Meet Walt Palmer, America's Best-Known Dentist and Lion Hunter

Until Tuesday, Walt Palmer was just a 55-year-old dentist from suburban Minneapolis who enjoyed hunting big game with a bow, then posing with a grin alongside his kills.

Deer, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, Dall sheep, musk ox, caribou, white rhino, leopard, bear: All felt the sting of Palmer's arrows. Each and every one seems to be pictured somewhere online with the triumphant dentist. (And yes, Palmer stalked California big game, too, including tule elk in Solano County. So there's your local angle.)

Until now, Palmer's fame has been confined to big-game hunting circles. And then he killed Cecil the Lion and became an international celebrity.

Palmer shot the lion, who was something of a celebrity himself, during a hunt earlier this month in Zimbabwe. Reports in Britain's Guardian and Telegraph newspapers suggest Cecil was shot inside or on the border of one of the southern African county's national parks. In addition to being "the most famous creature" in Hwange National Park, Cecil was wearing an electronic collar and being monitored by wildlife biologists.

From the Guardian:

On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the man thought to have paid $50,000 (£32,000) for the chance to kill Cecil was ... US citizen Walter Palmer, from a small town near Minneapolis. The man left the lion skinned and headless on the outskirts of the park, the ZCTF’s Johnny Rodrigues said in a statement.

The hunt took place around 6 July. “They went hunting at night with a spotlight and they spotted Cecil,” Rodrigues said. “They tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil out of the park and they scented an area about half a kilometre from the park.”

Palmer confirmed Tuesday that he had killed the lion, but said he was unaware of his trophy's identity. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

Walter J. Palmer, 55, of Eden Prairie, a practicing dentist in Bloomington, issued a statement addressing the killing on July 1 of Cecil, which has sparked outrage around the globe.

“I hired several professional guides, and they secured all proper permits,” the statement read. “To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted.

“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt.”

Palmer, who has on his record a conviction for poaching a bear in Wisconsin several years ago, said he has not been contacted by any authorities in Zimbabwe or the U.S. about his killing the lion, but added he will cooperate with investigators. The public relations firm that worked with Palmer on the statement said he was in the Twin Cities on Tuesday.

“Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion,” the statement concluded.

The Star-Tribune has more on Palmer's exploits, including his claim that he can hit a playing card from 100 yards with his compound bow.