Posted on 05/28/2016 4:42:31 PM PDT by xzins
CINCINNATI – A gorilla was killed after it dragged a 3-year-old boy that fell into its enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Saturday, Zoo Director Thane Maynard said.
The boy was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.
Police and EMTs were called to the zoo at about 4 p.m. for reports that a gorilla was "slamming the child into the wall."
Maynard said the boy crawled through a barrier and landed in the moat. He was walking and splashing. Harambe, a 17-year-old male gorilla weighing more than 400 pounds, picked up the boy, Maynard said. Witnesses said the gorilla grabbed and dragged the screaming boy around the habitat for about 10 minutes.
RELATED: Silverback gorilla Harambe comes to Cincinnati Zoo for 'spring training'
Personnel from the zoo's dangerous animal response team decided to put down Harambe rather than tranquilize him because the boy was in danger and the tranquilizer would not have taken effect immediately, Maynard said. Two other gorillas in the exhibit were called back inside.
Maynard called it "a life-threatening situation" for the boy. The response team shot Harambe.
The gorilla didn’t kill the kid, so in my opinion, they should not have killed it.
Sounds like they feared it might, however. It was being rather rough. The kid was struggling too, not having the instincts of a gorilla toddler who would have just submitted and then probably have been treated kindly.
Where were the kid's "parents"? Surely it must have taken time for him to crawl under that fence. The "parents" should be liable for the purchase price of a new gorilla, child endangerment, etc.
Zoos should be forced to reassess their enclosures to make them not animal-proof, but idiot-proof, preventing unauthorized entry by any sized human.
This calls for mandatory leash laws for children.
Would agree with better sealing of the compound. If a little kid could get in there, so could a dog or a cat or a raccoon, which could harm the gorillas.
But as it was, probably the threat of lawsuits was foremost in their mind. They chose to shoot the gorilla.
ALL simians freak me out.
Could not pay me enough to be near any of them.
And bears.
Eff bears.
#MonkeyLivesMatter!
Currently, Maryland has a breeding population of black bears in the 4 westernmost counties (Garrett, Allegany, Washington, and Frederick), with the highest bear densities found in Garrett and western Allegany counties. Although evidence of a breeding population is confined to the western 4 counties, DNR receives several bear sightings and complaints in central and southern Maryland counties each year.
http://dnr2.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/hunt_trap/BlackBear.aspx
Serves the kid right for getting involved in monkey business
when this silverback who was just killed walked out.....Isn’t it hard to train a dead monkey? I mean, the attention span just isn’t there.
So there should be a law regarding how many zoos the country should have?
Nanny-state much?
Yeah, and in my freaking back yard.
Oh, Hell....let’s just have a wide open wild animal acquisition system in place. Let’s allow your neighbor to have as many she-lions, pumas, leopards, baboons, grizzlies and Siberian tigers as he or she wishes. No fences needed. After all, any law requiring fences or enclosures would be nanny stating to the max.
Nice snake. But not nice bear.
Zoos are already tightly regulated and no, you can’t just put a tiger in a dog pen in most places and call it a zoo. (You could in rural Mississippi, but I’d research any zoo there before going.)
And Siberian tigers became extinct many millennia ago.
Oops, that is saber tooth tiger.
“But as it was, probably the threat of lawsuits was foremost in their mind. They chose to shoot the gorilla.”
A human life can never be put at risk for the sake of an animal. They had to reason something like this: “Which of our alternatives offers the least risk to the child’s life?”
My question for the zoo to answer...why was it possible for this to happen? What are they doing to now ‘close the barn door, after the gorilla is stolen?’
Seems some at the zoo have some explaining to do!
And yes, where were the parents...but I assume many have already asked that question.
The purpose of zoos are to maintain a large dispersed gene pool of rare and unusual species so that there’s a genetic “cushion” or reserve in the event of war or disaster in their natural range; as in “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Gorillas are a prime example of this as a single war nearly wiped the entire wild population out along with 10 million human beings.
Since zoos come in all sizes and are usually locally supported, rather than centrally controlled, they are able to independently pursue diverse and innovative efforts at breeding, training, treating and handling animals and share the knowledge gained, rather than operated on a one size fits all basis. They also compete with one another for status and recognition which leads to better animal care.
Zoos also serve to expose the public to all these natural wonders they otherwise could never hear, smell or see in person, encouraging an appreciation of God’s creation as well as stewardship, secular science, conservation, and so on, inspiring people to learn more.
Zoos offer opportunities to learn first hand about animal behavior and safe handling and animal health that can in turn be applied to animals we study in the wild, aiding in long term conservation.
That is why I said “Siberian tiger”.
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