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This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
PHOTO: ZIMBABWE NATIONAL PARKS/AFP/Getty Images
This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
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This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
PHOTO: ZIMBABWE NATIONAL PARKS/AFP/Getty Images
This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
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Pic 2: Palmer in a suit (professional photo from his dentistry page.) Source: River Bluffs Dental
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Story highlights

Walter Palmer will return to his practice on Tuesday

He speaks publicly for the first time since uproar over Cecil the lion's death

(CNN) —  

What will his first day back at work be like?

Will protests greet Walter Palmer, the American dentist vilified worldwide for killing a prized African lion, when he returns to his Bloomington, Minnesota, practice Tuesday?

Or will he slip in with little fanfare?

Palmer’s office reopened several weeks ago without him and now he’s decided the time is right for him to start back to work.

“I’m a health professional,” Palmer told The Associated Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune in a weekend interview. “I need to get back to my staff and my patients, and they want me back. That’s why I’m back.”

Police plan to keep an eye on developments at the dental practice, but no officers will be on hand.

“We still have a security camera out in the lot there,” Bloomington Police Deputy Chief Mike Hartley told the AP and Star Tribune.

Out of sight

01:18 - Source: CNN
Lion killer breaks his silence
lion killer speaks boris sanchez dnt nd_00002601.jpg
lion killer speaks boris sanchez dnt nd_00002601.jpg
Now playing
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trophy hunting explainer mckenzie orig_00004711.jpg
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This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
PHOTO: ZIMBABWE NATIONAL PARKS/AFP/Getty Images
This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
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This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
PHOTO: ZIMBABWE NATIONAL PARKS/AFP/Getty Images
This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
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Pic 2: Palmer in a suit (professional photo from his dentistry page.) Source: River Bluffs Dental
PHOTO: River Bluffs Dental
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trophy hunting explainer mckenzie orig_00004711.jpg
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This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
PHOTO: ZIMBABWE NATIONAL PARKS/AFP/Getty Images
This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
Now playing
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This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
PHOTO: ZIMBABWE NATIONAL PARKS/AFP/Getty Images
This handout picture taken on October 21, 2012 and released on July 28, 2015 by the Zimbabwe National Parks agency shows a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called "Cecil" which was allegedly killed by an American tourist on a hunt using a bow and arrow, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity accused on July 15, 2015, adding that the animal had taken 40 hours to die. The lion, which was a popular attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park, was tempted outside the park using bait and then shot earlier this month.
Now playing
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PHOTO: CNN
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Pic 2: Palmer in a suit (professional photo from his dentistry page.) Source: River Bluffs Dental
PHOTO: River Bluffs Dental
Pic 2: Palmer in a suit (professional photo from his dentistry page.) Source: River Bluffs Dental
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