[LeatherTrumpet]

• Deonne Dickerson and Michelle Gregg have been heavily criticized
• Harambe was fatally shot after their four-year-old boy crawled past a railing and fell 15ft into the gorilla exhibit moat
• Harambe was shot dead after dragging the boy around
• Many have blamed the boy's parents for 17-year-old Harambe's death
• They released a statement on Sunday saying their boy is doing 'just fine'
• Zoo director said Harambe was 'disoriented' and tranquilizer would have taken too long with the possibility of agitating the animal even more
• Director said: 'Looking back we would make the same decision'
• He insisted barriers were secure, asking: 'Do you know any four-year-olds? They can climb over anything'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...l-history.html

[LukeB]

I think it was cruel and wrong to kill the Gorilla because it's not their fault they have no sense of right or wrong the mother should have kept a closer eye on her child especially around the exhibit.

[Gypsy]

Obviously his parents should have been keeping an eye on him but the gorilla was dragging the boy through water, could have drowned him unintentionally or whatever so unfortunately shooting him was the only choice

Very odd that anyone was even able to get that close to fall in

[Ninastar]

I am going to try to clear up a few things that have been weighing on me about Harambe and the Cinci Zoo since I read the news this afternoon.
I have worked with Gorillas as a zookeeper while in my twenties (before children) and they are my favorite animal (out of dozens) that I have ever worked closely with. I am gonna go ahead and list a few facts, thoughts and opinions for those of you that aren't familiar with the species itself, or how a zoo operates in emergency situations.

Now Gorillas are considered 'gentle giants' at least when compared with their more aggressive cousins the chimpanzee, but a 400+ pound male in his prime is as strong as roughly 10 adult humans. What can you bench press? OK, now multiply that number by ten. An adult male silverback gorilla has one job, to protect his group. He does this by bluffing or intimidating anything that he feels threatened by.

Gorillas are considered a Class 1 mammal, the most dangerous class of mammals in the animal kingdom, again, merely due to their size and strength. They are grouped in with other apes, tigers, lions, bears, etc.
While working in an AZA accredited zoo with Apes, keepers DO NOT work in contact with them. Meaning they do NOT go in with these animals. There is always a welded mesh barrier between the animal and the humans.
In more recent decades, zoos have begun to redesign enclosures, removing all obvious caging and attempting to create a seamless view of the animals for the visitor to enjoy watching animals in a more natural looking habitat. *this is great until little children begin falling into exhibits* which of course can happen to anyone, especially in a crowded zoo-like setting.

I have watched this video over again, and with the silverback's postering, and tight lips, it's pretty much the stuff of any keeper's nightmares, and I have had MANY while working with them. This job is not for the complacent. Gorillas are kind, curious, and sometimes silly, but they are also very large, very strong animals. I always brought my OCD to work with me. checking and rechecking locks to make sure my animals and I remained separated before entering to clean.

I keep hearing that the Gorilla was trying to protect the boy. I do not find this to be true. Harambe reaches for the boys hands and arms, but only to position the child better for his own displaying purposes.
Males do very elaborate displays when highly agitated, slamming and dragging things about. Typically they would drag large branches, barrels and heavy weighted balls around to make as much noise as possible. Not in an effort to hurt anyone or anything (usually) but just to intimidate. It was clear to me that he was reacting to the screams coming from the gathering crowd.

Harambe was most likely not going to separate himself from that child without seriously hurting him first (again due to mere size and strength, not malicious intent) Why didn't they use treats? well, they attempted to call them off exhibit (which animals hate), the females in the group came in, but Harambe did not. What better treat for a captive animal than a real live kid!
They didn't use Tranquilizers for a few reasons, A. Harambe would've taken too long to become immobilized, and could have really injured the child in the process as the drugs used may not work quickly enough depending on the stress of the situation and the dose B. Harambe would've have drowned in the moat if immobilized in the water, and possibly fallen on the boy trapping him and drowning him as well.
Many zoos have the protocol to call on their expertly trained dart team in the event of an animal escape or in the event that a human is trapped with a dangerous animal. They will evaluate the scene as quickly and as safely as possible, and will make the most informed decision as how they will handle the animal.
I can't point fingers at anyone in this situation, but we need to really evaluate the safety of the animal enclosures from the visitor side. Not impeding that view is a tough one, but their should be no way that someone can find themselves inside of an animal's exhibit.
I know one thing for sure, those keepers lost a beautiful, and I mean gorgeous silverback and friend. I feel their loss with them this week. As educators and conservators of endangered species, all we can do is shine a light on the beauty and majesty of these animals in hopes to spark a love and a need to keep them from vanishing from our planet. Child killers, they are not. It's unfortunate for the conservation of the species, and the loss of revenue a beautiful zoo such as Cinci will lose. tragedy all around.

*me working (very carefully) with a 400+ pound silverback circa 2009

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

this pretty much confirms what i thought... He wasnt trying to protect the child, its ****ing stupid to say that he was

i do however, blame the mother and think its tragic either way. Either the gorilla would be killed, or the child. There is no 'win win' situation. As awful as it sounds, I know what I'd rather happen.

