There has been a lot of finger-pointing at Michelle Gregg, the mother of the 4-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla pen at the Cincinnati Zoo on May 28, but we dare any parent not to feel for this woman upon hearing her frantic 911 call when the incident occurred.
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Cincinnati police have investigated the child’s parents and turned over their findings to prosecutors.
Jane Goodall, one of the world’s most prominent primatologists, has weighed on the killing of a gorilla at Cincinnati Zoo after a child fell into the animal’s enclosure.
Deters said he’ll announce a decision on charges Monday. The family has declined comment.
The zoo said it will look at whether it needs to reinforce the barriers even though it considers the enclosure more secure than what’s required.
As debate churns over the shooting of a Cincinnati Zoo gorilla to save the life of a 3-year-old, gorilla and zoo experts have been called upon for their take.
Goodall also offered a bit of interpretation about Harambe’s response to the toddler, who fell into the moat in the gorilla enclosure.
A gorilla named Harambe was killed by a special zoo response team on Saturday after a 4-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and it was concluded his life was in danger.
The gorilla grabbed the young boy and dragged him around for ten minutes before staff at the zoo made a decision to pull the trigger on him.
The police report states that witnesses said the gorilla initially appeared to be protecting the child, but after onlookers began screaming, he became “agitated and scared” and began dragging the child.
Police released 911 tapes on Wednesday highlighting the confusion and panic in the moments when the boy plunged into the gorilla exhibit.
It said: “We continue to praise God for His grace and mercy, and to be thankful to the Cincinnati Zoo for their actions taken to protect our child”.
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“The Cincinnati Zoo has spent the last several days reevaluating the exhibit and will be making modifications to the public barrier before reopening the exhibit”, the zoo said in a news release Thursday.
