Zoo Kills Gorilla To Save Boy’s Life

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The Cincinnati Zoo was recently forced to kill a rare Gorilla named Harambe, after a 4-year-old boy fell into the gorilla enclosure. This is the first time the Zoo has been forced to make such a tough decision.

A video of the incident has drawn widespread attention, as it displays the Gorilla dragging the little boy like a rag doll through the water.

According to Authorities, the boy climbed through a barrier and fell 10 to 12 feet into the gorilla exhibit moat, where he was dragged by the gorilla for about 10 minutes.

After the gorilla was shot, Zoo employees opened the gate to the enclosure and the child was retrieved by Firefighters.

In a statement on Facebook, Zoo Director Thane Maynard said

We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made by our Dangerous Animal Response Team.”

The boy was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center near the zoo and was treated for serious injuries that were not considered to be fatal.

The video has prompted an outrage on Social Media whereby the hashtag #JusticeForHarambe was used.

Many people said that Harambe should not have been shot dead, as he did not want to hurt the boy. Others are going as far as saying that the parents should be held responsible for the incident, as they should have been looking after the boy.

The hashtag #JusticeForHarambe was used.

A petition has also been signed by more than 60,000 people who call for the boy’s parents to

“be held accountable for the lack of supervision and negligence that caused Harambe to lose his life“.

The full video can be viewed here: (Warning: Some viewers may find this content disturbing)


Via YouTube/BBC

44 Comments

  1. Marie 'Walsh' Rilea

    May 30, 2016 at 6:38 pm

    There should “Never ” be a way for anyone to fall into an enclosure at any zoo.

    • Myranda Rox

      May 31, 2016 at 6:11 am

      THIS is the main issue in my opinion!!!

  2. Christine Taveras

    May 30, 2016 at 9:07 pm

    They didn’t have to kill the Gorilla they could’ve just tranquilizes him or her n save the boy but again where was the parent who is responsible for this child like really

    • Lianda Jane

      May 31, 2016 at 12:29 am

      They’ve explained that. Tranquilizers take time to kick in. The gorilla could’ve got more stressed and dangerous if they used a tranquilizer

    • Christine Taveras

      May 31, 2016 at 7:31 am

      Lianda Jane there could’ve been other ways to save the child it doesn’t have to result to killing an innocent animal

    • Isabella Tello

      June 1, 2016 at 2:33 am

      In this case it really did. It was only a matter of time the gorrila would hurt the baby. The zookeepers knew this based on the gorillas posture and tight lips. Very sad. But thank god the baby is OK. Though he did suffer a concussion

  3. Carey Terry-Gross

    May 30, 2016 at 9:24 pm

    An animals life is never more important than a child’s. A zoo caters to children and racks up prices because they know parents will spend it on their kids. A place for children should never make it easy for kids to get hurt. Us Mom’s need a break. Turning your back for one minute does not make you a bad parent. Enough of the parent guilt. I’m sure his parents are very good parents and had enough fear as it was.

  4. Rebecca Lynn

    May 30, 2016 at 11:15 pm

    This is crazy. Of course blame the mom.. guess what she already blames herself. All these people and groups want really life non cage like enclosed for the animals. Guess what if there was a fence so the animals could get into the moot this would not have happened either. The child still would have fell b/c the mom didn’t watch but the animals would still be live if there was old zoo zoo fences.

  5. MZ

    May 30, 2016 at 11:22 pm

    Zoos should be children friendly. Its not the parents fault!
    I want to know how many people who think that the gorilla should not have been killed have children?!

    • Vicki

      May 31, 2016 at 9:54 pm

      I’ve had a child & now have 3 grandchildren & agree with the zoo, it’s NOT a babysitter & the so-called parents should have been watching their child much more closely!!!!! That beautiful gorilla DID NOT HAVE TO DIE!!! A tranquillizer gun could have been used instead!!! So yes, IT IS the careless parents fault!!!

    • Caesar

      May 31, 2016 at 10:10 pm

      It’s not a daycare either!!! What we’re the parents doing when the boy was getting in the gorillas cage? And yes I have kids and in public they were never out of my sight …..Really?

    • Denise

      May 31, 2016 at 11:21 pm

      I don’t know if the animal should have been killed but if my son fell in I would of been going in after him not sit at the top yelling down be clam baby come on it when on why to long with out no help

    • Jenn

      June 1, 2016 at 2:08 pm

      I have a 4 year old boy and he is always within arms reach of me, I think the parents are responsible for not watching their child close enough as he climbed through the barriers of the gorilla cage and the should have used a tranquillizer instead of a gun!

    • Robin

      June 3, 2016 at 4:17 pm

      I have a child and never let her out of my sight. There is no way that they were paying attention while their child got into that enclosure. Also the video I saw showed the gorilla being attentive to the child not attacking it. The gorilla did NOT deserve to die.

  6. Lianda Jane

    May 31, 2016 at 12:27 am

    The mother sounds so distressed the child is petrified. It’s awful how much people are blaming her. The enclosure should have been secure. It never should have been possible for him to get in there in the first place.

  7. Kirsty Mcleod

    May 31, 2016 at 12:31 am

    Ashlee Novits

  8. Wagma Wajma

    May 31, 2016 at 1:34 am

    Wasim Merzaie

    • Wasim Merzaie

      May 31, 2016 at 10:37 am

      No comments on this . I don’t know whether to blame the boy’s parents or the zoo keepers .

  9. Consuelo Paredes

    May 31, 2016 at 1:46 am

    How is it possible a zoo is not equipped with tranquilizers to have avoided killing Harambe , yes I understand the child was the priority , but I do believe the gorilla should have been tranquilized not killed!

