One story I read said the cubs may be euthanized before the new alpha male can kill them. But either way, the dirtbag dentist is responsible for more than one lion's death.
I would think that they could relocate the cats somewhere, even to a zoo? This whole story is sad and I think the guy is a horrible person. Not sure if anybody else saw the pics (or if they were the actual pics of Cecil), but the one I saw had a lion that had been skinned from shoulder to hip and the head wasn't even removed fully, it looked like just the face was cut off, as the ears and neck were still there. If somebody is wanting a trophy kill, and Cecil was an amazing looking lion, why in the world would a person appear to mutilate the animal?
I sure hope this guy pays for this. His fine should be the 55k he paid for the hunt that goes to Zimbabwe and then another hefty fine of a few hundred thousand that goes toward animal conservation. I can't imagine he'll be working much longer, so hit him where it hurts and make sure he won't be able to afford these hunting trips ever again. Oh, let's also hope that karma gets him the way got the other game hunter who was trampled by an elephant.