The US dentist who generated an
outcry after killing a lion called Cecil in Zimbabwe has returned to his
dental practice after weeks in hiding.
Walter Palmer arrived at work at 0700 local time (1200 GMT) where a throng of media and a few protesters awaited him.
Employees were seen escorting Mr Palmer and patients into the surgery, as photographers swarmed the office.
In recent interviews, he has claimed that the hunt was legal and that he was shocked to hear the animal was famous.
Police
were present as the dentists parked his vehicle on a nearby street and
walked into his office in Bloomington, Minnesota. A staff member
clutched his arm as the pair pushed past a group of journalists.
One woman could be heard screaming "Extradite Palmer!"
At the scene - Laura Bicker, BBC News, Minnesota
"We
need to thank Dr Palmer", shouts one protester, "we need to thank him
for waking us up". For the half a dozen demonstrators here, Cecil the
Lion has become a poster child.
Some say they'd never heard of
trophy hunting before Cecil hit the headlines. One lady tells me she
felt so strongly she is protesting for the first time in her life.
She
holds aloft a handwritten board which reads "Roar for Cecil". They are
polite. No shouting, screaming or jostling. A mostly quiet but
determined presence.
Dr Palmer has said a few carefully chosen
words to the local newspaper, perhaps in the hope he could go back to
work without a fuss. But for now, he is still a wanted man.
Mr Palmer did not speak to the media on Tuesday, but did give an interview to the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Sunday.
"I
need to get back to treating my patients," Mr Palmer said. "My staff
and my patients support me, and they want me back. That's why I'm back."
The killing of Cecil in July prompted a global uproar, which Mr Palmer has claimed led to "some safety issues" for his family.
His clinic and his home in nearby Eden Prairie became the site of protests, and his holiday home in Florida was vandalised. Image copyrightAFPImage caption
Cecil was well known in the Hwange National Park
Image copyrightAPImage caption
Notes were left on his front door
Image copyrightAPPolice did not consider the protesterss
The
55-year-old is believed to have been paid $50,000 (£32,000) to hunt a
lion in Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, but he says he was unaware it
was so famous.
"If I had known this lion had a name and was
important to the country or a study obviously I wouldn't have taken it,"
Mr Palmer said. "Nobody in our hunting party knew before or after the
name of this lion."
Cecil was well known in the Hwange National
Park and was being tracked with a GPS collar as part of a research
programme run by Oxford University.
The Zimbabwe's safari
organisation has said the way in which Cecil was lured out of a national
park was unethical and possibly illegal.
Initially, Zimbabwe sought to charge and extradite Mr Palmer, but the government's interest in him has waned in recent weeks.
The
Associated Press news agency reported that government officials fear it
could hamper a hunting industry that is lucrative and important for the
country.
Lions in Africa
35,000
Max estimated lion population
12,000
Max lion population in southern Africa
665 Approx number of 'trophy' lions killed for export from Africa per year
49 Lion 'trophies' exported from Zimbabwe in 2013
0.29% Contribution to GDP of Zimbabwe from trophy hunting
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