BREAKING NEWS : Jericho the Brother of Cecil the Lion shot Dead in Zambabwe-Task Force

Jericho, the brother of Cecil the lion, has been shot dead by a hunter at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, exactly a month after Cecil was killed by an American dentist.

"We are absolutely heartbroken," the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said in a brief statement. 

The killing happened at about 4 p.m. local time on Saturday 1st of August.

Jericho had reportedly been caring for Cecil's cubs.

Statement from the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force :

"It is with huge disgust and sadness that we have just been informed that Jericho, 

Cecil's brother has been killed at 4pm today.

 We are absolutely heart broken".

 Lion researcher says Jericho appears to be alive, researchers to confirm at first light :

Wildlife conservation organization Bhejane Trust says Jericho, the brother of Cecil the lion, appears to be "alive and well," rejecting a statement from the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force that said Jericho had been shot and killed.

Hwange lion researcher Brent Staplekamp said Jericho's GPS tag had continued to transmit normally, indicating that the lion was moving around with a female at 8:30 p.m. local time.

Friends of Hwange Trust, which provides water for the park's animals, also said the report appeared to be untrue, and said researchers would be out yesterday "to lay eyes on him."

This act  has caused the Zimbabwean wildlife authorities to tighten hunting restrictions and any hunter who is caught breaching hunting regulations will be arrested.

Fingers crossed...