US doctor named as killer of second lion

Zimbabwe has accused a Pennsylvania doctor of illegally killing a lion in April, as it seeks to extradite a Minnesota dentist who killed a well-known lion named Cecil in July.

Jan Casimir Seski of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, shot the lion with a bow and arrow near Hwange National Park, without approval and on land where hunting was not allowed, Zimbabwe's National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority alleged.

Landowner Headman Sibanda was arrested and is assisting police, it said.

Seski, a gynecological oncologist who directs the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, is a big-game hunter, according to safari outfitters and bow hunting sites. Pictures on the sites identify "Dr Jan Seski" as the man standing next to slain animals including elephants, a hippo, an ostrich and antelopes.

Seski did not respond to requests for comment.

Zimbabwe's wildlife authority has suspended the hunting of lions, leopards and elephants in the Hwange area, and it said on Saturday that bow and arrow hunts can be approved only by the head of the wildlife authority.

Two other illegal lion hunts were recorded last year in Zimbabwe, said Geoffrey Matipano, conservation director for the wildlife authority. He did not provide details on those cases.

Zimbabwe National Parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya Moyo said Seski provided his name and other identifying information for a government database when he came for the hunt.

"When hunters come into the country they fill in a document stating their personal details, the amount they have paid for the hunt, the number of animals to be hunted, the species to be hunted and the area and period where that hunt is supposed to take place," she said. "The American conducted his hunt in an area where lion hunting is outlawed. The landowner who helped him with the hunt also did not have a quota for lion hunting."

Meanwhile, Zimbabwean authorities have said they will seek the extradition of Minnesota dentist Walter James Palmer, alleging he lacked authorization to kill Cecil. The lion was lured out of Hwange park, wounded with a bow and arrow and then tracked down and shot, conservationists said.

Palmer said he relied on professional guides to ensure his hunt was legal. Two Zimbabwean citizens were arrested and face charges.