Cecil the lion - the most famous creature in one of Zimbabwe's national parks - was killed by an American hunter who has boasted about shooting a menagerie of animals with his bow and arrow. Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, is believed to have paid about R686,000 to shoot and kill the much-loved lion with a bow and arrow. The animal was shot on July 1 in Hwange National Park. Two independent sources have confirmed the hunter's identity.Conservation groups in Zimbabwe reacted angrily to the news that the 13-year-old animal had been killed: partly because the lion was known to visitors and seemingly enjoyed human contact, and partly because of the way in which he was killed. He was lured out of the national park and shot.A spokesman for Palmer said the hunter believed he might have shot the lion."What he'll tell you is that he had the proper legal permits and he had hired several professional guides, so he's not denying that he might be the person who shot this lion. He is a big-game hunter; he hunts the world over."During the hunt - which the organisers later admitted was badly run - Cecil was lured at night about 800m out of the national park using bait, and then shot with a bow and arrow.The next day he was found wounded by the hunters and killed, before being beheaded and skinned.Animals cannot be killed within the confines of the park. The hunters then removed his collar - further contravening park rules.Professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst said he reported the "mistake" to the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority the following day and it is now being investigated.The landowner bordering the national park has been charged with poaching along with Bronkhorst. Both are due to appear in court on August 6.Bronkhorst said he was unaware of Cecil's fame."It was a magnificent, mature lion. We did not know it was a well-known lion."I had a licence for my client to shoot a lion with a bow and arrow in the area where it was shot," he said...