Jimmy Kimmel made an emotional Cecil the lion plea. This is what happened next

Update: £230,000 has now been raised for Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit

Jimmy Kimmel got all teary during a segment of his show on Tuesday when talking about the death of Cecil the Zimbabwean lion, at the hands of American dentist Walter Palmer.

And people listened: less than 24 hours after the show aired, more than £96,000 in donations has poured in to help the unit's work.

"The email deluge is overwhelming us, we thank you sincerely,” said David McDonald, director of the Oxford team, after 2,600 people contributed:

We are so grateful for this and for the up-welling of support for our work worldwide.

Cecil the lion was killed by Palmer earlier this month, who has defended himself against internet vitriol by saying he thought the hunt was legal. He is now wanted on poaching charges by Zimbabwean authorities.

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More: The internet wants revenge on the dentist who killed Cecil the lion