The reaction to the killing of Cecil the Lion was beyond me. I scrolled through my social media feeds in confusion as I read posts of people mourning the death of Cecil – an animal they didn’t know.
Lions kill people. Lions are dangerous. Lions draw fear.
(Simba doesn’t count, though.) The death was reported all over international media and gained the attention of celebrities, animal conservationists and many more.
As a Zimbabwean, Cecil the Lion’s death was mourned more by Americans and people from different parts of the world rather than Zimbabweans. The death of the lion made headlines again this week after Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who killed the lion, returned to work at his dental practice after a 2 month hiatus after protests sparked outside his practice in the beginning of July.
What most people don’t know is that Cecil was “ironically” named after mass murderer Cecil John Rhodes, who destroyed Zimbabwe. Rhodes was responsible for killing millions of indigenous Zimbabweans while stealing land from them, and also for the exploitation of black laborers. The term Rhodesia (present- day Zimbabwe) was used by colonists in the late 1800s and the country was then named after Rhodes.
Did the Cecil supporters know who Cecil was before signing petitions? Before tweeting their thoughts about the situation? Before making posters for protests? Could they even point out Zimbabwe on the map? Probably not.
Don’t get me wrong, I care about animals; in fact, in Zimbabwe, families identify with animals as part of their culture, and totems historically represent them. These clans can include animals anywhere from zebras to elephants. My clan is known as Mhofu which translates to “Eland,” an animal which is found mainly in Southern Africa. With that being said, my attention was not focused on the animal when the breaking news reports were released. As a matter of fact, it was the same for a majority of Zimbabweans.
An article published by The Chronicles said “99.99 percent of Zimbabweans didn’t know about this animal until Monday” which a majority of people the Southern African region can confirm.
Why do Americans care more about an African animal rather than poverty-stricken Africans?
Better yet, why can’t we focus on others animals in current danger rather than this one? Why not mourn the death of animals killed daily?
The attention that was and still is given to this animal by Westerners should, in fact, alert the general public about animals vanishing in their habitats due to hunters killing them for trophies. This death could bring a focus on all species around the world that are currently in danger – not just the death of one animal. How come the extinction of United States mountain lions, American cheetahs, and mountain deers aren’t making daily headlines? Why are Americans more focused on the death of Cecil when the extinction of American animals happens every day but is given little to no media coverage? Wake up, America.
Ethel Mwedziwendira is a sophomore journalism major from McKinney, Texas.
