In this frame grab taken from a November 2012 video made available by Paula French, a well-known, protected lion known as Cecil strolls around in Hwange National Park, in Hwange, Zimbabwe
Harare - Palmer's Twitter and Facebook accounts and website of his dental practice were shut down after being flooded with blistering attacks.
Published: Wed 29 Jul 2015, 1:08 PM
Updated: Wed 29 Jul 2015, 3:26 PM
Two men were due to appear in a Zimbabwean court on poaching charges on Wednesday after a wealthy American dentist killed a beloved lion at a national park, sparking waves of criticism around the world.
Cecil the lion, a popular attraction among international visitors to Hwange National Park, was lured outside the reserve's boundaries by bait and killed earlier this month.
The hunter was identified as Walter James Palmer, an experienced trophy hunter from Minnesota, who paid $50,000 for the hunt.
Professional Zimbabwean hunter Theo Bronkhorst and local landowner Honest Ndlovu will appear in court in Victoria Falls on Wednesday to face poaching charges.
"Both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt," the Zimbabwean Parks Authority said in a statement on Tuesday.
"(They) are being jointly charged for illegally hunting the lion."
The statement made no mention of Palmer, but added that Bronkhorst's son Zane was also wanted for questioning.
Palmer's Twitter and Facebook accounts and website of his dental practice - River Bluff Dental in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota - were shut down on Tuesday after being flooded with blistering attacks.
A makeshift memorial began forming outside his shuttered office as people outraged by the story dropped off stuffed animals and flowers, according to images from local media.
The online outrage was intense with the hashtag #CecilTheLion trending, while an online petition demanding justice for Cecil had drawn 95,000 signatures.
Comedian Ricky Gervais, who has targeted trophy hunters with his barbs in the past, was among those who expressed their disgust.
"It's not for food. It's not the shooting, or tin cans would do. It must just be the thrill of killing. Mental," Gervais tweeted.
Some hunting of lions and other large animals is legal in countries such as South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, where permits are issued allowing hunters to kill certain beasts that are beyond breeding age.
It is outlawed, however, in Zimbabwe's national parks.
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