The exhibit’s reopening Tuesday comes a day after a prosecutor said the boy’s mother would not be charged and that the 3-year-old had “scampered off” as children sometimes do.
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The child was between the gorilla’s legs when the animal was killed by a single rifle shot to the head, the prosecutor’s office said.
“This happened so quickly… there’s nothing the mother could have done”, he said, reported the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Legal experts had said all along that child endangerment charges were unlikely under such circumstances, which Deters echoed in his ruling.
The Cincinnati Zoo reopened its Gorilla World exhibit on Tuesday, closing a chapter on the controversy that erupted after a toddler fell into the gorilla enclosure, forcing the zoo to shoot and kill an endangered silverback to save the boy. Most (54%) who have a favorable view of zoos also support the decision to kill the gorilla, but a majority (56%) of Americans who have an unfavorable view of zoos also disapprove of killing the gorilla.
Visitors will be greeted with a higher barrier railing with solid wood beams and knotted rope netting.
Deters said he’s happy improvements were made to the zoo exhibit.
The previous, 3-foot barrier fence passed multiple safety inspections by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, according to zoo officials.
Zoo director Thane Maynard is reflected in the glass of a bulletin board honoring their deceased gorilla Harambe as he holds a news conference at the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Tuesday, in Cincinnati. The USDA, which inspects the zoo annually, will look into whether the facility was in compliance with federal laws that monitor the treatment of animals in research and exhibition. “And they felt that this boy’s life was in jeopardy, and they did, they made the painful choice to do what they did”.
The prosecutor said he has been surprised by the reaction to the gorilla’s death, although the zoo had suffered a great loss.
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An animal protection group has called for a fine, and the zoo’s actions will be reviewed separately by the US Department of Agriculture.
