The office of River Bluff Dental in Bloomington, Minnesota, became a makeshift memorial for Cecil the lion overnight as mourners of the slain Zimbabwean lion left stuffed animals at his killer's door.
Dr. Walter Palmer, a dentist, was identified this week as the American tourist who paid thousands of dollars to kill the beloved lion, shooting him with a bow and arrow after local hunters lured him out of a protected park by dragging the carcass of another animal behind a truck.
The stuffed animals -- a tiny lion wearing pants, another nuzzling red roses -- sit in a row outside the office's glass door beneath a sign that reads, in blood-red paint, "You are a coward and a killer."
A memorial for Cecil the Lion killed in Africa by a MN dentist is growing at the now closed office in Bloomington. pic.twitter.com/K9UaQxGhsr— E Linares (@WCCOEL) July 28, 2015
Can't make this up. Walter Palmer dental office morphed into makeshift memorial. Suppose #CecilTheLion in foreground pic.twitter.com/tW59sUuB3J— Paul Blume (@PaulBlume_FOX9) July 28, 2015
A woman just posted this sign at Dr. Walter Palmer's dental office. #CecilTheLion pic.twitter.com/SJPchbE8CB— Ted Haller (@TedHallerFox9) July 29, 2015
Activists carrying green and yellow water guns were also spotted on Tuesday throwing stuffed animals at Palmer's house. They said the toys were "bait" and that they were hunting dentists.
They say they're hunting dentists. Throwing stuffed-animal lions as "bait" by Walter Palmer's house. pic.twitter.com/cPgC0s6S73— Ted Haller (@TedHallerFox9) July 28, 2015
Later, they told Fox 9 reporter Ted Haller the hunt was "unsuccessful" and left behind a stuffed lion perched on a mailbox as proof.
The water-gun hunters/performance-protesters call their hunt "unsuccessful." But left this behind. pic.twitter.com/OEYfpKroOP— Ted Haller (@TedHallerFox9) July 28, 2015
Palmer, who hasn't been spotted since he was identified as Cecil's killer, released a statement on Tuesday afternoon amid a barrage of criticism, claiming that he didn't know the lion was "a known, local favorite" but said he had believed the hunt to be legal.
Still, Zimbabwean authorities rounded up the local hunter and landowner who assisted the dentist in making the kill, who will face poaching charges in court. Officials say the proper hunting permits were not obtained and so the kill was unauthorized.
The two appeared at the Hwange magistrate's court in Zimbabwe. Defense lawyer Givemore Muvhiringi said the proceedings were delayed by several hours because prosecutors were "making their assessments."
Zimbabwean police said they are looking for Palmer, who allegedly paid $50,000 to track and kill the animal. If he is arrested, it wouldn't be his first brush with the law over the killing of an animal.
Palmer faced jail time in 2006 over the illegal hunt of a black bear in Wisconsin. Documents released in 2008 show that Palmer's group shot and killed the bear outside the area where they were permitted to do so and plotted to lie to officials about its location. Palmer was charged with "falsely stat[ing] that he thought the bear had been killed legally" and ultimately paid $3,000 and was given one year of probation.
Palmer was also convicted for fishing without a license in 2003.
Some information in this report provided by The Associated Press.