Xanda, son of Cecil the lion, 'killed by hunter' in Zimbabwe

[BSM1]

Actually they do. Male lions are very protective of their cubs. They kill the cubs of other males if they can take over a pride, but they will defend the cubs they father. They also defend the cubs of another male in the pride. Often a large pride will have more than one adult male, usually brothers, protecting the pride and fathering cubs. Lions are very cooperative.

Xanda could very well have been tagged as Cecil's cub, now grown. Sub-adult males are driven out of the pride by males and females and form bachelor groups until they form their own pride. It's the sub-adults that invade and try to take over a pride, drive out the dominant male, and kill his cubs to bring the lioness(es) into heat. Then they father a new generation. Depending on the age of the erstwhile dominant male, the youngsters may succeed, or not. It's savage but fascinating.

Btw, housecats' behavior is identical. A tom will kill the kittens of another tom and breed with the female (queen). But he will fiercely defend his own kittens. Different genera and species of the big and little cats, but their behaviors and physiology are virtually identical.

Okay...but I'm sure we both can agree that the lion made a fine rug.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I'd be surprised if he pays more than what people around here do combined. Not that our prices are high, but everyone here either fishes and/or hunts. Many, many, many are against trophy hunting.

I meant specifically lions (as well as rhino and a few other African spotlight animals) get the most money from trophy hunters. Their industry is literally what's keeping not only the game wardens and land and breeding programs paid, but also keeping natives invested in protecting them as a national resource, because lions are dangerous to families and their relationships with lions is more complicated than farmers and wolves.
This is because it costs so friggen much to get a tag for big game, not just for the tag, but for travel and guide expenses.

pointing to the money these savages contribute is no different than pointing to how factory farming has a good impact on the economy or the small time pot dealers who sell Mexican cartel weed to pay bills and get some gas and cigarettes.

I think there's a big difference. Firstly because I can think of a lot of ways to outcompete both your examples and net a healthier product. Particularly in the weed example. (Industrialized food is a lot more complicated than either topic, and there is a certain amount of BS in the organic market that doesn't help) I can't think of how the armchair activism concerning big game animals is going to help more than trophy hunter cash. Especially now with foreign aid money being such a sensitive topic. We are currently better off with these rich ******** than without. It's be neat if we could rustle up enough grass roots conservation effort to make a dent, but it won't have the same impact as the money going directly to local communities, local game wardens, etc.

Personally I find 'take a picture with a lion cub' more damaging and exploitive than trophy hunters, because it involves more black market big cat trading, makes sanctuaries overcrowded from abandoned animals, muddied the breeding waters due to lack of paperwork, makes it nearly impossible to return lions to their native territories because they become human dependent, and it's something we could easily change if people could set aside their 'awws' and read the situation a bit deeper.

Tl;dr: Don't do photos with drugged up big cat cubs, folks. It hurts lions more than trophy hunters.

 

[Jainarayan]

Okay...but I'm sure we both can agree that the lion made a fine rug.

Sadly, you're probably right.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Personally I find 'take a picture with a lion cub' more damaging and exploitive than trophy hunters, because it involves more black market big cat trading, makes sanctuaries overcrowded from abandoned animals, muddied the breeding waters due to lack of paperwork, makes it nearly impossible to return lions to their native territories because they become human dependent, and it's something we could easily change if people could set aside their 'awws' and read the situation a bit deeper.

I don't even like people feeding wildlife because it makes them become very comfortable around people, and sometimes even become unnaturally dependent upon humans to feed them. And sometimes well intentioned people accidentally feed animals something that is poisonous to that particular animal. And some people are wicked and cruel, and would abuse a wild animal that is too trusting of humans.

 

[Stanyon]

Two years after Cecil the lion was killed by a trophy-hunter in Zimbabwe, prompting global outrage, his son may have met a similar sad end.

Xanda, a six-year-old lion with several young cubs, was reportedly shot on a trophy hunt.

He is said to have died outside the Hwange National Park in northern Zimbabwe.

The lion had been fitted with an electronic tracking collar by Oxford University researchers.
Xanda, son of Cecil the lion, 'killed by hunter' in Zimbabwe - BBC News

I really hate trophy hunters.

Sick ain't it?

 

[BSM1]

Sick ain't it?

Good thing someone shot that lion before it managed to swallow all that guy...just sayin'.

 

[Stanyon]

Good thing someone shot that lion before it managed to swallow all that guy...just sayin'.

All I'm saying is that people all over the world have used the killing and trophy taking of dangerous animals as a test of manhood for thousands of years and some still do to this day. Modern trophy hunters typically pay huge sums of money to hunt them, in the case of lions it is typically around $10,000- $35,000 most of which goes to anti-poaching and conservation efforts, the meat often goes to food banks to help feed the less well off.

 

[Nakosis]

Two years after Cecil the lion was killed by a trophy-hunter in Zimbabwe, prompting global outrage, his son may have met a similar sad end.

Xanda, a six-year-old lion with several young cubs, was reportedly shot on a trophy hunt.

He is said to have died outside the Hwange National Park in northern Zimbabwe.

The lion had been fitted with an electronic tracking collar by Oxford University researchers.
Xanda, son of Cecil the lion, 'killed by hunter' in Zimbabwe - BBC News

I really hate trophy hunters.

My new theory is that the purpose of intelligence is to consume all necessary resources in order to sustain itself. Of course this death was unnecessary, but the ability to deal with competing predators at a safe distance is the result of this primal drive.

I suspect man, if he remains the most intelligent species on earth will eventually consume all planetary resources. Either out of necessity or perhaps simply, as in the case of this lion, finds himself capable of doing so.

Morality aside, I suspect such is the eventual fate of the planet earth. Intelligent life will eventually find it necessary to consume all available resources in order to sustain itself.

How Long Do We Have Until We Exhaust All Of Our Resources?

Though I suspect that intelligence will find a way to continue beyond this.