Current Events –
Gorilla Killed When Child Falls In Pen
An endangered gorilla was killed at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, after a 4-year-old child fell into the pen. Who was at fault?
Current Events
The young boy reportedly climbed through a public barrier at Gorilla World around 4pm on Saturday at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, then fell into the exhibit’s moat. Although 2 female primates inside the exhibit were recalled immediately, a male remained in the yard with the child. The Zoo’s Dangerous Animal Response Team responded to the life-threatening situation and made the difficult decision to shoot “Harambe.”
“The Zoo security team’s quick response saved the child’s life. We are all devastated that this tragic accident resulted in the death of a critically endangered gorilla,” said Zoo Director Thane Maynard. “This is a huge loss for the Zoo family and the gorilla population worldwide.”
The child was immediately transported to Children’s Hospital Medical Center and was alert. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and little boy,” Maynard said.
The Zoo reopened for Memorial Day, but Gorilla World remains closed until further notice.
Now, all sides are weighing in with impassioned opinions on where blame should lie.
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— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) May 29, 2016
If your kid purposefully falls into a gorilla cage, you should just tell your kid goodbye. That’s called Darwinism.
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— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 29, 2016
How was the gorilla enclosure not child proof? You’re dealing with an endangered species & yet you’ve made it possible for kids to fall in?
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— Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) May 29, 2016
For the record, the parents are absolutely partially at fault, but it shouldn’t have been possible, unsupervised or otherwise.
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Some are blaming the mother for allowing the child to go unsupervised long enough to crawl inside an active primate pen. Some are blaming the zoo for the security breach that would even make it possible for a child to crawl inside and gain access. Others are saying that “Harambee” was actually trying to protect the child, was not a threat and should have been tranquilized instead of shot in the head.
Who’s right?
Some are blaming the mother for allowing the child to go unsupervised long enough to crawl inside an active primate pen. Some are blaming the zoo for the security breach that would even make it possible for a child to crawl inside and gain access. Others are saying that “Harambee” was actually trying to protect the child, was not a threat and should have been tranquilized instead of shot in the head. [….] My partner and I have gone back and forth debating the very question DJ asked: "Who was at fault?" I blame the mother, first and foremost, for being so careless and irresponsible with her young child in the first place. I blame the zoo for failing to have taken security measures to ensure that NO child (or small person) could "crawl inside and gain access" to Gorilla World. My guess is, that's being corrected with a quickness!… Read more »