Cecil The Lion's 'Brother' Confirmed As Alive

The 'brother' of Cecil the lion, Jericho, has been confirmed alive and well a day after it was reported that he too had been killed by poachers.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force had written on Facebook on Saturday: "It is with huge disgust and sadness that we have just been informed that Jericho, Cecil's brother, has been killed at 4pm today."

Doubts were cast on the task force's statement overnight on Sunday after it emerged that Jericho's tracking collar had moved on dozens of metres on Saturday evening.

Following the reports, researchers from a charity working at the Hwange National Park set out to locate him and found him feeding on a giraffe kill on Sunday morning.

David MacDonald, director of WildCRU, said: "The WildCRU field research team and a National Parks ranger set out at daybreak to attempt to find him.

"People will realise that even with the aid of tracking equipment, this is difficult and skilful work in remote bush.

"Jericho was seen alive and well at 06.15am.

"He has been feeding on a giraffe kill with the lionesses from his pride."

The murder of 13-year-old Cecil by US dentist Walter Palmer on 1 July caused outrage when it was made public earlier this week.

Mr Palmer allegedly paid park guides $50,000 (£32,000) to kill the lion, who was a hugely popular attraction at the Hwange National Park.

More than 140,000 signatures have been gathered for a bid to send the Minnesota dentist to Zimbabwe to face justice.

The White House has said it will review the petition .

Zimbabwean authorities claim they are seeking extradition.

It had been suggested that Jericho had been protecting Cecil's cubs.

Mr MacDonald, whose organisation studies lions in Africa, says that Cecil and Jericho were not actually blood related but had formed a bond of brotherhood.

He said: "Male lions often form what are termed co-operative 'coalitions' with unrelated males in order to better compete with other males for territories and prides.

"In fact 42% of male lion coalitions are genetically unrelated, though larger coalitions tend to be brothers or half-brothers.

"This sort of detailed understanding of lion ecology and social behaviour, which takes years of meticulous work allows conservationists to devise the most appropriate conservation strategies to conserve these iconic cats."

Zimbabwe has now suspended the hunting of lions, leopards and elephants in the area while it investigates the killing of another lion in July.

A man from a private game park has been arrested over this case, officials said.