Cecil the lion's killer revealed as American dentist

 Walt Palmer, left, and one of his many trophies.

Cecil the lion – the most famous creature in one of Zimbabwe's national parks – was killed by an American hunter who has boasted about shooting a menagerie of animals with his bow and arrow.

Cecil the lion in Hwange, Zimbabwe

  Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, is believed to have paid £35,000 to shoot and kill the much-loved lion with a bow and arrow. The animal was shot on July 1 in Hwange National Park.
Two independent sources have confirmed the hunter's identity to the paper, which has also seen a copy of the relevant hunting permit. Conservation groups in Zimbabwe reacted angrily to the news that the 13-year-old animal had been killed: partly because the lion was known to visitors and seemingly enjoyed human contact, and partly because of the way in which he was killed. He was lured out of the national park and shot.
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