What Scientists Learned From Cecil the Lion Before He Was Killed

Unlike the hundreds of anonymous African lions killed every year by trophy hunters, Cecil the lion has a name, a public face, and a scientific legacy. Since his gruesome killing, apparently at the hands of an American dentist after he was lured off his home in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, people have been mourning and angrily debating the circumstances of his death. Without taking away from this sadness, I hope to take a moment to celebrate Cecil’s life—indeed, all the lives of the 32,000 African lions remaining.

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