--- title: Cecil the Lion Joins Endangered Species in Empire State Building Show description: Images of endangered animals were projected onto the New York City landmark canonical: https://time.com/3981383/racing-extinction-empire-state-building/ author: Jack Linshi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-02T15:20:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:46.284Z og:title: See Cecil the Lion and Other Animals Light Up the Empire State Building og:description: Images of endangered animals were projected onto the New York City landmark og:url: https://time.com/3981383/racing-extinction-empire-state-building/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Cecil the Lion and Other Animals Light Up the Empire State Building twitter:description: Images of endangered animals were projected onto the New York City landmark twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # See Cecil the Lion and Other Animals Light Up the Empire State Building > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=fcdc36cd-8139-4d5c-b801-142836911888&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Know Right Now: Who's Actually Killing Zimbabwe's Wildlife? [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Who's Actually Killing Zimbabwe's Wildlife?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FkRHU6Xe.m3u8) (1:05)  _Published 2015-07-29. Disasterous land reforms, the destruction of property rights and widespread poverty have contributed to the steep decline in Zimbabwe's wildlife._ by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/) and [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) Aug 2, 2015 3:20 PM UTC by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/) and [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) Aug 2, 2015 3:20 PM UTC Images honoring Cecil the lion and other endangered species illuminated the south side of Empire State Building on Saturday evening, broadcasting the plight of mass extinction onto one of New York’s most iconic landmarks. The one-day show, called Projecting Change, is part of a promotion for the upcoming documentary _Racing Extinction_, which is set to air on Discovery Channel in December, according to the film’s official [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/racingextinction/info?tab=overview) page. Projections of birds, tigers and bears were featured on the building, in addition to images of Cecil the lion, whom authorities say was [killed illegally](http://time.com/3981105/cecil-lion-walter-palmer-contacts-authorities/) by an American dentist on July 1.  Cecil the lion from Zimbabwe is seen on the Empire State Building, in the 'Projecting Change on the Empire State Building' project, made by the Oscar winning director and founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society Louis Psihoyos and producer Fisher Stevens, in New York City on Aug. 1, 2015. Kena Betancur—AFP/Getty Images  Large images of endangered species are projected on the south facade of The Empire State Building on Aug. 1, 2015, in New York City. Craig Ruttle—AP  Large images of endangered species are projected on the south facade of The Empire State Building on Aug. 1, 2015, in New York City. Eduardo Munoz—Reuters  Large images of endangered species are projected on the south facade of The Empire State Building on Aug. 1, 2015, in New York City. Craig Ruttle—AP  Large images of endangered species are projected on the south facade of The Empire State Building on Aug. 1, 2015, in New York City. Eduardo Munoz—Reuters  Large images of endangered species are projected on the south facade of The Empire State Building on Aug. 1, 2015, in New York City. Craig Ruttle—AP  Large images of endangered species are projected on the south facade of The Empire State Building on Aug. 1, 2015, in New York City. Eduardo Munoz—Reuters  Large images of endangered species are projected on the south facade of The Empire State Building on Aug. 1, 2015, in New York City. Eduardo Munoz—Reuters  Large images of endangered species are projected on the south facade of The Empire State Building on Aug. 1, 2015, in New York City. Craig Ruttle—AP  Large images of endangered species are projected on the south facade of The Empire State Building on Aug. 1, 2015, in New York City. Eduardo Munoz—Reuters  An image of the earth is projected onto the Empire State Building as part of a project to raise awareness about endangered species, in New York City on August 1, 2015. Eduardo Munoz—Reuters ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:14] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3981383/racing-extinction-empire-state-building/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3981383/racing-extinction-empire-state-building/"},"headline":"See Cecil the Lion and Other Animals Light Up the Empire State Building","datePublished":"2015-08-02T15:20:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:46.284Z","description":"Images of endangered animals were projected onto the New York City landmark","url":"https://time.com/3981383/racing-extinction-empire-state-building/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","U.S.","New York City","Conservation","photography","Species","endangered"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3981383/racing-extinction-empire-state-building/","name":"See Cecil the Lion and Other Animals Light Up the Empire State Building"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Who's Actually Killing Zimbabwe's Wildlife?","description":"Disasterous land reforms, the destruction of property rights and widespread poverty have contributed to the steep decline in Zimbabwe's wildlife.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/FkRHU6Xe/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-29T08:27:28.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FkRHU6Xe.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3981383/racing-extinction-empire-state-building/","duration":"PT1M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3981383/racing-extinction-empire-state-building/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```