, leopards, a white rhino and water buffalo started doing the rounds as did his $3000 fine for killing a bear in 2006 in Wisconsin.
Celebrities took to Twitter.
Mia Farrow tweeted his Palmer's business address; Ricky Gervais tweeted a photograph of the lion - "RIP #CecilTheLion I'm struggling to imagine anything more beautiful than this".
Sharon Osbourne said "I hope that #WalterPalmer loses his home, his practice & his money. He has already lost his soul..."
The US late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel choked up on air as he condemned Cecil's death.
Palmer issued a letter to his patients: "I understand and respect that not everyone shares the same views on hunting. I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favourite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt. I have not been contacted by authorities in Zimbabwe or in the US about this situation, but will assist them in any inquiries they may have. Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion."
Palmer, a father of two, then went to ground.
Andrew Loveridge, one of the principal researchers on Oxford University project, told National Geographic magazine that Cecil and another male lion named Jericho led two prides with six lionesses and a dozen young cubs, and he feared for the safety of the cubs now Cecil had been killed.
