Photos of endangered wildlife and an image of Cecil the lion were projected on New York's iconic Empire State Building on Saturday as part of a promotion for the documentary film "Racing to Extinction."

People gathered in streets and rooftops in Manhattan to see the image highlights that covered 33 floors of the building.

Cecil, the lion killed during a controversial hunt in Zimbabwe by an American dentist, was among several animals highlighted on the building.   

"I think it is a wonderful message to get out there, especially in light of the events that happened in the past week, which I was very upset about and I was glad that what happened with the lion, but his brother has taken it upon himself.  But I think the world needs to be aware of how fragile and how mankind is so abusive to animals worldwide," said Travis Threlkel, the chief creative officer of Obscura Digital and one of the people who created the projection event.

Organizers called the event, which lasted several hours, the first of its kind.  They hoped it would spark conversations about extinction.

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