Lion Hearted: The Life and Death of Cecil & the Future of Africa's Iconic Cats

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About Lion Hearted: The Life And Death Of Cecil & The

"Until the lion has its own storyteller, tales of the lion hunt will always glorify the hunter." -Zimbabwean proverb  In 2015, an American hunter named Walter Palmer shot and killed a lion named Cecil. The lion was one of dozens slain each year in Zimbabwe, which legally licenses the hunting of big cats. But Cecil's death sparked unprecedented global outrage, igniting thousands of media reports about the peculiar circumstances surrounding this hunt. At the center of the controversy was Dr. Andrew Loveridge, the zoologist who had studied Cecil for eight years. In Lion Hearted, Loveridge pieces together, for the first time, the fascinating life and murky details of this beloved lion's slaying.  In the tradition of Born Free and Gorillas in the Mist, Lion Hearted chronicles Loveridge's long acquaintance with a host of charismatic lions that his team has tracked, often from birth to death.  Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Loveridge learned to love predators at the knee of his father, an eminent herpetologist who stored baby crocodiles in the family bathtub. After earning his doctorate at Oxford, he seized an invitation to study the lions of Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. There he meets Stumpy Tail, who, despite her name, has the dignity of the Queen of the Animal Kingdom; Dynamite, a venerable coalition leader who, muscled out by younger males, sets off on an incredible 37-day, 137-mile journey to find a new home; and Kataza, who escapes another lion's claws, and whom Loveridge twice saves from death at the hands of humans. And, of course, there is Cecil.  Dethroned in an epic battle, he forms an alliance with a former rival. He also becomes a favorite of photographers and tourists - until the fateful night when a Minnesota dentist and his hunting guide entice the trusting cat with a free meal.  Loveridge unravels the complexities of lion society and the dangers the cats face both within their ranks a