[y.winter]

They should have shot his parents.
Jailing and killing the gorilla, the zoo is not better...
Ridiculously sad situation.

[LeatherTrumpet]

or maybe not have gorillas in zoos?

[Ninastar]

I don't believe in Zoo's anyway. Not because of what happened, I just think its cruel (for the most part) to keep animals inside a cage their whole lives.

[billy123]

The zoo are dickheads for making it possible for a child to get into the enclosure but made a decision to kill the Animal which they shoudnt be criticized for.

These animals shouldnt be on display to the public in the first place and i dont care about the conservation argument they can be conserved in captivity without being paraded to the public like a circus.

[LukeB]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

or maybe not have gorillas in zoos?

Why? the gorilla didn't magically get the child to fall into the exhibit, everyone is safe from them aslong you yourself are not stupid enough to do something silly or not paying close attention to the child.

[smudgie]

Poor Harambe, such an awful shame that he had to be killed.

Now, if the Zoo took more care to protect its animals and its customers this would not have happened.
You have to ask yourself, if a little 4 year old can gain access to a Gorilla enclosure are their tight enough controls.
As to the parents, you can't keep your eye on a child every second on a day out, you can't stick them in a straight jacket either, they need to be able to walk around and explore safely in a public place like a Zoo or a park.

[arista]

I think they should
have fired to 2 darts into it at first.

But Keeping the Rifle Gun man ready,
He was not attacking the kid , more protecting him.

[Samm]

I don't blame the parents since it's virtually impossible to watch your child 24/7, it's all the Zoo's fault how did it even become possible for a child to fall into a gorilla pit in the first place, and there was no need to shot it, they should have tranquillised the gorllia

I don't agree with inclosed zoo's in the first place anyways

[LeatherTrumpet]

the stupid mother thanking God for killing a magnificent Gorilla?

it beggars belief

[arista]

Originally Posted by bobnot

The zoo are dickheads for making it possible for a child to get into the enclosure but made a decision to kill the Animal which they shoudnt be criticized for.

These animals shouldnt be on display to the public in the first place and i dont care about the conservation argument they can be conserved in captivity without being paraded to the public like a circus.

Yes the Animals
can not get out ,
but a small child can slide down.



Those animals have a "massive area"
there,
so I say keep it going.

[billy123]

Tranquilizers weren't a realistic option fyi they take a few minutes to work and in those few minutes you just angered the Gorilla.

[arista]

Originally Posted by bobnot

Tranquilizers weren't a realistic option fyi they take a few minutes to work and in those few minutes you just angered the Gorilla.

Yes they take time work
so fire 2 into him at first
he would not get angry - not used to them

[billy123]

Originally Posted by arista

Yes they take time work
so fire 2 into him at first
he would not get angry - not used to them

OK you better email this vital info to the zoo.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by bobnot

Tranquilizers weren't a realistic option fyi they take a few minutes to work and in those few minutes you just angered the Gorilla.

Yeah ^

of course the only option was to shoot the Gorilla and save the child, I've heard some absolutely disgusting comments like "they should have shot the boy instead" etc

It's sad, Gorillas are beautiful animals, I think most of the blame lands with the Zoo, why could a child that young be able to get into the enclosure?

It's a shame that Gorillas couldn't be preserved in a wild life sanctuary though instead of a Zoo in the first place

[Ammi]

..sadly, I don't think that there was any option but to shoot him..anything else would have been too unpredictable and possibly endangered the child even more..it's a shame that such a magnificent beast had to die but the fault I think is keeping such powerful animals in zoos the first place...

[billy123]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Yeah ^

of course the only option was to shoot the Gorilla and save the child, I've heard some absolutely disgusting comments like "they should have shot the boy instead" etc

It's sad, Gorillas are beautiful animals, I think most of the blame lands with the Zoo, why could a child that young be able to get into the enclosure?

It's a shame that Gorillas couldn't be preserved in a wild life sanctuary though instead of a Zoo in the first place

I couldnt agree more its nothing more than an animal freak show hiding behind the excuse of animal conservation i would never visit one.

[Drew.]

There are loads of people that could be at fault for this. It's easy to say it's the parents fault but realistically it's almost impossible to have your eyes on a kid 24/7.. kids manage to escape from their parents attention all the time whether it's at a supermarket or wherever, this time it happened to be at a zoo. But then it should never have been possible for a human to enter the enclosure in the first place so whoever designed it should be at fault as well. Gotta feel for animals though, they are so innocent & helpless being put in these situations that cost them their own lives

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by y.winter

They should have shot his parents.
Jailing and killing the gorilla, the zoo is not better...
Ridiculously sad situation.

:/

[Cal.]

It's so ****ed up that he was put in a zoo, kept there for people to watch him and then some boy fell in and he got shot for it. Animals don't belong in zoos!

[Cal.]

The boys mum really needs to know herself thanking God for the gorilla's death.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Who Is She?

The boys mum really needs to know herself thanking God for the gorilla's death.

She was thanking god for her son being safe not for the Gorillas death, come on