The fatal shooting of Harambe, a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo, on Saturday has led to questions about protocol at zoos, particularly when it comes to potentially deadly encounters with people and animals.
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Harambe the gorilla was shot by the zoo’s unsafe animal response team after he grabbed hold of the boy and handled him like a rag doll. Going further, the group says Gregg should be charged under the Endangered Species Act for the death of an endangered animal.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters was scheduled to hold a news conference on the incident at 1 p.m. EDT on Monday, his office said in a statement.
The comments come as police finally released the 911 call Isaiah’s mother made the day the boy fell into the enclosure with the gorilla, CNN reports.
He said: “We all need to work to make sure our families are safe”. It plans to complete the modifications by Tuesday, when the exhibit is scheduled to reopen.
That’s a half-foot higher than the steel railing barrier a 3-year-old boy apparently climbed over to get into the enclosure last Saturday.
Deters said he’ll announce a decision on charges Monday.
“Everybody’s doing fine. We speak daily”, she said, referring to her son, thirty-six-year-old Deonne, and the boy’s mother, thirty-two-year-old Michelle.
Meanwhile, 911 tapes released Wednesday by Cincinnati police reveal the confusion and panic in the moments when the boy plunged into the zoo’s gorilla exhibit.
“It is insane that they typed in my name, saw that I was from OH, saw that I had a little boy, and assumed that I was her”, said Gregg.
“He’s dragging my son!”
As she pleads for help, she shouts at her son repeatedly: “Be calm!”
The gorilla encounter in Cincinnati also reignited discussions over whether zoos are properly equipped with the necessary barriers to keep visitors from falling into risky exhibits.
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The zoo’s unsafe animal response team shot and killed the gorilla within 10 minutes to protect the boy after he dropped some 15 feet into a moat.
