US: Ohio zoo kills gorilla to protect small child

[webfact]

'Mommy loves you!': Boy rescued after gorilla is shot at zoo
By JOHN MINCHILLO

CINCINNATI (AP) — Panicked zoo visitors watched helplessly and shouted, "Stay calm!" while one woman yelled, "Mommy loves you!" as a 400-pound-plus gorilla loomed over a 4-year-old boy who had fallen into a shallow moat at the Cincinnati Zoo.

The boy sat still in the water, looking up at the gorilla as the animal touched the child's hand and back. At one point, it looked as though the gorilla helped the youngster stand up.

Two witnesses said they thought the gorilla was trying to protect the boy at first before getting spooked by the screams of onlookers. The animal then picked the child up out of the moat and dragged him to another spot inside the exhibit, zoo officials said.

Fearing for the boy's life, the zoo's dangerous-animal response team shot and killed the 17-year-old ape, named Harambe.

The child, whose name was not released, was released from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center on Saturday night, hours after the fall.

His family said in a statement Sunday that the boy was home and doing fine.

"We extend our heartfelt thanks for the quick action by the Cincinnati Zoo staff. We know that this was a very difficult decision for them, and that they are grieving the loss of their gorilla," the family said.

Zoo Director Thane Maynard said the gorilla didn't appear to be attacking the child but was "an extremely strong" animal in an agitated situation. He said tranquilizing the gorilla wouldn't have knocked it out immediately, leaving the boy in danger.

"They made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy's life," Maynard said.

Zoo officials said the 4-year-old climbed through a barrier at the Gorilla World exhibit and dropped 15 feet into the moat Saturday afternoon. He was in there for about 10 minutes. Two female gorillas also were in the enclosure.

The two females complied with calls from zoo staff to leave the exhibit, but Harambe stayed, Maynard said.

Witness Kim O'Connor said she heard the boy say he wanted to get in the water with the gorillas. She said the boy's mother was with several other young children.

"The mother's like, 'No, you're not. No, you're not,'" O'Connor told WLWT-TV.

O'Connor shared video she and her family recorded of the boy and Harambe. The two appear in a corner of the exhibit while visitors yell, "Somebody call the zoo!" and "Mommy's right here!" The station did not air portions of the video showing the gorilla dragging the boy.

Another woman said that just before the boy fell, she saw him in bushes beyond a fence around the exhibit.

"I tried to grab for him. I started yelling at him to come back," Brittany Nicely told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "Everybody started screaming and going crazy. It happened so fast."

Zoo staff cleared the area and visitors heard gunfire a few minutes later. Firefighters then rushed into the enclosure and picked up the boy.

Lt. Steve Saunders, a Cincinnati police spokesman, said there are no plans to charge the parents.

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the zoo should have had a second barrier around the exhibit.

"Even under the 'best' circumstances, captivity is never acceptable for gorillas or other primates, and in cases like this, it's even deadly," PETA said.

The exhibit opened nearly 40 years ago, and this was the first breach, the zoo said.

Maynard called the killing a tragic death of a critically endangered species and a huge loss for the zoo and the gorilla population worldwide. The gorilla came to Cincinnati in 2015 from the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas.

Visitors left flowers at a gorilla statue Sunday. Gorilla World remained closed, but the rest of the zoo was open.

One father said he was shocked that the boy was able to get past the fence and bushes that surround the exhibit. He expects the zoo will take a close at it.

"They probably thought the moat and the fence was good enough," said Alex Salcedo. "Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it was if a 4-year-old can get through."

___

Associated Press writers Dan Sewell and John Seewer in Cincinnati contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-05-30

[NovaBlue05]

The negligent parents will no doubt now successfully sue the zoo for not providing for a childproof enclosure.

[jaidam]

So sad the gorilla had to die for the kids and parents stupidity. I remember another incident over in the UK, some dumb kid dropped into the gorilla enclosure and the alpha male guarded him from the other gorillas. The alpha male was called Jambo and he was not shot dead. There had better be some darned good excuse as to why they killed this poor gorilla - a gorilla who's life I value much higher than the human tossers that put it in jeopardy.

[Boon Mee]

They should have tranq'ed the gorilla instead of shooting him dead!

[arjunadawn]

This great beast's death is a tragedy. Zoos suck. No, they have no value. They should have thrown the mother in, distracted the animal, taken the kid, and closed the park. Zoos suck.

Zoos are near the top of the list of 'Things that suggest morality does not accompany opposing digits.'

