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They Call it Sport

They Call it Sport

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Deryck


Free Account, Sasolburg

They Call it Sport

To hunt lions and display their heads as trophies....

In memory of a beautiful Lion called Cecil

A beloved lion who was recently hunted down and killed in Zimbabwe. Wildlife is a beautiful treasure we still have the privilege to enjoy. There are less than 20000 lions left in the wild, yet permits are issued to hunt them. I can go on and on about this....

This is not Cecil. I took this picture some time ago at a game reserve close to Johannesburg in South Africa. This lion was the only one lying there awake, with his beautiful pride all fast asleep having had their fill.

Comments 27

  • TOMO11 13/10/2016 19:54

    Safe wildlife animals, like these ones. I dont understand hunting of such exotic and endangered animals.
    Very well done Deryck
    Greetings Thomas
  • gerla 03/03/2016 21:16

    a great pic and you are so right in your words about hunting for trophies
    lg gerla
  • Deryck 11/11/2015 8:09

    Astrid is right, it is not ONLY the hunters. The hunters, the guides, the authorities issuing permits, the wildlife farmers, particularly those who breed for canned hunting.... They are all part of this value chain for which the hunter often pays with huge amounts of money to have his picture taken and to have a trophy he put who knows where.
    But my issue is not only with hunting, but more with the callous lack of appreciation of the state of wildlife conservation of certain individuals that believe their mega $ make everything right for their opportunity to come and kill some African exotic animals. You'll find their pictures all over, triumphantly posing, gun in the hand and bleeding animal at their feet, showing off their dubious prowess as if they could personally triumph over the animal without this deadly weapon in hand. Dr Palmer is only one of them, there are literally hundreds that come in the African winter for the sheer pleasure to come and kill. As I said, I can go on and on.....
    Deryck
  • Astrid Buschmann 10/11/2015 13:30

    This ist a wonderful animal, and i also do not understand, that people enjoy to shoot them without distress (?), but i think reality is that it brings money in the countries, so the 'bad' ones are not just the hunters, who use the possibility to go hunting. Hunting is a business and there are a lot of people who earn a lot of money ...... and those people are NOT the hunters.....

    bw Astrid
  • Inez Correia Marques 01/11/2015 10:48

    Man is a creature whose breath is in his nostril , it is terrible to think that man without consciousness is a little worm... but he can do so much harm.. my brother Lion has not lost his dignity though
  • IngridVekemans 22/09/2015 16:27

    A beautiful male this is. I hope Cecil's death will turn things around for trophy hunting in general!
    Grt, Ingrid.
  • Rolfi112 04/08/2015 22:29

    if there would be a right of humans to shoot animals only to get a trophy, then there should be a right for the animals, to get a meal..to eat the shooters! The animals have that right..but not enough advocats..or can't pay them!
  • Carlo.Pollaci 04/08/2015 21:50

    The killing of Cecil was a blow to all people of a sensitive soul. I hope that his murderess end up in prison.
    greetings, Carlo
  • Silvana W. 02/08/2015 23:24

    ..as human being, I feel a great shame ...I agree completely with everything that you have written it *** Could I share this photo in my FC's profile ?
    Good night
  • Wuschali 02/08/2015 18:42

    It is very sad and it makes me angry. How can people do this?! And the excuse is only: it was "legal". How can it be legal when you lure out an animal from his save park and then shoot it down?! There are always humans who don't think about what they are doing and what they destroy. I hope someday they get what they deserve.
    Btw, amazing and beautiful picture from this majestic lion
  • Sue Thompson 02/08/2015 9:00

    Give almost any man a gun and a license and they will go out into the wild and indiscriminately kill whatever gets in their sights........ and no matter how many laws are made, such men will break them, and for what... monye... sport... a trophy of some poor dead creature. They should be shot.........

    I am with you here Deryck, it should be banned before all of our wonderful wild creatures are killed and become extinct.

    A beautiful portrait of this King of Beasts, and a fitting tribute to Cecil.

    :))
  • archiek 31/07/2015 18:16

    Cecil and the hunter has gone viral here in the states. I have dozens of friends on facebook who have shared the photo of the the deceased Cecil and his hunter. The hunter is a dentist from Minnesota who paid a guide $55,000 to take him to a lion he could shoot with a bow and arrow. Once he shot it, the hunter tracked it for 40 hours before they found Cecil dying. Nothing should have to suffer like that. the Dentist has had to close his practice as protesters have camped outside his office. Attitudes are changing in this world, slowly, very slowly and for some species it may be too late. Great photo Deryck.
    Regards,
    Archie
  • Harold Thompson 31/07/2015 17:53

    Good capture of the king. words don't describe what happened to Cecil
    :-)) Harold
  • Ulfert k 31/07/2015 10:15

    I call it murder! I Who took that he was allowed to hunt there money there?
    greetings
    ulfert k
  • s. sabine krause 31/07/2015 9:58

    i once googled a certain combination of words to make sure i'd phrased a sentence correctly. which combination it was exactly i forget but it included "trophy" and "game". the search results were outright shocking: countless pages with countless images of grown men, posing in utterly disgusting bygone dragon-slayer macho poses: big-game hunters further humiliating their prey even more by posthumously putting a foot in their neck to demonstrate their superiority and power over the creature. makes me sick to know that the so-called "hobby (big game) hunters" are even walking among us, when not enjoying their spare killing time! RIP poor half-tame cecil! the world's full of concern, empathy, outrage. and it's a good thing, a sign that humanity hasn't left us for good, although i must say that sometimes i wish people would be just as outraged and concerned and ready to act, if it comes to the situation of the countless anguished refugees fleeing their war-torn countries in despair these days… greetings, sabine. p.s.: needless to say that your lion here is beautifully photographed! the uncompromising profile ; ) suits him well! do i detect a sate drowsiness in his eyes? don't fall asleep, mighty one, the world is full of deranged de…cadents!

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Camera NIKON D800
Lens AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED II
Aperture 4
Exposure time 1/400
Focus length 220.0 mm
ISO 100

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