Police investigating after a 3-year-old boy got into a Cincinnati Zoo gorilla exhibit and was dragged around by a massive gorilla that had to be shot to death to protect him say they’ll look only at actions by the boy’s family and not at the shooting.
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Director Thane Maynard said the zoo’s risky animal response team that practices for such incidents decided the boy was in “a life-threatening situation” and that they needed to put down the 400-pound-plus male gorilla named Harambe.
The terrifying moment a gorilla grabs a hold of a child who has fallen into it’s zoo enclosure. In addition, gorillas – especially silverback males, who need to maintain their sense of dominance – should not be looked down upon. The area around the gorilla exhibit was closed off Saturday afternoon as zoo visitors reported hearing screaming.
Actress Kaley Cuoco has lashed out at the officials of a Cincinnati Zoo where a 17-year old gorilla was shot dead.
Keith Scott said, “No parent watches their child 100% of the time, its impossible”.
Now, some animal-rights activists and parents are questioning whether zoos, aquariums and circuses should dramatically scale back when it comes to the animals they currently keep in captivity.
Days later, the world is still processing the death of a 450-pound gorilla.
The first 911 call about a boy falling into the moat surrounding the Cincinnati Zoo’s gorilla exhibit was made at 3:52 p.m. Saturday. He was released from the hospital, but has not been identified. God protected my child until the authorities were able t0 get him. He said the gorilla could crush a coconut in one hand and there was no doubt that the boy’s life was in danger.
Cincinnati police said over the weekend that no charges were planned.
The incident has become a cause celebre in the United States, where video images played on a recurring loop on television, showing the massive primate handling the child sometimes in an apparently tender manner, other times roughly, dragging him though the moat.
“I think it’s a very tough call…”
His family said in a statement Sunday that the boy was home and doing fine.
Stop Animal Exploitation Now, a Cincinnati-based animal rights group, said it had filed a federal complaint against the zoo with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). “We stand by our decision”, he said Monday, reiterating that using a tranquilizer on the 420-pound gorilla could have further threatened the boy because it wouldn’t have taken effect immediately.
Maynard said the zoo remains safe for its 1.6 million annual visitors, but a review is underway to determine any improvements that can be made.
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“I think people’s intention with social media is you post something with the intention that you want a reaction, right?” Director Thane Maynard said the gorilla was agitated and disoriented by the commotion during the 10 minutes after the boy fell. Kim O’Connor, who witnessed the boy’s fall, told WLWT-TV that she heard the youngster say he wanted to get in the water with the gorillas.
