Another Lion Was Illegally Killed by an American in April, Zimbabwe Says

By Associated Press

02 August 15

Though Cecil the lion’s brother Jericho remains alive – despite reports to the contrary – parks officials say American illegally bow-hunted another animal

mid an international outcry over a US hunter accused of illegally killing a well-known lion named Cecil in early July, authorities in Zimbabwe alleged that a second American killed a lion in an illegal hunt with a bow and arrow several months ago.

The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (NPWMA) issued a statement on Sunday saying the second American was involved in an illegal bow and arrow hunt of a lion around the Hwange National Park in April. The American was named as Jan Casimir Seski of Murrysville, Pennsylvania.

Seski is a gynecological oncologist who directs the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Allegheny General Hospital.

He is also an active big-game hunter, according to safari outfitters and bow-hunting sites that have posted pictures of kills identifying “Dr Jan Seski” as the man standing next to slain animals including elephants, an impala, a kudu, a nyala, a hippo and an ostrich. Those images match the doctor’s appearance in pictures on his medical practice’s website, where Seski’s information in turn matches that of Jan Seski in Murrysville.

The Associated Press called and knocked on the door at Seski’s home, which is secluded from neighbours and set back among woods in a rural area outside Pittsburgh. The AP also left a message with an answering service for his medical practice, with no immediate response.

A National Parks spokeswoman, Caroline Washaya Moyo, said Seski’s name was gathered from a database.

“When hunters come into the country they fill a document stating their personal details, the amount they have paid for the hunt, the number of animals to be hunted, the species to be hunted and the area and period where that hunt is supposed to take place,” she said.

“The American conducted his hunt in an area where lion hunting is outlawed. The landowner who helped him with the hunt also did not have a have a quota for lion hunting.”

A Zimbabwean landowner named Headman Sibanda was arrested in the case and is assisting police with their investigation, the NPWMA said.

Zimbabwean authorities have said they are seeking the extradition of Minnesota dentist Walter James Palmer, alleging he illegally killedCecil the lion a month ago. The lion was lured out of Hwange park and first wounded with a bow and arrow before being tracked down and shot, according to conservationists in Zimbabwe.

Palmer has said he relied on his professional guides to ensure the hunt was legal. Two Zimbabwean citizens were arrested and face charges in the case in which Palmer has been implicated.

On Saturday, the NPWMA said it had suspended the hunting of lions, leopards and elephants in the Hwange area. Bow and arrow hunts were also suspended and can only be approved by the head of the director of the wildlife authority.

The NPWMA also said on Sunday that Cecil the lion’s “brother”, Jericho, was not dead, after reports spread on Saturday that he had been shot by a poacher.

The authority released a photograph of Jericho that it said was taken on Sunday morning and a statement said the lion was “still alive and being monitored” by the researcher Brent Stapelkamp, who was following Jericho’s movements with the help of a satellite collar.

On Saturday the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) prompted a flurry of press activity when it said on Facebook that Jericho had been shot at 4pm. “We are absolutely heartbroken,” the statement said.

Speaking to the Guardian, Stapelkamp said: “I think this type of misinformation is characteristic of that particular source.”

Another researcher, Stephen Long, who works for Bhejane Trust and lives in the western end of the Hwange National Park, said in an email: “ZCTF has the same level of credibility as the National Enquirer.”

ZCTF did not respond to a request for comment.