A new barrier railing with knotted rope netting will be installed at the Cincinnati Zoo exhibit where the popular Harambe gorilla was shot and killed after a boy fell into the animal’s enclosure, the zoo announced Thursday, June 2nd.
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Legal experts say a prosecution in the case seems unlikely.
Thane Maynard, director of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, speaks during a news conference, Monday, May 30, 2016, in Cincinnati.
“Once their investigation is concluded, they will confer with our office on possible criminal charges”, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said in a statement.
Since Saturday, police had been looking at whether the boy’s mother, 32-year-old Michelle Gregg, could be held criminally responsible for what happened.
Tourists must be over 15 years old to be eligible for gorilla-trekking, according to Rwandan park officials.
Animal activists are up in arms over the situation, which ultimately took the life of Harambe, the 17-year-old male gorilla who inhabited the pen and dragged the young boy around its moat.
The family, whose name has been withheld by police, said through a spokeswoman, Gail Myers that the boy was doing well. The Gorilla World exhibit has remained closed, but could re-open this weekend.
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’s dragging my son!” It’s almost impossible not to get emotional (not to mention anxious) as this woman stands helpless watching her son in the hands of a 400-lb animal. “I can’t watch this!” the woman said in the 911 call.
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Harambe the gorilla was shot by the zoo’s risky animal response team after he grabbed hold of the boy and handled him like a rag doll. The zoo said it has spent the last several days reevaluating the exhibit.
