The killing of Cecil the lion and the murder of Joan Root
Zimbabwe, 2015, and Kenya, 2006
This case is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places and events in the game do not portray real people. The account below is a factual summary, based on public sources, of the case that served as inspiration.
In July 2015, Cecil, a 13-year-old lion tracked for years by researchers from the University of Oxford, was lured out of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and killed with a bow and arrow by an American dentist on a paid hunt. His death caused worldwide outrage and debate over trophy hunting; the hunter was not prosecuted.
Nine years earlier, in Kenya, filmmaker and conservationist Joan Root, who funded a team fighting illegal fishing and poaching around Lake Naivasha, was shot dead in her home in January 2006. The accused were acquitted and the crime remains unsolved.
Sources
In the game
Tracks on the Savanna
Enkare Lodge, Masai Mara, Kenya, 6:40 am. Owen Fairbrook, a British wildlife photographer, was found dead on the river trail, 800 meters from the tents.
The game borrows the illegal hunt of a lion and the death of someone who documented crimes against wildlife. Characters, setting and outcome are fiction.