[Langsuan Man]

You need to read the full story before you start blaming the zoo. Tranquilizers take time to work and by that point the crowd had worked the poor gorrilla into such a frenzy that the lethal option was the only one available

If you read and listen to the story , as told by the person who took the video, she constantly states that there was no real problems until the crowd started yelling. They got them to calm down for a few minutes and it looked like it could have been resolved favorable, but then they started up again and that was what caused the poor animal to become aggressive

Yes, I blame the mother for not watching the child, but the crowd because they couldn't control themselves, were the real bad guys in this story

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/29/us/cincinnati-zoo-gorilla-shot/

[boomerangutang]

Sad story. I downloaded a pic of the gorilla. A stately beast. Particularly sad that his entire species is hanging by a thread and will be wiped out soon. Humans will last longer, maybe another 2,700 years, but are headed for the dustbin of species. We're the first technically 'intelligent' species, but won't be the last. There will probably be several other species which 'develop' to our level of gadgetry. They'll also have archaeologists who will look back in wonder (like we look back at dinosaurs), at the first species to do so much with technology - yet were so massively self-debilitating mentally.

Speaking of 'hanging by a thread'..... there used to be dugongs (manatees) along Thailand's Andaman coast. Now there are few, if any left. What are Thais doing to try and maintain a viable population? Nothing. A viable population would entail about 50 individuals and would need spacious natural (and protected!) habitat. If anyone reading this would like to coordinate some efforts toward establishing a preserve for dugongs in Thailand, let me know. I reside in northernmost Thailand, so I can't do much from here. I would endeavor to save wildlife up here in northern Thailand, but there's barely any wildlife left to save. No wild mammals here, larger than a rat.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Gorilla lives matter!

[OccamsRazor]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_flos11MZP4

[OccamsRazor]

This happened 2 years ago but with a happier ending.

[wales01]

They should shoot the parents also

[daveAustin]

They had no choice really. A tranquilliser would have wound him up more initially. Sad as it is, and I'm all for the stupid humans theory, how would it look if the gorilla had torn his arms and legs off?

[stevenl]

They had no choice really. A tranquilliser would have wound him up more initially. Sad as it is, and I'm all for the stupid humans theory, how would it look if the gorilla had torn his arms and legs off?

Yes, that is their defense. I'm not convinced, there are quite a few stories around of people being rescues from gorilla's in zoos by tranquilizing the gorilla.

[up2u2]

It is with great anticipation a parent looks forward to their child's first steps. From that point it is 'Where has that damn child got too!'

You'd think the design would be such that a toddler could NEVER be able to enter an enclosure that houses a Silver-back Gorilla.

An absolute tragedy that this extraordinary creature was shot.

[jak2002003]

Of course they shot the gorilla... its America.. they LOVE to shoot things.

I see the parents are blaming the zoo as their little boy could fall into the enclosure! The parents are the ones to blame for not taking care of their child. People these days don't see to be able to take responsibility for themselves anymore.. always blaming someone else.

Those parents should be charged with neglects, the child given to a family who will be better able to look after him. And the person who agreed to the action of shooting the gorilla should be fired from his job... zoos always tell us they are there to protect endangered species.. not shoot them.

[MyFriend You]

The negligent parents will no doubt now successfully sue the zoo for not providing for a childproof enclosure.

The parents should be sued to pay for the price of the animal - she was probably talking on her cellphone or taking a selfie when the kid got loose and slid down the embankment.

[arunsakda]

A tragedy. Once the crowd got him riled up there was nothing to be done. If not for the crowd zookeepers probably could have led him away with a case of bananas or oranges. Kid got off without injury as they know instinctively how to handle the little ones. Any malice and that beast could have taken him out in a second.

Sad. One less Gorilla, one more naked ape to trash the environment and buy an iPhone. In such an immediate emergency situation Human life must be protected at all costs. Zoos should probably be banned.

The only way to ensure a future for wild gorillas is to protect their habitat, not lock them in cages for out amusement.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lannig]

(...)

Sad. One less Gorilla, one more naked ape to trash the environment and buy an iPhone.

(...)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Priceless

[sirineou]

They had no choice really. A tranquilliser would have wound him up more initially. Sad as it is, and I'm all for the stupid humans theory, how would it look if the gorilla had torn his arms and legs off?

Yes, that is their defense. I'm not convinced, there are quite a few stories around of people being rescues from gorilla's in zoos by tranquilizing the gorilla.

Monday morning quarterbacking , ,

These zoo workers and officials loved that gorilla just as much and I am sure more than most in this forum.

A decision had to be made and made fast, the life of a Small child hung in the balance.

What would you or me have done in that situation?

If you are not convinced by their defense, what do you think was their real motivation?

