Cecil the Lion Update: Zimbabwe Demands Extradition, Palmer Reaches out to US Fish and Wildlife Service

Zimbabwe's minister of the environment has demanded the United States extradite Walter Palmer, the man accused of killing Cecil the Lion, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it has been in contact with a representative of Palmer, who has been in hiding since his return to the United States.

The New York Times reports that Zimbabwe's environment minister Oppa Muchinguri has explicitly called upon the United States to honor its extradition treaty with Zimbabwe to make sure Palmer faces justice for his crimes in Zimbabwe.

Reuters reports that a representative of Palmer has reached out to the Fish and Wildlife Service, but that the service only said its investigation was ongoing. Previously, the service had urged Palmer to contact them.

Palmer, a Minnesota dentist, has become a household name and is reviled around the world for his role in the killing, skinning, and beheading of Cecil the lion, a national treasure in Zimbabwe. Palmer only killed Cecil 40 hours after wounding him with a bow and tracking him through the wilderness.

Cecil lived on protected territory, the Hwange National Park, and Palmer paid two locals $50,000 to lure the lion from the safe zone and kill it. The locals have already been arrested by the Zimbabwean government.

Palmer also has a history of violating wildlife laws, and was convicted of a felony for his role in the killing of a bear in Wisconsin and then lying about it to officials, according to NBC News. Palmer had a permit to hunt bears in a specific area, but killed this bear 40 miles outside the area, and brought it to a registration station inside the area, lying to officials about where the bear was killed.