Based on new photos that have surfaced, shamed Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer illegally shot a bear nine years ago, aside from controversially killing beloved lion Cecil in Zimbabwe last month.
Palmer shot a black bear with a bow and arrow in September 2006 in northern Wisconsin. He had obtained a permit to kill a bear in one county. However, he shot the bear 40 miles away from that location, where he did not have permission to hunt, according to court documents obtained by ABC.
Palmer attempted to convince his three guides to lie about the location of the shooting. "He was offering to pay, it turns out, about $20,000 to keep the others who were in the hunt, to have them lie, so that's a fairly aggressive cover-up," said U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil.
The guides did not oblige, though, and blew the whistle on Palmer. He was arrested by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and pleaded guilty to felony charges for making false statements to the service. He was also fined $2,938 and was given a year of probation, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Palmer is still in hiding and officials from Zimbabwe have asked the U.S. to extradite him for killing their treasured lion.
