THE REVILED dentist who butchered Cecil the lion was also hoping to kill a massive elephant on the same trip, according to his guide.
American dentist Walter Palmer is said to have only given up on the plan because he couldn’t find a creature he deemed big enough to be worth shooting.
Palmer’s guide during his hunting holiday in Zimbabwe, Theo Bronkhorst, told reporters the hunt on July 1 “went wrong from the beginning” because they weren’t able to hunt in the area they had planned on originally.
He added: “We set off quite late, with the sun down, and found the carcass of an elephant which we dragged and moved into the long grass and used for bait…
“Once we were established, and it was quiet, we first saw a lioness go past. And then a huge male — Cecil — came into view behind her. He was a magnificent animal.
“The client then fired using a bow and arrow, and it went away into the long grass. This was about 10 pm.”
The men couldn’t tell if Cecil had been hit so left for the night and returned the next day to search for him.
The guide said: “I was worried about the lion and what had happened.
“We got there about 9am, and we found it and it was wounded, and the client then shot it with his bow and arrow and killed it.”
He said it was only then the hunters saw the lion was wearing a tracking collar and added: “I was devastated.
“I could not have seen the collar at night. We would never shoot a collared animal. I was devastated, and so was the client, we were both upset, and I panicked and took it off and put it in a tree.”
He admitted he should have taken the collar to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, but added: “We did what had to be done. We took the head and skin, as the client had paid for the trophy.
“I went to Parks [the authorities] and reported what had happened. I wish I had taken the collar.
“We then went back to my place near Hwange. The client asked if we would find him an elephant larger than 63 pounds [the weight of one tusk] which is a very large elephant, but I told him I would not be able to find one so big, so the client left the next day.”
Cecil’s skull and skin were then sent to be cured and stuffed so they could be exported to America to be mounted.
The guide, who is now facing poaching charges, added: “I never knew anything about Cecil, this famous lion. I only found out from the media. I would not have known him anyway.”
Minnesota father-of-two Palmer, 55, has been in hiding since news of Cecil’s death sparked an international outcry.