Toymaker launches 'Cecil the Lion' Beanie Baby as fundraiser

The maker of Beanie Babies, Ty Inc., is creating a plush Cecil the Lion stuffed toy.

The Chicago area company said that all of the profits from sales will go to the researchers who were tracking the animal before an Eden Prairie big-game hunter killed it last month in Zimbabwe.

The fuzzy toy rendition sports the dark mane that Cecil was famous for and is being sold "in memory of the beloved Zimbabwe lion that was tragically killed," the toymaker announced Tuesday.

"Hopefully, this special Beanie Baby will raise awareness for ­animal conservation and give comfort to all saddened by the loss of Cecil," said Ty Warner, the company's founder and chairman.

Profits from the sales will go to the British-based Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, the Oxford University organization that had been tracking the 13-year-old lion until Walter Palmer, a dentist, shot the lion with a bow and arrow.

Cecil will be available in late September in specialty retail stores for the suggested retail price of $5.99, said Ty Senior Vice President Tania Lundeen.

Two men in Zimbabwe have been charged in the killing of Cecil. Palmer has not been charged, but is the subject of an extradition request from Zimbabwean authorities.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482