Deceased

Xanda

Also known as Cecil’s Son · The Son Who Met His Father’s Fate

c. 2011 – 7 July 2017

Born in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Xanda was a male lion of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and a son of Cecil, whose killing by a trophy hunter in 2015 caused worldwide outrage. Oxford University’s Hwange Lion Research Project followed him from 2015 and fitted him with a GPS satellite collar in October 2016.

Xanda had a pride of his own, with three lionesses and seven cubs, and in the months before his death the pride spent much of its time outside the park. On 7 July 2017 he was shot by a client of the professional hunter Richard Cooke in a hunting area about a mile outside the park, close to where Cecil had been killed. Because he was six and outside the park, the hunt was legal under Zimbabwean law. Cooke returned the collar to the researchers, and researcher Andrew Loveridge described him as an ethical hunter.

News of Xanda’s death, two years almost to the month after Cecil’s, renewed the international debate about trophy hunting on the borders of protected areas. Lions of Hwange claimed that the same outfitter had killed another of Cecil’s sons in 2015.

~6Age at death
7Cubs in his pride
2Years after Cecil
2017Shot

Profile

Identity

Name
XandaThe name he is best known by
Nicknames
Xander
Origin of the name
Information not available
Sex
Male
Distinguishing features
A GPS research collar from October 2016
Weight
Information not availableFor reference, adult male lions usually weigh 150–260 kg

Birth & Family

Born
c. 2011He was about six in 2017
Birthplace
Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Birth pride
Information not available
Father
Cecil
Mother
Information not available
Siblings
Information not availableOther sons of Cecil, one reportedly also shot in 2015

Reign

Pride king
Yes; male of his own pride
Prides ruled
A Hwange pride of three lionesses and seven cubs
Pride size
Information not available
Reign
Information not available
Ruled with
Information not available
Coalition
Information not available
Home range
Hwange National Park and its borders, Zimbabwe
Territory size
Information not available

Death

Died
7 July 2017
Age at death
About 6
Cause of death
Shot in a legal trophy hunt
Place of death
A hunting area about a mile outside Hwange National Park
Burial
Information not availableNot reported

Names & Meanings

XandaName

Given by the Hwange Lion Research Project. Sometimes written Xander.

Family & Lineage

FatherCecilKilled by a trophy hunter in July 2015.View record →
Hwange lionessMotherNot identified.
Cecil’s sonXandac. 2011 – 2017
Cecil’s sonBrotherReportedly shot in 2015 at about four.
OffspringCubsSeven cubs in his pride at his death.

Life Story

  1. c. 2011

    Born in Hwange, a son of Cecil.

  2. July 2015

    Cecil was killed; Xanda was first collared for study.

  3. October 2016

    Fitted with a GPS satellite collar.

  4. 2017

    His pride spent much time outside the park.

  5. 7 July 2017

    Shot in a legal hunt outside the park.

Legend & Truth

Legal, but controversial

The hunt broke no law, because Xanda was over six and outside the park. Critics argued that lions living mostly inside protected areas should not be hunted on their borders.

Photographs

Photograph coming soon
Photograph coming soon
Photograph coming soon

More photographs

Film

The film of Cecil’s Son’s life is coming soon

Animation

An animated story of Cecil’s Son’s life is coming soon

Sources

Where sources disagree, the most widely reported figure is shown, with other reports noted beneath it.

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