Back after backlash. Dr. Walter Palmer, who came under fire for killing the beloved Cecil the Lion, finally returned to his dental practice in Bloomington, Minn., on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
"I'm a health professional," Palmer told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I need to get back to my staff and my patients, and they want me back. That's why I'm back."
As previously reported, Palmer paid $50,000 to kill Cecil. He illegally lured the animal out of a Zimbabwe national park and shot him with a crossbow with the help of local aides. When Cecil didn't die instantly, Palmer then tracked him on a 40-hour hunt, and then skinned and beheaded him. Cecil was part of an Oxford University research project at the time. (Cecil's brother Jericho has been taking care of Cecil's cubs since his death. It was falsely reported in August that Jericho was also killed.)
"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," Palmer told the Star Tribune.
Palmer received death threats after killing the 13-year-old lion. Celebrities and millions of others rallied against him, with Jimmy Kimmel even choking up during one of his late-night monologues. Locals in Palmer's town set up a memorial for Cecil by placing stuffed animals in front of his office as well.
"I've been out of the public eye seeing family and friends," Palmer said. "This has been especially hard on my wife and my daughter. They've been threatened in the social media, and again. I don't understand that level of humanity to come after people not involved at all."
Palmer will continue to face media attention on his first day back to work. Some notes taped to his office door Tuesday included "Justice for Cecil" and "May you never hunt again." Bloomington Police Deputy Chief, Mike Hartley, told the Star Tribune that security cameras are placed outside Palmer's building, but no officers will be on the premises.
