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.
Then I understand why shooting was necessary. I know tranquilizers can actually cause a panic attack in an animal and can cause it to thrash around hard enough to actually tear muscle tissue apart. That kind of force would tear the boy in half, if it was holding him at the time it got shot.
“held accountable for their actions of not supervising their child.”
Maybe that would be a good rule to follow for “urban youth” rioting and causing trouble at the drop of a hat.
Mom was probably too busy updating her facebook page. I hope she’s charged with everything they can think of, including the value of the gorilla. It’s a darn shame they were forced to kill him.
btw - the boy has been released from the hospital.
Like I said before a four year old defeated the zoos measures to keep visitors and animals separated. A parent would only need to be distracted for q second for a four year old to slip under a big enough hole in a fence.