Cecil the lion has been fondly remembered as "confident and regal" by the man who followed him for nine years and took his final photograph
The last known photograph of Cecil (lying down), with Jericho. The image was taken a month before Cecil was killed Photo
Brent Stapelkamp
By Harriet Alexander, and Peta Thornycroft
A Zimbabwean lion researcher has spoken of his fond memories of Cecil, the celebrated animal who was killed with a bow and arrow shot by an American dentist.
Brent Stapelkamp has been a researcher with Oxford University's lion project in the Hwange National Park for nine years. The 37-year-old took the last photo of Cecil: an image shot a month ago, showing the adult male standing less than a mile from where, on July 1, he died.
"Cecil was the most confident lion you ever met," Mr Stapelkamp told The Telegraph. "He knew he was the biggest on the block."
Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota who shot the lion, has said that he "deeply regrets" killing Cecil.
While there are no photos or mention of the lion at the park website or the parks facebook site, doesn't mean there are no photos at all as you can see in this link