Harambe (17) shot by zoo officials

[puzzld]

A special zoo response team shot and killed a 17-year-old gorilla Saturday that grabbed and dragged a 3-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla exhibit moat, the Cincinnati Zoo's director said.

Authorities said the 3-year-old boy, who fell 10 to 12 feet, is expected to recover after being picked up out of the moat and dragged by the gorilla for about 10 minutes. He was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Director Thane Maynard said the zoo's dangerous 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.

"They made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy's life," Maynard said. "It could have been very bad."

Maynard said he hadn't talked with the boy's parents yet.

He said the gorilla didn't appear to be attacking the child, but he said it was "an extremely strong" animal in an agitated situation. He said tranquilizing the gorilla wouldn't have knocked it out immediately, leaving the boy in danger.

Maynard said it was the first time that the team had killed a zoo animal in such an emergency situation, and he called it "a very sad day" at the zoo. The lowland gorilla is an endangered species.

The incident was reported at around 4 p.m. The area around the gorilla exhibit was closed off Saturday afternoon as zoo visitors reported hearing screaming.

Harambe came to Cincinnati in 2015 from the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas.

Hospital officials said they couldn't release any information on the child. Authorities hadn't released the child's name.

Maynard said the zoo's Gorilla World area would be open as usual on Sunday. He said the zoo believed the exhibit remains safe. They are still investigating, but zoo officials believe the boy crawled through a railing barrier, then fell into the moat.

The zoo prides itself for its work in protecting endangered species, and has been part of successful captive breeding efforts in recent years in the effort to save the endangered Sumatran rhino.

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sma...zoo/ar-BBtAVmZ

[Angiebla]

I was just going to post this! I was at this zoo last weekend there were 5 million kids there

Something that I hadn't noticed before on previous visits was that there was high voltage electric fence around the enclosure. I thought that was interesting. Me and my husband noted it was very hard to "fall in" most of the enclosures. I will need to see what exihibit it was that he fell in, because I'm not seeing how this could happen.

Of course this kid was either: a.) not being watched or b.) held up on the ledge by a parent and fell over. So it's a humans fault this animal is dead.

[Boston Babe 73]

Of course this kid was either: a.) not being watched or b.) held up on the ledge by a parent and fell over. So it's a humans fault this animal is dead.

Next time, shoot the shitty Parents. Not the Gorilla. For real. I'm sick of hearing about this shit. Ultimately it's shitty parenting that leads to this crap and the animals shouldnt have to suffer over it.

[daisylane]

Next time, shoot the shitty Parents. Not the Gorilla. For real. I'm sick of hearing about this shit. Ultimately it's shitty parenting that leads to this crap and the animals shouldnt have to suffer over it.

word.

[puzzld]

Yep. The animal always pays.

[Angiebla]

So my husband has been reading up on this case, and he said the kid climbed over the rail and into the enclosure. I wonder how true that is.

[Boston Babe 73]

So my husband has been reading up on this case, and he said the kid climbed over the rail and into the enclosure. I wonder how true that is.

Yeah. And how did the kid climb over unnoticed in to the enclosure? Shitty Parenting. That's how.

If that same kid wandered in to the street because the shitty parents were too busy texting or blabbing away and he got hit by a car, are we supposed to shoot and kill the driver too?

Accountability. It's a thing. Sad that the kid had shitty parents. Maybe they should have stayed home.

I'm only quoting you for reference. I'm not directing toward you, Ang.

[animosity]

Yeah. And how did the kid climb over unnoticed in to the enclosure? Shitty Parenting. That's how.

If that same kid wandered in to the street because the shitty parents were too busy texting or blabbing away and he got hit by a car, are we supposed to shoot and kill the driver too?

Accountability. It's a thing. Sad that the kid had shitty parents. Maybe they should have stayed home.

I'm only quoting you for reference. I'm not directing toward you, Ang.

No, you aren't supposed to shoot the driver, because a driver isn't dumb enough to try to kill the kid on purpose for food or fun. Not that animals are dumb in an animal sense, of course it's smart to try to eat small children if you are a tiger, but they are too dumb in a people sense to know that you aren't supposed to kill them. Drivers would try to avoid a small child in the street if possible, without the need to shoot them. I can't even believe that needed explaining.

[Boston Babe 73]

No, you aren't supposed to shoot the driver, because a driver isn't dumb enough to try to kill the kid on purpose for food or fun. Not that animals are dumb in an animal sense, of course it's smart to try to eat small children if you are a tiger, but they are too dumb in a people sense to know that you aren't supposed to kill them. Drivers would try to avoid a small child in the street if possible, without the need to shoot them. I can't even believe that needed explaining.

Here's how ridiculous this is. I'll sum it up:

"Are you capable of keeping a child from crawling in to a Gorilla enclosure?"

If you answered "yes", okay. Have a child.

If you answered "no", maybe having a kid really isn't your thing.

Seriously. If people are really so stupid that they can't keep a kid out of the enclosure of a wild animal, then I say all zoos go away (how I feel anyway) and sanctuaries only.

I'm tired of this shit where nobody is held accountable for their actions. If you're that idiotic, you shouldn't have kids.

ETA: Ask yourself personally. Would your child end up in that enclosure? No? Okay then. Question how stupid a person has to be for that to happen. There are instances that are beyond people's control, that any parent could be stuck in. This isn't one of them.

[animosity]

Here's how ridiculous this is. I'll sum it up:

"Are you capable of keeping a child from crawling in to a Gorilla enclosure?"

