https://www.sapeople.com/2019/...ion-day-in-zimbabwe/

Link has photo of the lion.



BREAKING: Popular Lion Seduli Killed by Hunters on World Lion Day in Zimbabwe
By Jenni Baxter - Aug 14, 2019


A popular male lion, which had been photographed frequently by hundreds of visitors to Hwange National Park in west Zimbabwe, was shot dead by hunters this last weekend on World Lion Day (10 August).


In a heartbreaking message on social media on Wednesday evening, Captured in Africa (CIA) Foundation founder Drew Abrahamson announced the devastating news, which she had found out today.

The lion was apparently on the outskirts of the park. CIA had regularly published posts about Seduli and another male lion, Mopane, who had been photographed together by many international safari visitors over the past few years.

Abrahamson said: “Despite our previous attempts as a community online to prevent these two males from being hunted, Seduli has unnecessarily lost his life at the hands of hunters and Mopani now roams the wilds without his companion.”



She posted two photos – one of Seduli, and another showing other Hwange male lions who have been killed in this region over the past decade. One of the most famous lions to be killed was one named Cecil in 2015.



“Does this number of male lions shot over 10 years in one region appear sustainable to you given that lion populations have declined across Africa by 43% in the last 25 years?

“Add to this that with each of these males taken out of a pride, came the loss of either lionesses and cubs dying in the change-over or conflict it caused.

“Dispersal of youngsters fleeing into external areas creating potential human-wildlife conflict issues with communities living on the borders of the park is not uncommon and is proven in some cases to be as a direct result of these pride males being taken out by hunters,” said Abrahamson.

Supporters of hunting claim that the sport’s focus is on sustainability, and that the areas in which hunting takes place are not suitable for photographic safaris and therefore by using them for hunting it generates revenue to maintain these wild habitats.

“But how are you protecting the wildlife if you are taking out males from prides who frequent the National Park?” asks Abrahamson.

It’s time, she says, for an independent scientific study on the sustainability of the numbers taken from this region, and the impact these losses are having on the lion pride dynamics, as well as the knock-on affect to communities in these areas.

According to Abrahamson, these are healthy lions being taken out of the gene pool, and lions which are still breeding and actively part of a healthy pride. These lions traverse the park and viable protected photographic areas. She says their loss contradicts the hunters’ philosophies.

Abrahamson asked that readers “share this far and wide to raise awareness of the continued unsustainable hunting taking place on the outskirts of Hwange, and to raise a call for the photographic operators and stakeholders in dialogue with Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to address the issue of continued losses of lions known to and photographed by the hundreds of visitors who pay to visit Zimbabwe annually.”

Oh, brother. Another named lion bites the dust.

Interesting research article about the lion.
http://friendsofhwange.com/cec...-update-latest-news/



CECIL’S PRIDE UPDATE – LATEST NEWS
October 20, 2018 FOH Team


The death of Cecil the Lion in July 2015 sparked intense public interest in the fate of Cecil’s pride and progeny left behind. This is the latest news:


Cecil’s pride is comprised of three lionesses and seven of his offspring of which five are females and two are males. The pride has been under the protection of a mature male, known as Bhubezi since about a year after Cecil’s demise. At eleven years old, Bhubezi is getting on in years and early in 2018 was displaced from the pride by two new males on the block. The pair, known as Humba and Netsayi, are cohort brothers – they share the same father, but have different mothers.



Their sire is Seduli who currently holds territory in the Main Camp area with his cohort brother Mopane. Humba was born in May 2013. He has a dark-tinged mane and is collared. His mother was originally a Nehimba female who split to join the Nora pride closer towards Main Camp. Netsayi, blond and uncollared, was born in December 2014 to a different female of the Nora’s. The two cohorts of cubs moved around and grew up together, and Netsayi dispersed with Humba even though he’s younger. There were originally eight cubs in the two cohorts, but many of these have been missing for some time.


As is usual, the new incoming males caused much disruption within Cecil’s pride. The three mature lionesses – Cecil’s girls – all had cubs to Bhubezi at the time, and two of these lionesses immediately took off in an effort to save their cubs. We saw them at Broken Rifle pan on the Wilderness concession, not too far from the rest of the pride, with three older cubs and two little ones. All were in great condition with bright, inquisitive eyes and full barrel-bellies. Not much beats the sight of mischievous lion cubs boisterously playing, chewing, rolling, stalking and pouncing – honing vital skills. The third lioness, a collared female known as Sisi, lost her cubs, but has already mated with the newcomers.





Cecils two young boys were immediately driven out of the pride to avoid any competition. They are almost four years old now and have tried – and managed – to stay under Bhubezi’s radar for too long. They haven’t joined anyone else yet and are sometimes still seen with their mums, sometimes near Bhubezi and have even been seen with the young Somadada boy, the only remaining male cub from Jericho’s final litter.



Cecil’s five female offspring have engaged in an orgy of familiarization and mating with Humba and Netsayi, as is usual at the takeover of a pride. There is no doubt that this will herald the start of another era of lions, and we await the birth of new cubs with eager anticipation.

There's a World Lion Day?

Who knew?

Somehow, this seems like poetic justice to me!

When will there be a World Leopard day?


How about a World Terrorist Day?

Does anyone know what block/area he was shot in?

Jeez, it sounds like they have named every lion in Hwange!

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
Jeez, it sounds like they have named every lion in Hwange!

I was there a few weeks ago and spoke with lion research members of Wild Cru...

...they pretty much have.

I am starting to smell a rat on this one. I can’t find anyone who knows of a lion being shot and no one seems to know about this “Captured in Africa (CIA) Foundation founder Drew Abrahamson” person either.

I believe the story. I was forwarded a picture of a beautiful lion taken late last month by a Texan supposedly in the same area as Cecil.
Appears to be an African PH/Operator.
However, I don’t think the date coincides with lion day.

Not at liberty to say more.

I know of one taken on the edge of Hwange in late May or very early June in Deka. But doesn’t fit timeline of this story and also visited with lion research in Hwange after that one and they were not upset by it. So still not sure about this story above.

Have you contacted the supposed outfitter? After a search on fb I see some on the Big Cat 'Conservation' page claim which outfitter it is. I'm not going to name them here, who knows what's true in this story, so don't want to involve people who might not be involved at all, even if everything is legal.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
I am starting to smell a rat on this one. I can’t find anyone who knows of a lion being shot and no one seems to know about this “Captured in Africa (CIA) Foundation founder Drew Abrahamson” person either.

Andrea "Drew" Abrahamson is formerly personal assistant to Dereck and Beverly Joubert.

I suppose she saw there was plenty of money to be spread around and wanted her piece.

Yes I saw who was named on Facebook... an RSA outfit. Still no word on “where” it was allegedly shot.

Online communities aren't worth anything in African conservation; but the ARAs aren't interested in dealing with local communities because they can't influence them with a few baubles like they can game department Directors.

"Popular lion Seduli" Yeah! I bet he was real popular when he roamed into the communal areas and terrorized the villagers while killing their livestock.

Mark

My bro in law is an internet marketing expert (he grosses a few million per year and is quite well known in the field).

He told me that prior to Cecil being shot there were exactly ZERO Google searches for Cecil the lion.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
My bro in law is an internet marketing expert (he grosses a few million per year and is quite well known in the field).

He told me that prior to Cecil being shot there were exactly ZERO Google searches for Cecil the lion.

I was JUST thinking of this but forgot who posted it.

Would be interested to see the results on this lion...