For me it’s contextual. Did the gorilla hurt the boy and did it pose a problem in trying to rescue the kid?
Chimps that weigh 50 pounds are 10 times stronger than any human.Just do the math when it comes to a 500 pound gorilla.
The gorilla was agitated and dragging the child around. Zoo officials made the decision not to try to tranquilize the animal, since a tranquilizer might have taken some time to work. Also, animals thrash around for a few minutes when first given anesthesia, until the anesthetic kicks in fully—which would have been very dangerous for the little boy.
The boy is in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The parents bear the blame here; they should have been watching him better. He had exhibited a strong desire to enter the gorilla pen; they should have disciplined him or removed him from the area.
The gorilla was tossing the boy around. Tranquillizers don’t work instantaneously... More damage or death could have occurred while waiting for the sedative to work
Yes, and yes.
That is why the decision was made to shoot to kill instead of trying to sedate the animal.