Beloved lion killed by trophy hunter in 'harrowing echo' of Cecil the Lion's death in 2015

A lion that was being tracked by Oxford University researchers in western Zimbabwe has been killed by a trophy hunter, in what one wildlife campaigner called a ‘harrowing echo’ of Cecil the Lion’s death in 2015

A lion that was being tracked by Oxford University researchers in western Zimbabwe has been killed by a trophy hunter, in what one wildlife campaigner called a ‘harrowing echo’ of Cecil the Lion’s death in 2015.

Blondie, a tourist favorite, was hunted down after being lured and baited out of Gwayi Conservancy, near Hwange National Park, according to the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting (CBTH), an advocacy organization based in the U.K.

While lion hunting is not illegal in Zimbabwe, Blondie’s killing was because he was under the country’s minimum age of 6, according to Eduardo Gonçalves, the organization’s founder.

“Blondie was a father, a leader, a national treasure, not a plaything for a rich Westerner with a gun,” Gonçalves said. “Governments must act now.”

The beloved feline was killed in late June but his death only began to garner international attention in the last week.