He was shot after a 4-year-old boy was able to get into the gorilla enclosure, then fell into the water.
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“When a gorilla is upset like a Silver-back, you wouldn’t want to witness what I’ve witnessed in the wild”.
“I think they know we saved that little boy’s life”, Maynard said.
However, Professor Kaplan agreed the child’s life rightfully took precedence over the animal’s.
Luers was also infuriated that Greggs was reportedly suing the zoo. A 4-year-old and when he scaled him up his head’s banging against the wall as he’s climbing up…
Ian Redmond, chairman of The Gorilla Organization, said zookeepers had other options.
The huge gorilla was about six times stronger than a man, Maynard added, and was confused and disoriented.
Animal rights group PETA said the zoo could have done more to prevent the death with closer monitoring and immediate action after the attack.
The zoo hopes to reopen its Gorilla World within several days.
Police had initially reported that the gorilla was tranquilised, but Maynard claims the decision was made to shoot to kill to save the boy’s life.
This undated photo obtained May 30, 2016 courtesy of the Cincinnati Zoo shows gorilla Harambe.
Maynard said he doesn’t know. “Not everyone shares the same opinion and that’s OK. But we all share the love for animals”.
Tanya Espinosa, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said Tuesday that it would be looking into the incident for any violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
After the boy was dragged and thrown by the gorilla, zoo officials shot and killed him.
The Little Rock Zoo is standing behind the Cincinnati Zoo’s decision, but say they’re doing everything they can to avoid a similar situation here.
Harambe’s longtime caregiver planned to talk Monday evening about the gorilla. Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered. Although the bears were never loose, guests were moved indoors and the zoo was closed. Those questions were also addressed in Monday’s press conference.
Earlier: The director of the Cincinnati Zoo says it remains safe for its 1.6 million annual visitors despite a weekend tragedy in which a gorilla was fatally shot to protect a four-year-old boy who had entered its exhibit. They held signs with messages such as “Rest in Peace Harambe”.
“The barrier obviously isn’t sufficient to keep the public out”, said Michael Budkie of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW.
Tranquilizing Harambe would not have taken effect instantaneously and might have resulted in displaced aggression toward the child, Maynard said. Others blamed her for Harambe’s death.
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In the days since, people have taken to social media to voice their outrage about the killing of a member of an endangered species. A Facebook page called Justice for Harambe has drawn wide attention, along with online petitions and another page calling for a protest at the zoo on June 5.
