CECIL THE LION AND THE DICTATOR WHO EATS BABY ELEPHANTS

Remember Cecil the lion? He was a prized lion in the African country of Zimbabwe until he was killed on July 1^st, 2015 by Mr. Walter James Palmer of Minnesota. Cecil was a participant in a scientific study that an European University was conducting, and he had been outfitted with a GPS collar. The killing of Cecil sparked outrage all over the world, especially when it became known that it took, according to the tracking device, 40 hours for Cecil to finally succumb to his injuries inflicted by the American hunter. In Zimbabwe, authorities and especially its President, Mr. Robert Mugabe using his all too common racist vocabulary  (yes, the killer was white) were irate even though everything about this hunting trip was apparently legal and properly handled. In any case, Mr. Walter James Palmer was never indicted as previously promised by Mr. Mugabe. In no way am I trying to downplay the killing of Cecil. I think it was outrageous especially considering that African lion populations have fallen almost 60% according to the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force. The point is that Mr. Mugabe, only 4 months before the killing of Cecil, while celebrating his 91^st birthday bash had the following on his menu for the almost 20,000 people who attended his party: a baby elephant and an adult elephant, two buffaloes, two sables, five impalas and also a lion was killed and mounted especially for him according to Zimbabwe’s The Chronicle. Sickening? Yes. Especially when considering that Mr. Mugabe condemns ‘white’ safaris, but has no problems eating barbequed baby elephant at his party. The animals by the way were provided by Mr. Tendai Musasa, a close friend of Mr. Mugabe who was given vast lands seized from a white Zimbabwean as part of the President’s controversial ‘land grab’ policy. Last year, celebrating his 92^nd birthday, Mr. Mugabe didn’t serve endangered animals, but the party was even more lavish than the previous one, costing Zimbabwean taxpayers more that USD 1 million. This year, at the end of February, the dictator celebrates his 93^rd birthday. What he has in store for his thousands of invitees, is not yet known. But, what’s a party without a surprise element? He does however have a taste for the finest things in life (a villa in the Middle East, and he gave his wife a USD 1.3 million diamond ring celebrating their wedding anniversary last year). I get it. Being a dictator can’t be easy. All the ruling, the intimidating, the killing, the dealing with a bankrupt country, the 5 million starving people, will certainly take its toll on even the strongest of men. Mr. Mugabe is planning to run again for president in 2018 so we may have many more parties to look forward to.