    • Katie Malenke

      May 31, 2016 at 2:16 am

      They don’t work instantly. He would have become enraged and even more dangerous to the boy

    • Laura Jane Jones

      May 31, 2016 at 5:19 am

      Because they use real tranquillisers which take time to kick in and sometimes more than one. Not Hollywood ones which work instantly.

    • Melanie Yeo

      May 31, 2016 at 5:34 am

      I couldn’t agree more. Geez, why is everyone so hateful on here hey. Kids are quick and if you’ve just had your other child spew all over you, or has poo leaking out everywhere her mind could have been on something else for 1 min and wa-la the kids gone. Who knows what was actually going on with them at the time. If anyone is to blame, it’s actually the zoos fault, for not having an adequate fence to stop ANY sized child from getting in. How many other parents “misplaced” a child that day that we didn’t hear about – because they didn’t end up in a Gorilla enclosure – that’s why! But I bet you it was quite a lot. As someone said above, she would have been is great distress feeling helpless and having to watch this. I bet she is having terrible mother’s remorse as I call it – even right now. I’d LOVE to hear what all these people would be saying if it was their child in there.

  10. Brit Ann Johnson

    May 31, 2016 at 2:11 am

    I hate when they claim to save the species of animals and people still kill them. Tranquilize them dont kill them.

  11. Sheri Hutson Theriot

    May 31, 2016 at 2:38 am

    This isn’t the full video. It is edited. The real video shows him dragging that baby twice through that water. That baby could be drown!

  12. Liliana Laguna

    May 31, 2016 at 3:28 am

    The fault is his mother, No the Gorilla. Because she need care her kid all the time.

    • Laura Jane Jones

      May 31, 2016 at 5:20 am

      She was tending to her other child at the time. Some people have more than one. Shocking, eh?

    • Myranda Rox

      May 31, 2016 at 6:13 am

      It’s 100% the zoos fault! There should be no way for a child to enter the cage in the first place!!!

  13. Kenea Dhillon

    May 31, 2016 at 10:59 am

    I really hope the boy doesn’t grow up fearful of beasts. Little baby…

  14. Doris Rivera

    May 31, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    It doesnt look like he was even trying to hurt him it looked like he was protecting him from all the commotion

  15. D'Ann

    May 31, 2016 at 5:27 pm

    The parents should sue the zoo for not providing a safe environment for children. Middle aged business men don’t frequent the zoos. CHILDREN do.

  16. Barb

    May 31, 2016 at 5:39 pm

    I have children and grandchildren and I DON’T think the gorilla should have been killed. He appears to be protecting the child not harming it. And they could have used a tranquilizer gun to get the child out.

    • tiffany Guzman

      June 2, 2016 at 10:32 pm

      exactly what I thought.

  17. Karine Loreto

    May 31, 2016 at 6:34 pm

    It is indeed awful to watch, as a parent there’s nothin worst than seeing your child in danger and knowing you can’t do anything to help. Yet, there was no need to kill the gorilla … A tranquilizer would’ve done the job and the boy would’ve been ok since it clearly shows on the video that the boy was not being attacked by the animal…

  18. Marsha Flom

    May 31, 2016 at 7:19 pm

    Irresponsible parents!!!!!!!!!

  19. Leslie

    May 31, 2016 at 9:58 pm

    I agree I think the parents should be held accountable for the death of this animal he was treating him like one of his young. And if they were watching him he wouldn’t have been in there. They should be sued and banned from all zoos.

  20. Lorri

    May 31, 2016 at 11:49 pm

    I want to know how the kid was able to get into the gorilla’s area. There had to have been an opening big enough to crawl through. It seems to me that the zoo bears more responsibility than the parent. I can’t blame the mother because I know from experience how fast kids can get away from you. I’m sorry the animal had to be put down, but the zoo made the decision based on professional knowledge. This was a rare animal, and they would not have killed it unless they felt it was necessary…which they did and with good reasoning behind their decision.

  21. Abby Saikali Warnaar

    June 1, 2016 at 2:27 am

    Parents are at fault not the gorilla sorry to say but parents are responsible for there children all there children ………

  22. Claudia Huitron

    June 1, 2016 at 4:08 pm

    I’m sorry for the gorilla , they should not kill him, on other hand, is the parents of the kid fault since they don’t put attention to the baby. They should be reported to cps and take away the rest of the kids if they have more.

  23. Carey Terry-Gross

    June 1, 2016 at 4:13 pm

    Right, because CPS will throw him around in foster homes where he really will get abused. Maybe someone should call CPS on you for not teaching your kids proper grammar.

  24. Marilyn Martinez De Acevedo

    June 2, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    Crazy we need to be more active with our little once and Precaution.

  25. tiffany Guzman

    June 2, 2016 at 10:40 pm

    As a mother of 6, I understand kids get away from you for a second, but never long enough to climb into a cage. Even if I went to the zoo with all 6 kids alone I would of had jumped in after one of my kids also. There were obviously several viewers and I would have put my faith in God and trusted a stranger with them and jumped in after the one in need. I also believe that this gorilla was not trying to hurt the boy but protect it. Gorillas a very nuturing by nature to their babies so why not to a human? A tranquilizer would have been the best option for the zoo, but for some reason they didn’t think or choose this option. Let this be a lessoned learned to parents and zoos across the world of what to do in the future.

  26. Christina Randazzo

    June 6, 2016 at 6:03 am

    I am a mother of two and I do believe that it is the parents fault no matter how fast children are I believe in an environment like the zoo you need to keep your eyes wide open and your children right beside you how long was he out of the parents site for him to be able to climb into the cage I believe it was negligent on the parents 100%

  27. Fabiola Jonas

    June 9, 2016 at 9:42 pm

    Sabrina

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