Embattled Minnesota Dentist Contacts Feds

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal authorities say they've now been contacted by a representative for the Minnesota dentist who killed a protected lion in Zimbabwe.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tweeted Friday that the agency was voluntarily contacted a day earlier by a representative of Walter Palmer. An agency spokesman verified the tweet, but declined further comment.

The agency sent out a public statement Thursday saying it had made multiple attempts to reach Palmer, and it asked that the dentist or his representative immediately contact agency officials.

The agency is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the lion, named Cecil. Friday's tweet says the investigation is ongoing.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Zimbabwe's embassy in Washington says it hasn't yet received any instructions from back home on whether to request the extradition of American dentist Walter Palmer.

But a Cabinet minister in the African country had said earlier today that the process aimed at extraditing Palmer has begun. He's wanted in Zimbabwe in the killing of a lion that was lured out of a national park and then shot with a bow and a gun.

At Zimbabwe's embassy, an official said extradition would be a "last resort," and that the country is first "trying other avenues." But the country's environment minister told reporters that Palmer needs to be brought to Zimbabwe and "made accountable."

Palmer is believed to have shot the lion with a bow on July first. Conservationists say it was lured onto private land with a carcass of an animal. About 40 hours later, they say, the wounded cat was tracked down and Palmer allegedly killed it with a gun.

Zimbabwe and the United States have an extradition treaty.