If you answered "yes", okay. Have a child.

If you answered "no", maybe having a kid really isn't your thing.

Seriously. If people are really so stupid that they can't keep a kid out of the enclosure of a wild animal, then I say all zoos go away (how I feel anyway) and sanctuaries only.

I'm tired of this shit where nobody is held accountable for their actions. If you're that idiotic, you shouldn't have kids.

ETA: Ask yourself personally. Would your child end up in that enclosure? No? Okay then. Question how stupid a person has to be for that to happen. There are instances that are beyond people's control, that any parent could be stuck in. This isn't one of them.

We're talking about different things here and honestly, you are saying we should take everyone's recess away because one kid gave another kid a wedgie.

I can say the parents are idiots and that the gorilla needed to die at the same time, because that's the way the world happens to be in certain situations.

[animosity]

I wanna say aw poor gorilla, but killing it was the only option. Same with tigers that eat people who jump in and any other animal in the process of eating or pounding people. Sucks you are in the zoo guys... Either we have to take zoos out all together or make them dumb dumb proof. I would prefer the later because zoos are pretty cool and important.

[daisylane]

I wanna say aw poor gorilla, but killing it was the only option. Same with tigers that eat people who jump in and any other animal in the process of eating or pounding people. Sucks you are in the zoo guys... Either we have to take zoos out all together or make them dumb dumb proof. I would prefer the later because zoos are pretty cool and important.

What ever happened to sedation!?!?

FVCK

[animosity]

What ever happened to sedation!?!?

FVCK

it said right there in the article that tranquilizing wouldn't be fast acting enough and would endanger the child more than he already was. i'm assuming that getting shot with a tranquilizer would enrage the thing and he may have started throwing the kid around or something.

[pinkhair4me]

I wanna say aw poor gorilla, but killing it was the only option. Same with tigers that eat people who jump in and any other animal in the process of eating or pounding people. Sucks you are in the zoo guys... Either we have to take zoos out all together or make them dumb dumb proof. I would prefer the later because zoos are pretty cool and important.

It's impossible to idiot-proof these places. Idiots are ironically very creative at idioting.

And you can still feel sad for the poor gorilla while thinking that killing him was the only option. The zoo employees seem to.

[Ron_NYC]

These fast acting zoo employees should be commended for their quick work. Good job, team.

[animosity]

These fast acting zoo employees should be commended for their quick work. Good job, team.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Ron_NYC again.

I mean, it sucks the thing is dead, but the kid needed saving.

[pinkhair4me]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Ron_NYC again.

I mean, it sucks the thing is dead, but the kid needed saving.

Yes, indeed. Obviously, since four-year-olds are in danger of being wiped from existence. It's not like silverback gorillas are dangerously endangered or something.

I mean, it's not like Harambe could have lent his genetic material to a breeding program to create MORE of these non-rare,non-endangered gorillas, right?

[Ron_NYC]

Yes, indeed. Obviously, since four-year-olds are in danger of being wiped from existence. It's not like silverback gorillas are dangerously endangered or something.

I mean, it's not like Harambe could have lent his genetic material to a breeding program to create MORE of these non-rare,non-endangered gorillas, right?

"There are already a ton of children, lady, so fuck yours" seems like a totally reasonable response.

[Phenobarbiedoll]

"There are already a ton of children, lady, so fuck yours" seems like a totally reasonable response.

������

ETA: I hate when my smiley faces turn into question marks.

[Angiebla]

I'm not mad at the kid, and I understand why the gorilla was shot, I'm just mad at the parents. The kid would have to climb over a rail, through a bunch of shrubbery and jump/fall down a moat. The exhibits are literally constructed to keep people out of them.

The zoo didnt act quickly. It took them over 10 minutes to respond.

I saw this gorilla last week, and he was big and gorgeous. I don't think he was trying to kill the kid, but that's just my opinion. I'm upset this poor kid almost got killed, and a rare gorilla had to pay the price for bad parenting.

[blighted star]

So basically they had two incompatible species of great ape in their enclosure, one aged 3, one aged 17.

If it's true Harambe was a mountain gorilla then the 17 yr old was a member of an endangered species numbering around 700 worldwide.

The 3 yr old is a member of a species that is currently in plague proportions, numbering 7.4 billion.


Don't ask me what my point is because I haven't figured it out myself yet.

[pinkhair4me]

So basically they had two incompatible species of great ape in their enclosure, one aged 3, one aged 17.

If it's true Harambe was a mountain gorilla then the 17 yr old was a member of an endangered species numbering around 700 worldwide.

The 3 yr old is a member of a species that is currently in plague proportions, numbering 7.4 billion.


Don't ask me what my point is because I haven't figured it out myself yet.

Exactly.

[songbirdsong]

I guess this was the enclosure a few years ago, dunno if it's changed since then:



Sucks they had to shoot it, but I guess it's the only way. It seems weird they don't have fast-acting tranquilizers.

I wonder what he would have done with the kid without interference.

[Night Owl]

WTF is that photo? I saw it last night when I was tired. It didn't make sense then nor now. A gloved man is throwing a plastic can at the gorillas? Why???

[PeaceBeWithMe]

I guess this was the enclosure a few years ago, dunno if it's changed since then:



Sucks they had to shoot it, but I guess it's the only way. It seems weird they don't have fast-acting tranquilizers.

I wonder what he would have done with the kid without interference.

I've had guinea pig cages sturdier than this shit.