Jericho the Lion -- High Alert for Poachers and Hunters

Jericho the lion has a security team to ensure he isn't hunted and killed like his kindred spirit, Cecil.

An official from the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force tells TMZ, a research team is monitoring Jericho's every move and are ready to pounce if anything looks suspicious.

Jericho has taken over alpha male duties for the pride, and if he's killed the animals that were once under Cecil's watch will be unprotected in the wild.

Researchers are tracking Jericho as best they can with a GPS device.

A report surfaced Saturday that Jericho was killed, which thankfully turned out to be false.