Cecil the lion's cubs most likely killed by rival lion, say conservationists

Killing of Cecil the lion by US dentist has caused international outrage, and now conservationists say there is little they can do to save his 12 cubs

Lion cubs fathered by Cecil, the celebrated lion shot dead in Zimbabwe, may already have been killed by a rival male lion and even if they were still alive there was nothing conservationists could do to protect them, a conservation charity has warned.

The killing of the 13-year-old lion on 1 July by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer, who is thought to have paid $50,000 [32,000] to take part in the hunt, has sparked world-wide condemnation.