Cecil is the mane man on Time's list of 'Most Influential' animals

Time magazine, known for decades of selecting its person of the year, has turned to other species on Earth and crowned Cecil the lion as its "Most Influential" animal.

Bloomington dentist Walter Palmer "killed an African lion so beloved he not only had a name, but a really good name," the magazine wrote last week about Cecil, who was fatally shot with an arrow in July in Zimbabwe during a nighttime hunt in Zimbabwe that was questioned for its legality.

Palmer, a longtime big-game hunter who lives in Eden Prairie, was not charged in the African nation, but a global furor broke out and last for many weeks.

"After the public shaming of the dentist, which included Jimmy Kimmel crying on air, it became clear that big game hunting was no longer socially acceptable," the Time blurb continued. "Within a few months, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added two subspecies of lion to the endangered list making hunting of them not okay for U.S. citizens. France banned importing dead lion trophies. And more than 40 airlines will not transport them.

"Plus, Jimmy Kimmel cried."

The list's compiler, Joel Stein, explained that he come up with the ranking in consultation with a panel comprised of PETA President Ingrid Newkirk, Animal Planet and Discovery Channel president Rich Ross, environmentalist Philippe Cousteau, Farm Sanctuary president Gene Baur, BuzzFeed Animals editor Chelsea Marshall and "Zootopia" co-writer Phil Johnston.

For the full Top 100 list, visit: http://time.com/4301509/most-influential-animals.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482