Cochrane, AB, Canada - Dentist Dwayne Hinz has created this application (app) “Cecil the Lion” after feeling a special connection to an incident this past summer.
Cecil was a famous male lion that lived primarily in the Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. He was shot in July by American dentist Walter James Palmer during a trophy hunt.
“Cecil the Lion” is a free app and it it available on the iTunes Apple store that was released the first week of November. Unlike other Cecil app games that appeared earlier this summer – this app is not violent nor based around revenge.
“You play as Cecil the lion and the goal is to try get back to the safety of the National Park,” Hinz explained.
“Cecil the Lion” has been rated for ages 9 and older due to the level-of-play difficulty and “infrequent/mild cartoon or fantasy violence.”
There was another big inspiration for the local dentist to create the app and that was Hinz’s four-year-old son.
“My son loves lions – and in the media they had really emphasized (the hunter) was a dentist,” Hinz said. “It doesn’t put dentists in a good light.”
While Hinz said he has no bad feelings towards the American dentist who shot Cecil, Hinz did comment that he did not feel that it was a fair hunt.
“Of course you feel bad for the lion (but) I don’t think he broke any laws – if anything, it looks as if Zimbabwe is trying to change their laws now,” Hinz said.
In the meantime, proceeds made from “Cecil the Lion” app will be donated directly to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
“I know iPhone games don’t generally produce a lot of revenue, but figured some of the profits I could donate to the World Wildlife Fund to protect these lions,” Hinz explained.
Hinz has tried to explain the game to his son but he is just a little bit too young to understand.
“He knows I make games, he knows this one has Cecil the lion – and he played it for five seconds but it is a little bit too difficult for him,” Hinz laughed.
“Just another one of ‘dad’s silly games.’ ”
Hinz has been a dentist for 18 years and is currently working at Cochrane Dental Clinic. Hinz has been making apps for the past two years and to-date has more than 15 apps in the Apple Store.
For more information about the game or to download the game go to Apple Store.