It’s the video of a 4-year-old boy who climbed into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo.
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However, also on the video was the boy’s mother trying to keep him calm, something Kilby says was crucial.
Rochester’s Zoo Director isn’t commenting on the process followed at the Cincinnati Zoo when an endangered gorilla was shot and killed after a young boy fell into its enclosure.
While most of the public’s anger seems to be directed at the child’s mother, Michelle Gregg, a 32-year-old daycare administrator, fingers have also been pointed at the zoo.
“People that know gorillas well – people who research them in the wild, people who work with them in captivity – know exactly what decision was made and why”, he said. We hand-raised him. I took him home at night with me, ‘ Stones told ABC News from his station in Texas. But I thought it was so attractive to watch that powerful, nearly 500-pound gorilla the way he dealt with that little boy. “Ultimately it’s the gorilla that’s paid this price”, he said. Now, investigators will look into whether charges are warranted.
Trump acknowledged that it was “a very tough call” but said a child was at stake. “You have to be watching your children at all times”.
Many people online have criticized the zoo’s decision to kill the gorilla, stating it was wrong.
Espinosa added that, at this point, the APHIS does not have an investigation open into the incident at the Cincinnati Zoo but that “we will be looking into this incident to determine whether there were any Animal Welfare Act noncompliances that contributed”.
‘We know that this was a very hard decision for them, and that they are grieving the loss of their gorilla.
“He was a character. He grew up to be a lovely, beautiful animal, never aggressive and never mean”, said Jerry Stones, who had raised Harambe since he was born. You know, it’s too bad that there wasn’t another way. At the time, zoo officials said some visitors were moved for safety as the bears were returned to their main holding area. Harambe was sent to Cincinnati less than two years ago in hopes he would eventually breed with gorillas there.
The zoo’s Dangerous Animal Response Team fatally shot Harambe, a 400-pound silverback, after he dragged the boy across the moat.
“This is very emotional and people have expressed different feelings”, Maynard said by email.
“Not everyone shares the same opinion and that’s OK”, he said. “We have never had to kill a unsafe animal in the middle of an emergency situation”.
Maynard said the zoo has received messages of support and condolences from around the world, including from other zoo directors and gorilla experts.
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A boy brings flowers to put beside a statue of a gorilla outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Monday, May 30, 2016, in Cincinnati.
