Cecil the Lion killer Walter Palmer FINALLY contacts authorities after days of silence

THE American dentist who killed the beloved Zimbabwean lion ‘Cecil’ has finally contacted authorities in the US, it has been confirmed.

Walter Palmer, who sparked international outrage when he shot dead the lion while on a hunting trip in Africa, "voluntarily" reached out to the US Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement (FWS) after remaining silent for two days. 
On Thursday, the FWS said it had launched an investigation into the hunting trip, although Mr Palmer has not been charged with a crime and claims he trusted local guides to obtain necessary permits.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe said that efforts to contact Palmer had previously been unsuccessful and that the agency had urged him on Twitter to get in touch.
Now the FWS confirmed a representative for the dentist has contacted the service on his behalf.
“We were voluntarily contacted by a rep of Dr. (Walter) Palmer,” said a tweet from the agency.
“We appreciate the cooperation, investigation is ongoing.”

Officials in Zimbabwe are appealing for the 55-year-old’s extradition to the country, where he could face a fine of £13,000 and up to a decade behind bars.
Cecil’s young cubs are now being looked after by his brother Jericho as fears grow they could fall victim to an aggressive rival male lion.
Wildlife experts believe a rival would want Cecil’s offspring dead so that the next lion in the hierarchy could father his own cubs with the females in the pride.

It comes as concerns grow over the safety of Cecil's cubs, who are under threat from rival males now their father is dead.
Researchers with Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Unit say that so far they have seen Cecil’s brother protecting the young.
David Macdonald, a member of the British team, said: “The natural law in lion society is that when a male dies and his weakened coalition is usurped, the new incoming males kill their predecessors’ cubs.
"This may not happen because Cecil’s brother is still holding the fort.”

He had animal heads in his personal office and animal print flooring

Former colleague

Separately, it has emerged the disgraced hunter boasted to a barmaid that he had killed the “world’s biggest lion”.
In a sickening twist, Mr Palmer allegedly used photos of the slain animal in a bar in his home state of Minnesota to impress the waiting staff.
The woman, who referred to herself as Danielle, said he claimed he had broken records by killing the creature when he visited Doolittle's Woodfire Grill in Alexandria last month.

Mr Palmer's wife, Tonette, has reportedly held as many as SEVEN licences allowing her to fish in Florida and hunt in Alaska.
It has also been reported that the dentist's office at his surgery in Bloomington, Minnesota, has a display of stuffed heads of dead animals.
A friend told MailOnline: "He had animal heads in his personal office and animal print flooring."