In August 1996, a 3-year-old boy slipped away from his mother and fell 18 feet into a gorilla enclosure at the Brookfield Zoo in in Chicago.
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But that incident ended much differently. She said the boy’s mother was with several other young children and told him no. The boy made a full recovery.
Animal rights activists continued to take issue with the parents and the zoo.
The Jane Goodall Institute shared an email Goodall, one of the world’s most well-known primatologists, sent to Thane Maynard following the fatal shooting of the endangered 17-year-old lowland gorilla named Harambe.
The Prime Minister says he wouldn’t have killed Harambe, but would have shot him with a tranquiliser. “I need someone to contact the zoo, please”.
The Philadelphia Zoo will hold a meeting to review safety procedures following the incident at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden this past weekend, Andy Baker, the zoo’s chief operating officer, told the Metro.
Authorities updated the child’s age after initially reporting that the boy was 4 years old, wrote the Cincinnati Enquirer.
A Cincinnati Zoo spokesman explains the decision to shoot a gorilla after a boy climbed into its enclosure.
“Gorillas are gentle, nurturing animals who attack only when provoked, and experts report that Harambe was likely trying to protect this child”, Brittany Peet of PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in a statement. “I can’t watch!” she says, pitiably.
Police said their investigation will look at the parents’ actions – not the operation of the zoo, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The zoo is also facing questions about the enclosure’s security, since the toddler crawled through an exhibit barrier and fell into a moat. The family said they continue to “praise God” and also are thankful to the zoo “for their actions taken to protect our child”.
The boy’s family released a statement saying he continues to do well and expressing gratitude to the Cincinnati Zoo for protecting him.
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More than 470,000 people have signed a petition, “Justice for Harambe“, which states: “We the undersigned believe that the child would not have been able to enter the enclosure under proper parental supervision”.
