A4-year-old boy sat face to face with a 400-pound gorilla and didn’t die. The same cannot be said for the gorilla.
On Saturday, a 17-year-old, male gorilla was tragically killed at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in Ohio after a boy fell into its enclosure, according to ABC News.
The boy fell about10 to 12 feet into a moat where he was reportedly picked up and carried around, sometimes violently, by the gorilla. It was this violencethat sealed the gorilla’s fate; a zoo employee shot the gorilla named Harambe when the boy was between hislegs, beforetwo firefighters rescued the child from danger. The boywas reportedly hospitalized with serious injuries, but none are life-threatening.
Video was taken of the toddler in the enclosure.
You can see a pretty violent moment missing from the video above in this clip below.
So this is that Gorilla that got shot for attacking 3 year old after he fell 12ft into the exhibit in Cincinnati… pic.twitter.com/3fBEcs7Pia
— you knew (@_DMVern) May 29, 2016
Violent or not, this entire situation has some people upset over the decision to kill the gorilla, with some people claiming the situation wasn’t the gorilla’s fault so it shouldn’t have been killed.
In 2016 they should have a tranquilizer strong enough to take a gorilla down with one shot. Especially for situations similar to this.
— Avi Berri. (@Avi_Berri) May 29, 2016
I’m highly annoyed that the gorilla was killed due to stupidity and carelessness. https://t.co/nl9Xv7Zx0v
— Aszlej Bolada (@aroueno) May 29, 2016
I hold the zoo and the mother equally liable. And that gorilla didnt have to die because of two negligent parties.
— Aprill (@HeyAprill) May 29, 2016
that gorilla really got killed for being a situation he didnt choose to be in and because somebody lost track of their child
— K.J. (@will_yum17) May 29, 2016
That beautiful gorilla was an endangered species.. A prisoner for human enjoyment.. & got killed for our incompetency. #CincinnatiZoo
— Sea (@callmesea_) May 29, 2016
They killed the gorilla?? What’s with Zoo’s killing animals when humans get into the enclosures? Is there a shortage of tranquillisers?
— Franklin Richards (@UncleTimi) May 29, 2016
But according to the zoo’s director,Thane Maynard, the gorilla had to be shot for the child’s safety.
Maynardsaid of the zoo’s decision to shoot the gorilla,
They made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy’s life.It could have been very bad…
The choice was made to put down, or shoot, Harambe, so he’s gone. We’ve never had a situation like this at the Cincinnati Zoo where a dangerous animal needed to be dispatched in an emergency situation…
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. This is a huge loss for the zoo family and the gorilla population worldwide.
He added that tranquilizing Harambe was not an option because the gorilla was agitated; a tranquilizer dart might not have knocked the gorilla out immediately, and he could’ve harmed the child before the dart took effect.
Maynard also saidnobody had ever gotten into the gorilla’s enclosurein the 38-year history of the zoo’s gorilla exhibit.
Did the zoo make the right call to shoot the gorilla? Who’s at fault? Let us know in the comments and check out some videos of Harambe’s time at the zoo in the clips below.
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