Cecil the Lion Lives Forever in San Diego Mural

CARLSBAD — Cecil the lion has been immortalized in a mural plastered across the outer wall of the 83 Degrees restaurant in Carlsbad, California.

Despite conflicting reports of what actually happened when a Minnesota dentist hunted and killed the celebrated lion in Zimbabwe, the owner of the restaurant,Mayur Pavagadhi, told local ABC affiliate 10 News that he hopes to remind people to donate to “conservation” organizations. Pavagadhi, originally from Africa himself, called Cecil’s death a “crime,” though that determination has not actually been made.

 

 

As Bill O’Reilly noted in a recent interview with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, backlash over the lion’s death has garnered wider attention than the recent release of Planned Parenthood investigative videos that depict the selling of dead aborted baby parts for profit. A sixth video was released Tuesday.

Pavagadhi commissioned Studio 2 artists Ron Juncal and Phyllis Swanson for the mural project. Swanson told 10 News it was the “most poignant mural” they had been asked to undertake.

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