His name was Cecil. Recognizable by his black mane. Here he is cuddling....
He was a local favorite. A very docile, trusting, and sweet lion. He lived on protected land and never hurt anyone. To the contrary he gave the locals a lot of joy just by him being him. He was tricked off his land of protection with bait. He was led away from his safe haven to land that wasn't protected. There he was shot with an arrow by an American tourist that paid $55,000 to kill a lion. I said he was shot with an arrow; not killed. He was killed 40 hours later with a gunshot. Friendly to humans and 40 hours spent in agony not knowing what happened or why. I imagine when he saw the humans at first he was probably relieved and hopeful. There's a special place in hell for these people and all people that kill for the thrill of the hunt. Here's a link to the story.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...ion/ar-AAdCR8g