Zimbabwe suspended the hunting of all of its wildlife on Sunday as authorities revealed that they had a second wealthy American in their cross hairs for illegally killing a lion.
Dr. Jan Casmir Seski of Pennsylvania is accused of traveling to the African nation in April to hunt big cats in an area of Hwange National Park where the predators are protected, said officials with Zimbabwe’s National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.
With the new allegations, the 68-year-old gynecology oncologist joins despised dentist Walter James Palmer in the country’s hunter hall of shame.
Palmer, of Minnesota, is accused of killing Zimbabwe’s most famous lion, Cecil, during an illegal hunt outside Hwange park last month. Zimbabwean authorities have said they will seek his extradition and arrest.
Authorities said that as they continue to investigate the alleged poachers, they are ordering everyone to “stop their hunting activities and withdraw,” Bloomberg News reported.
Authorities claim Seski — an avid big-game hunter with a medical practice in Pittsburgh — paid local guide Headman Sibanda an undisclosed amount to help him track and kill a lion with a bow and arrow in April.
Officials announced Sunday that Sibanda had been arrested and charged in connection with Seski’s hunt. He is currently assisting police with their investigation, the wildlife authority said.
“When hunters come into the country, they fill 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,” said Zimbabwe’s National Parks spokeswoman, Caroline Washaya Moyo.
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