Cecil, famous lion shot dead, was being studied by Oxford University

Cecil. the lion shot dead by an American dentist, was being studied by Oxford University.

Walter James Palmer reportedly paid £32,000 to kill the lion in Zimbabwe earlier this month.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Mr Palmer, a professional hunter and a farm owner, tied a dead animal to a car to lure the lion out of a national park. The wounded lion was found 40 hours later and shot dead.

Professor David Macdonald, who founded the WIldlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University,, said the death of Cecil would lead to a "cascade" of other deaths.

"The death of one lion has consequences. Cecil was the only male so it is highly likely that the incoming males will kill his offspring."

Prof Macdonald's research aims to solve practical problems with wildlife conservation and environment management

There are reported to be 30,000 lions left across the whole African continent, but Professor Macdonald warned that this figure, despite being "startlingly low", was likely to be an overestimate.

He added that he hoped there would be a "silver-lining" to Cecil's death by an increase in support for his research.