Cecil The Lion Joins Endangered Animals Lit Up On Empire State Building In Spectacular Show

The spectacular image of Cecil the lion was projected onto the Empire State Building in New York over the weekend, converting the iconic New York skyscraper into a giant billboard.

Filmmakers included Cecil, a well-known lion who was killed by American dentist Walter Palmer, alongside other pictures of endangered species to highlight the threat of animals facing extinction.

Monkeys, leopards and manta rays were seen on the side of the 1,250-foot building, and were lit up to promote the Racing Extinction documentary, made by Oscar-winning director Louie Psihoyos.

The decision to honour Cecil was made after his death sparked a worldwide outrage when he was stalked and killed before being skinned and beheaded.

Psihoyos, is the co-founder of the animal rights and conservation organization Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS), and the group said they wanted to alert the world to the realities of extinction.

Their website said: “We lit up the Empire State Building with the world’s most beautiful - and threatened - species to show the world what’s at stake.”

Psihoyos added to NBC: “There’s only 3,500 wild male lions out there.

“The gun lobby keeps them from being on the list but they are endangered.”

The images were projected across 33 floors of the Empire State Building in Midtown, New York.

An astonishing 40 projectors set up at a nearby rooftop were needed to light up the pictures and Travis Threlkel, who co-ordinated the event, said the event was a “weapon of mass instruction”.

He added: “We’re going to try to create something beautiful, not bum people out.”

Some 17 species are included on the World Wildlife Fund list of critically endangered animals - including the black rhino and the mountain gorilla.

Pics: Rex