Cecil the Lion’s Brother Jericho Is Alive, Researcher Says

Cecil the lion’s brother Jericho is in fact alive, an Oxford University researcher monitoring the animal confirmed on Sunday, a day after conflicting reports emerged that claimed Jericho had been killed by hunters.

The news came as Zimbabwean officials alleged on Sunday that a second American, Jan Casmir Sieski of Murrysville, Pa., had illegally killed a lion in Zimbabwe several months ago.

Researcher Brent Stapelkamp, who is tracking Jericho the lion with a GPS tag, said the device indicates that he is “alive and well,” CNN reports. Stapelkamp also shared a photo through Oxford University’s Twitter account showing Jericho roaming his park habitat on Sunday morning:

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, which had reported on Saturday that Jericho had been killed, also issued a retraction on Sunday, reporting that it was a different lion that had been killed. “This was a case of mistaken identity, but a lion has in fact been killed,” the group posted on Facebook. “Although we are relieved that it was not Jericho, we are not happy that yet another lion has been killed.”

Zimbabwean officials said Sunday that another U.S. citizen had taken part in an illegal hunt of a lion, only days after it emerged that Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer had killed Cecil, a lion beloved by tourists, on July 1. A landowner, Headman Sibanda, was arrested in relation to the case and is assisting the investigation, authorities said.

[CNN]