[losworld]

Sad story. I downloaded a pic of the gorilla. A stately beast. Particularly sad that his entire species is hanging by a thread and will be wiped out soon. Humans will last longer, maybe another 2,700 years, but are headed for the dustbin of species. We're the first technically 'intelligent' species, but won't be the last. There will probably be several other species which 'develop' to our level of gadgetry. They'll also have archaeologists who will look back in wonder (like we look back at dinosaurs), at the first species to do so much with technology - yet were so massively self-debilitating mentally.

Speaking of 'hanging by a thread'..... there used to be dugongs (manatees) along Thailand's Andaman coast. Now there are few, if any left. What are Thais doing to try and maintain a viable population? Nothing. A viable population would entail about 50 individuals and would need spacious natural (and protected!) habitat. If anyone reading this would like to coordinate some efforts toward establishing a preserve for dugongs in Thailand, let me know. I reside in northernmost Thailand, so I can't do much from here. I would endeavor to save wildlife up here in northern Thailand, but there's barely any wildlife left to save. No wild mammals here, larger than a rat.

Yes northern Thailand stripped bare of wildlife. I imagine sometime not long ago the NE was a very rich plain full of wildlife but now virtually nothing. And to top it off the million plus dogs in Thailand have eaten everything humans have not taken.

[Pimay1]

Sad story. I downloaded a pic of the gorilla. A stately beast. Particularly sad that his entire species is hanging by a thread and will be wiped out soon. Humans will last longer, maybe another 2,700 years, but are headed for the dustbin of species. We're the first technically 'intelligent' species, but won't be the last. There will probably be several other species which 'develop' to our level of gadgetry. They'll also have archaeologists who will look back in wonder (like we look back at dinosaurs), at the first species to do so much with technology - yet were so massively self-debilitating mentally.

Speaking of 'hanging by a thread'..... there used to be dugongs (manatees) along Thailand's Andaman coast. Now there are few, if any left. What are Thais doing to try and maintain a viable population? Nothing. A viable population would entail about 50 individuals and would need spacious natural (and protected!) habitat. If anyone reading this would like to coordinate some efforts toward establishing a preserve for dugongs in Thailand, let me know. I reside in northernmost Thailand, so I can't do much from here. I would endeavor to save wildlife up here in northern Thailand, but there's barely any wildlife left to save. No wild mammals here, larger than a rat.

Yes northern Thailand stripped bare of wildlife. I imagine sometime not long ago the NE was a very rich plain full of wildlife but now virtually nothing. And to top it off the million plus dogs in Thailand have eaten everything humans have not taken.

My gf's mother is in her 60s. She said when she was little there were a lot of bears here in Isaan.

[Lokie]

The mother heard to shout Im right here for you baby... pity she wasn't when the kid managed to crawl in through some hole in the enclosure... How can a parent/s not have control of their offspring next to an E ffing Gorilla enclosure? Hopefully they can toss the mother into the Lion enclosure for causing a needless death of a great beast through her negligence

Edited May 30, 2016 by Lokie

[thaibeachlovers]

You need to read the full story before you start blaming the zoo. Tranquilizers take time to work and by that point the crowd had worked the poor gorrilla into such a frenzy that the lethal option was the only one available

If you read and listen to the story , as told by the person who took the video, she constantly states that there was no real problems until the crowd started yelling. They got them to calm down for a few minutes and it looked like it could have been resolved favorable, but then they started up again and that was what caused the poor animal to become aggressive

Yes, I blame the mother for not watching the child, but the crowd because they couldn't control themselves, were the real bad guys in this story

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/29/us/cincinnati-zoo-gorilla-shot/

C'mon, that's human nature.

The ones at fault are the zoo management for allowing children to be in a place that they can get through the barrier, and the parents for not controlling their ill disciplined offspring.

My solution- make all very young children be on a leash, like children used to have years ago, while in the zoo. Of course, that would offend the wishy washy PC idiots that abound these days. A lovely animal paid the price because parents didn't do their job of controlling their child. I hope they have to pay a huge fine, but I'm not holding my breath.

[thaibeachlovers]

Sad story. I downloaded a pic of the gorilla. A stately beast. Particularly sad that his entire species is hanging by a thread and will be wiped out soon. Humans will last longer, maybe another 2,700 years, but are headed for the dustbin of species. We're the first technically 'intelligent' species, but won't be the last. There will probably be several other species which 'develop' to our level of gadgetry. They'll also have archaeologists who will look back in wonder (like we look back at dinosaurs), at the first species to do so much with technology - yet were so massively self-debilitating mentally.

