Wow! A new children's book entitled "Cecil's Pride: The True Story of a Lion King" (by best-selling children's author Craig Hatkoff).

An article (see below) authored by Nara Schoenberg (Contact Reporter) and published in the Chicago Tribune on May 11, 2016:

***
Cecil the lion's cubs: Where are they now?

After a wild lion named Cecil was killed by a big game hunter from Minnesota last July, sparking international outrage, the researchers who had been tracking the charismatic black-maned male feared more carnage.

Cecil's close ally at Zimbabwe's sprawling Hwange National Park, a feisty male named Jericho, was missing too.

And what of Cecil's young cubs? Without their father's protection, they could be killed by one of his rivals.

Bits of the story trickled out over the following weeks: Cecil's cubs had survived under the rule of Jericho, who had returned to take his place as king of the pride. But the details remained elusive. In one news account, a grieving local game guide declined to take journalists to photograph the cubs. And there were inaccuracies; Jericho and Cecil were not brothers, as was initially reported.

But now, thanks to the new children's book, "Cecil's Pride: The True Story of a Lion King," we have a much fuller picture of the aftermath, complete with remarkable photos by Brent Stapelkamp, a lion researcher who tracked Cecil for years.

"The world at large is not aware of this part of the story, and it's really in my view an incredibly powerful story," said best-selling children's author Craig Hatkoff ("Owen & Mzee"), who co-wrote the book with his daughters Juliana, 21, and Isabella, 17.

"There's really no way to explain the Jericho phenomenon — it's almost contrary to nature, to what a lion of a different bloodline will do. They normally come in and they want to start their own bloodline. It's what nature tells them. So the fact that Jericho took over and is protecting the cubs — you really couldn't make that story up."

And the news out of Hwange continues to be good, according to Andrew Loveridge, who heads Oxford University's WildCRU Trans Kalahari Predator Project, which tracked Cecil.

"Cecil's three females and seven cubs (are) still all alive and well and still within their normal home range, so they have survived almost a year after Cecil's death," Loveridge said Wednesday. "We were worried one of the females (Nobhule) had died because the GPS collar she was fitted with stopped moving for a few weeks, but turns out she just managed to drop her GPS collar and she is fine."

Even before his dramatic death, Cecil was famous in Zimbabwe for his gracious response to tourists. Every year thousands visit Hwange, a game preserve roughly the size of Connecticut, and the charismatic lion king didn't mind playing to the crowds. Unlike most animals, he would stroll by safari vehicles, allowing gawkers to take his picture.

Cecil and Jericho weren't always friends. Cecil's brother and close ally, Leander, had died in 2009 defending their territory from Jericho's father. Jericho and his brothers stepped in and drove Cecil from his territory. When Jericho and Cecil met again in 2013, they fought violently. Stapelkamp, who knew about their family histories, thought, "This is not going to end well," the book says.

But a few days later, Cecil and Jericho were spotted again, clearly on friendly terms. It's extremely rare for unrelated male lions to live together in the same territory, but the alliance held. Cecil and Jericho formed a pride together, according to the book.

Cecil fathered eight cubs by age 13, but his size and showy black mane made him a target for trophy hunters. According to the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, Cecil was lured out of Hwange, shot with a bow and arrow by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer, and later killed with a gun.

Palmer has said he didn't know Cecil was a beloved tourist attraction. In October, Zimbabwean officials concluded that the hunt was legal.

Cecil's death was an online cause celebre, sparking calls for a ban on big-game hunting and attempts to shut Palmer's business down with bad online reviews.

In Zimbabwe, the government feared that Cecil's cubs, less than a year old at the time, would be killed by the male who took over the pride.

Park employees tried to find Jericho for days, according to the book; they suspected he was out looking for Cecil. And, sure enough, he was spotted making a quiet grumbling sound — a call meant to attract Cecil without alerting rival lions that something was amiss.

Jericho then returned to the pride and accepted Cecil's cubs as his own. Stapelkamp kept an eye on the cubs after that, and they seemed happy and well fed.

They were even spotted playing among elephants, with Jericho watching nearby.

"It's the 'Lion King' with a twist," Hatkoff said. "I don't know if you remember Scar the bad uncle? Scar's the one who's trying to kill our protagonist, Simba (the lion cub). Well, here Scar turns out to be the good guy."

***

that writer needs to leave that crack pipe alone and get help....

But isn't real life a Disney story?

Maybe we should all sing the "Circle of Life" and the animals could dance and the baboon could hold out the cubs and the elephants, buffalo and antelope could bow down. I'm still looking for a purple warthog.

You laugh, but someone is actually following the Cubs, sent me a pic a short time ago. I will try to find and post

Can't remember the name of the follow up movie to "Lion King" but when our grown kids were small, we went to see it. I will always remember one scene, where a female warthog referred to a male warthog as "Moto Moto". It struck me as humorous. My wife and kids didn't see any humor in it.

found it....

http://www.express.co.uk/news/...tional-Park-Zimbabwe


Link has story, photos, and video of Cecil's Grandcubs that were recently born.

They had Jericho on bait 5 days ago, but decided not to shoot to avoid another international incident.

Jesus Christ. Who writes this stuff with a straight face