UPDATE: Brother of Zimbabwe’s lion Cecil appears alive and well: researcher Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) Facebook post on 1 August 2015: 'It is with huge disgust and sadness that we have just been informed that Jericho, Cecil's brother has been killed at 4pm today.' Graphic: ZCTF

By Emily Shapiro
1 August 2015 (ABC News) – Cecil the Lion‘s brother, Jericho, was shot and killed today, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said, in the wake of Zimbabwe calling for the extradition of the American dentist who admitted killing Cecil in early July. “It is with huge disgust and sadness that we have just been informed that Jericho, Cecil’s brother has been killed at 4pm today,” the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said in a Facebook post. “We are absolutely heart broken.” The process has already begun in Zimbabwe to extradite Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who admitted to killing Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe, a cabinet minister said, according to the Associated Press. “Unfortunately it was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher as he had already absconded to his country of origin,” said Zimbabwe’s environment, water and climate minister Oppah Muchinguri, according to the AP. Muchinguri said they want Palmer to be “made accountable.” “Almost 500,000 people are calling for his extradition and we need this support,” Muchinguri said. “We want him tried in Zimbabwe because he violated our laws.” There is an extradition treaty between Zimbabwe and the United States. Muchinguri said Palmer violated the country’s Parks and Wildlife Act, which controls the use of bow and arrow hunting. She also said Palmer, who reportedly paid $50,000 to hunt the lion, also violated the act through financing an illegal hunt. ABC News has been unable to confirm that figure independently. [more]

Cecil the Lion’s Brother, Jericho, Shot and Killed, Says Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force