Speaking of 'hanging by a thread'..... there used to be dugongs (manatees) along Thailand's Andaman coast. Now there are few, if any left. What are Thais doing to try and maintain a viable population? Nothing. A viable population would entail about 50 individuals and would need spacious natural (and protected!) habitat. If anyone reading this would like to coordinate some efforts toward establishing a preserve for dugongs in Thailand, let me know. I reside in northernmost Thailand, so I can't do much from here. I would endeavor to save wildlife up here in northern Thailand, but there's barely any wildlife left to save. No wild mammals here, larger than a rat.

Yes northern Thailand stripped bare of wildlife. I imagine sometime not long ago the NE was a very rich plain full of wildlife but now virtually nothing. And to top it off the million plus dogs in Thailand have eaten everything humans have not taken.

The soi dogs are a dangerous pest where I live. I hoped the guys taking dogs to Cambodia to be eaten would visit, but the d******ds stopped the trade before that could happen. Now they just breed indiscriminately and attack people. Shame.

[arunsakda]

The family will still sue and probably win a large judgement in their favour.

[thaibeachlovers]

They had no choice really. A tranquilliser would have wound him up more initially. Sad as it is, and I'm all for the stupid humans theory, how would it look if the gorilla had torn his arms and legs off?

Yes, that is their defense. I'm not convinced, there are quite a few stories around of people being rescues from gorilla's in zoos by tranquilizing the gorilla.

Monday morning quarterbacking , ,

These zoo workers and officials loved that gorilla just as much and I am sure more than most in this forum.

A decision had to be made and made fast, the life of a Small child hung in the balance.

What would you or me have done in that situation?

If you are not convinced by their defense, what do you think was their real motivation?

Other children have fallen in in other places. How many were killed by the gorillas? It's not in their nature to kill small children. Small children are not a threat.

[mopar71]

This great beast's death is a tragedy. Zoos suck. No, they have no value. They should have thrown the mother in, distracted the animal, taken the kid, and closed the park. Zoos suck.

Zoos are near the top of the list of 'Things that suggest morality does not accompany opposing digits.'

Zoo with cages and enclosures like this are awful. But I am not against zoos that provide a lot more open space for the animals and for that, zoos need to be where there is a lot of cheap land...not in the middle a large metro area. Not to mention taking animals out of their natural hot climate and sticking them up north. People living up north should just have to travel south to see animals in better conditions.

Some zoos get it right...

The orangutan exhibit at the Singapore Zoo is pretty amazing. They are even able to climb trees across the visitor footpath.

The gorilla exhibit at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida is beautiful. I always thought if I won the lottery I'd get those guys to landscape my back yard. This video doesn't do the whole area justice...

[mopar71]

They had no choice really. A tranquilliser would have wound him up more initially. Sad as it is, and I'm all for the stupid humans theory, how would it look if the gorilla had torn his arms and legs off?

Yes, that is their defense. I'm not convinced, there are quite a few stories around of people being rescues from gorilla's in zoos by tranquilizing the gorilla.

Monday morning quarterbacking , ,

These zoo workers and officials loved that gorilla just as much and I am sure more than most in this forum.

A decision had to be made and made fast, the life of a Small child hung in the balance.

What would you or me have done in that situation?

If you are not convinced by their defense, what do you think was their real motivation?

Other children have fallen in in other places. How many were killed by the gorillas? It's not in their nature to kill small children. Small children are not a threat.

I thought the same before I saw the video of the gorilla dragging the kid around by his leg. Obviously, the gorilla wasn't trying to injure the boy, that would have been easier than we can imagine. The 400-pound gorilla just didn't know how to handle a little boy and got killed for it.

It is a tragedy and that boy will have to live with what his behavior led to. I just hope he grows up with enough sense to feel guilty about it.

[jak2002003]

Some zoos can be very good for the animals.. better for them than living in the wild... but MOST zoos are not up to this standard and its like a prison for the animals.

The problem is that we can't control how zoos are run in other countries.

As usual the humans in this sad situation made the problem worse by making all that noise and screaming and gettting the animals excited.

Panic and stupidity caused the gorilla to get killed... and potentially the little boy.

But the zoo will just buy a new one.. This lesson teaches us.... you don't have to take care or superivse your child. When you child has an accident as a result of your negligence you can blame someone else and they get punished by having to give you lots of money as a reward. You can shoot and kill any animal you like even if its an endangered species if you are a zoo to protect you publicity and made future profits... while pretending to care about animal conservation and protection.

The people I feel sorry for here are the little boy, who is stuck with bad parents, and the zoo keepers who looked after that gorilla.. they must be heartbroken.

Edited May 30, 2016 by jak2002003

[halloween]

My gf's mother is in her 60s. She said when she was little there were a lot of bears here in Isaan.

Must have been while there were still woods to sh*t in.