The gorilla was clearly agitated.
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Anthony Seta, a prominent animal rights activist, called the gorilla’s death “a senseless tragedy”, and said the Monday afternoon gathering is meant as a memorial to Harambe.
The zoo operators were faced with a hard situation where a 4-year-old boy fell into the enclosure, and left with no other option but to shoot the gorilla before it might potentially harm the injured boy, according to the BBC.
While police are investigating what happened in Cincinnati and federal inspectors are planning their own review, the zoo says it too will look at whether it needs to reinforce the barriers even though it considers the enclosure more secure than what’s required.
– Gorillas at the Columbus Zoo are in two enclosed areas behind glass and mesh.
The 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, and arrived in Cincinnati less than two years ago.
“We did not take the shooting lightly, but that child’s life was in danger”.
“We’ve never had a situation like this in the zoo”, Maynard said, adding that drills are done “regularly” to prepare for them. “Ultimately it’s the gorilla that’s paid this price”, he said.
A boy is led away after putting flowers beside a statue of a gorilla outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Monday, May 30, 2016, in Cincinnati.
He said the young boy had crawled through a barrier and fell into the moat.
The boy who fell into the exhibit was taken to Cincinnati Children’s HospitalMedicalCenter for treatment and released hours after the incident.
People have taken to social media to voice their outrage about the killing of the endangered species.
Maynard said, “We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made”.
The director said the zoo is devastated by the loss, because they’re one of the key players in captive breeding and conservation of the endangered lowland gorilla.
Maynard maintained that the exhibit was safe and the zoo was not negligent.
“Not everyone shares the same opinion and that’s OK”, he said. A spokeswoman for the family said Monday they had no plans to make additional comments. They said that the parents should be held criminally responsible for the incident. “We have given literally millions and millions of dollars to preserve these animals, both mountain gorillas and lowland gorillas”. The boy hasn’t been identified, however his family says he is doing fine at home.
As Internet commenters debate whether the Cincinnati Zoo made the right call when it shot and killed a 400-pound gorilla over the weekend, an unedited video was published online that gives a fuller picture of what happened in those fateful moments.
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Stalf said there’s no question the zoo did the right thing.
