--- title: Cecil the Lion: U.S. Government Investigating Death description: A federal agency said that it will investigate the highly-publicized death of Cecil the Lion following reports that it was killed illegally. canonical: https://time.com/3977476/cecil-the-lion-investigation/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-29T19:55:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T09:43:19.642Z article:section: Science og:title: U.S. Government Investigating Death of Cecil the Lion og:description: The Department of Justice hasn't said whether they've received an extradition request og:url: https://time.com/3977476/cecil-the-lion-investigation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbed81b09d8c1976/69885d06428a9e85cecce659/cecil-the-lion.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Zimbabwe Lion Killed cecil og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Government Investigating Death of Cecil the Lion twitter:description: The Department of Justice hasn't said whether they've received an extradition request twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbed81b09d8c1976/69885d06428a9e85cecce659/cecil-the-lion.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. Government Investigating Death of Cecil the Lion  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 29, 2015 7:55 PM UTC  In this frame grab taken from a Nov. 2012 video made available by Paula French, a well-known, protected lion known as Cecil strolls around in Hwange National Park, in Hwange, Zimbabwe. \` In this frame grab taken from a Nov. 2012 video made available by Paula French, a well-known, protected lion known as Cecil strolls around in Hwange National Park, in Hwange, Zimbabwe. \`Paula French—AP  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 29, 2015 7:55 PM UTC The federal agency charged with enforcing wildlife protection laws in the U.S. said Wednesday that it will investigate the [highly publicized death of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe,](http://time.com/3977018/cecil-lion-walter-palmer-letter/) following accusations that an American citizen killed the animal illegally. “The Service is deeply concerned about the recent killing of Cecil the lion,”a [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service](http://www.fws.gov/) spokesperson said in a statement. “We are currently gathering facts about the issue and will assist Zimbabwe officials in whatever manner requested.” The statement follows an allegation by the government of Zimbabwe that Walter James Palmer, a 55-year-old Minnesota dentist, participated in the illegal killing of the lion earlier this month. Two Zimbabwe natives have also been implicated and [appeared in court on Wednesday](http://time.com/3977173/zimbabwe-cecil-hunters-court-apperance/). **Read More**: [_Why Big Game Hunters Believe They’re the Real Conservationists_](http://time.com/3976779/hunters-conservationists/?xid=IFT-Trending) The U.S. and Zimbabwe have an extradition treaty, but it remains unclear how the U.S. would respond to a request to extradite Palmer. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice (DOJ) said that DOJ was “aware of the situation.” The spokesperson declined to say whether the U.S. had received an extradition request. Palmer, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, previously said that “everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted” and promised to assist any investigations by government officials. African lions face threats as a result of habitat loss and increased conflicts with humans, among other things. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing lions as an endangered species last year, which would create restrictions on lion hunting by U.S. citizens. The measure has yet to be decided. “It is up to all of us—not just the people of Africa—to ensure that healthy, wild populations of animals continue to roam the savanna for generations to come,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3977476/cecil-the-lion-investigation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3977476/cecil-the-lion-investigation/"},"headline":"U.S. Government Investigating Death of Cecil the Lion","datePublished":"2015-07-29T19:55:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:43:19.642Z","description":"The Department of Justice hasn't said whether they've received an extradition request","url":"https://time.com/3977476/cecil-the-lion-investigation/","keywords":["animals","Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbed81b09d8c1976/69885d06428a9e85cecce659/cecil-the-lion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbed81b09d8c1976/69885d06428a9e85cecce659/cecil-the-lion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Zimbabwe Lion Killed cecil","caption":"Zimbabwe Lion Killed cecil","creditText":"Paula French—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"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":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3977476/cecil-the-lion-investigation/","name":"U.S. Government Investigating Death of Cecil the Lion"}}]}] ```