“Our exhibit goes above and beyond standard safety requirements, but in light of what happened, we have modified the outer public barrier to make entry even more hard”, zoo director Thane Maynard said in the release.
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The boy reportedly suffered minor injuries, and the family said he “is still doing well”.
The new barrier is 42 inches (107 cm) high with wood beams at the top and bottom and knotted rope netting, the zoo said in a statement.
Witnesses said the boy had expressed a desire to get into the enclosure and climbed over a 3-foot (1-meter) barrier, then fell 15 feet (4.6 m) into a moat. The events surrounding Harambes death are well-known as the lowland gorilla was shot and killed after a boy found his way into Cincinnatis Gorilla World enclosure and was grabbed, held, and thereafter, dragged in the water by this male gorilla.
The zoo said that was the first breach at Gorilla World since it opened in 1978. I tried to see exactly what was happening – it looks as though the gorilla was putting an arm around the child – like the female who rescued and returned the child to the Chicago exhibit.
Meanwhile, a prosecutor reviewing the police investigation of the case said he’ll announce a decision on charges Monday.
While many are outraged at the boy’s mother, Michelle Gregg, as Western Journalism reported on Wednesday, the zoo may be partially to blame for the incident, based on new images of the gorilla enclosure as it stood last week. He says the earliest Deters will make a decision on whether charges should be pursued is Friday.
A Cincinnati police report identifies the boy’s mother as Michelle Gregg, 32, who works at a preschool near Cincinnati.
A spokeswoman said the family requests privacy and has no comment on the investigation. “I can’t watch this!” a woman says in the 911 call on Saturday.
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Pittsburgh’s weapons team responded in 2012 after a 2-year-old boy fell into an African painted dog exhibit and was killed.
