The Sunday News
IN the past few weeks the media, both local and international, were inundated with news on the death of Cecil the lion.
The 13-year-old lion Cecil was killed last month by American dentist-cum-hunter Walter James Palmer at a farm in Hwange.
His death evoked a mixed bag of reactions across the world, some rational, others weird, outrageous and odd while others bordered on extremism.
Animal activists were frenzied, while most locals were baffled at how a lion they knew little, if anything about, had drawn so much attention for the country.
Some went to the extent of petitioning the US government to extradite Palmer, while others took to the internet to vent their outrage at the Minnesota-based dentist.
Extremists went as further as calling for Palmer’s death.
As if it were a contest, people from all walks of life came up with diverse glowing eulogies, jostling to outdo each other in “mourning” Zimbabwe’s iconic lion.
If by any measure mourning Cecil was a contest, American self-proclaimed animal psychic Karen Anderson, would claim the crown.
She certainly outshone all the other “mourners” with her response to the cat’s demise.
Anderson who calls herself an “animal communicator,” claims that she was able to communicate with the cat, who had given her instructions on how to deal with his death.
She claimed that she made contact with Cecil, to “let him know how loved and honoured he is”.
“I just connected with Cecil the lion who was recently killed. I wanted to let him know how loved and honoured he is. I was moved to tears to hear his words. His message is profound,” Anderson posted on her Facebook account.
She went further to post what she claimed to be Cecil’s profound message, which reads; “Let not the actions of these few men defeat us or allow darkness to enter our hearts. If we do then we become one of them.
“Raise your vibration and allow this energy to move us forward. What happened does not need to be discussed as it is but what it is. Take heart my child, I am finer than ever, grander than before as no one can take our purity, our truth or our soul. Ever.
“I am here. Be strong and speak for all the others who suffer needlessly to satisfy human greed. Bring Light and Love and we will rise above this.”
The post has drawn a lot of varying comments.
Cultural expert Mr Pathisa Nyathi said in as much as some African societies believed in ancestral spirits manifesting in animals, it was his first time to hear of a dead animal whose spirit could communicate with human beings.
“Shona and Kalanga societies have animal spirit mediums. The Shona speaking people call these mediums Mhondoro while the Kalanga call them Humba.
“What this woman is claiming is new to me. She seems to be suggesting that when animals die their spirits occupy different realms from where they can communicate with us. Perhaps she needs to tell us more about this.
“Here we have human ancestral spirits that manifest in snakes or birds. What she is claiming is new,” he said.
According to Anderson’s website, www.animalcommunicating.com, she discovered that she could talk to animals at an early age and has since “learned how to understand their thoughts and feelings”.
