A woman who has been working with gorillas for over 10 years :shrug:

So what if it's not a lion or a tiger?? What does that have to do with anything? They are still classed as one of the most dangerous animals in the world...

The right thing was done at the time for the safety of the child. Sure, they could have left it to chance, but if the child had been killed, everybody would be asking why something drastic wasn't done.

However, the fact that the child was able to get into the enclosure in the first place is complete madness.

It's not really cringed or stupid though, there was another case in a zoo where a gorilla cradled an unconscious child who fell to not his enclosure, kept the other gorillas away and let the zoo staff rescue him. People are hoping that this gorilla was doing similar...he could have killed him in a second and he was dragging the child through the water, but other experts have said this is because he felt the screaming humans above where trying to get at him...which was why he moved him away. You can clearly see him holding hands at some point and being gentle... The gorilla is the victim in this ultimately but he paid the price for human error from all sides. :sad:

Beats them being left to go extinct in the wild

... Because of other humans hunting them and destroying their homes for profit. I don't think we as a species can take the moral high ground when it comes to conservation: the vast majority of it is only necessary in the first place because of us.

There was simply no other option but to kill it, it would have mauled the child, Gorrilas are very violent creatures, hitting it with a sleep dart would have just enraged it further. Children have an amazing knack of finding ways to get themselves killed, while the parents should have been watching, I'm pretty sure they imagined the zoo keepers would have made the enclosure idiot/childproof.

Take the moral highground over who? I wasn't trying to lord it over gorillas for their inability to preserve their species

Also that doesn't change the fact that zoos are the most successful means of conservation we have though, short of dramatically transforming the whole way that humanity conducts itself

The parents are now being investigated.

:clap1:

i feel sad that this incident has occurred, and they need to make sure lessons are learned from it

I'm just upset this means no more Dairy Milk ads with him

This was 100% the zoos fault for having fences only 3 feet high. it was a disgrace to kill the gorilla. those who murdered him should be locked away for life. now build your fences higher and leave the animals in peace

I hate zoos,I don't mind safari parks etc but zoos annoy me.

However zoos should be a 'safe' place for the protection of the animals, wild animals that is, that are in them.

So it is rather unjust and infuriating that careless parenting in such a place, has resulted in a said animal in that environment, had to lose its life.

No one should be able to get anywhere near the situation where they can fall, roll or stumble into the animal's environment.
I guess there was nothing else that could be realistically done after this happened but the zoo, should be prosecuted and maybe even closed down for it being ever able to in the first place.

However what on earth do families and people think a zoo is,it is full of potential dangers and making sure you are safe and also any children in your charge particularly, should be paramount.

the fence should simply have been way way higher than 3 foot, that is 100% the zoos fault.

The gorilla was the innocent one but he paid the price. The child, the zoo, and especially the parent were to blame but the gorilla was the one least responsible and that's what makes it tragic.

I feel so sad for the Gorilla :( :( :bawling:

This. All the mummy's on Facebook condemning anyone who says the gorilla shouldn't have been shot just cos 'you don't have children' is stupid.

it would have mauled the child, Gorrilas are very violent creatures

Lets see some evidence for this outrageous claim please?

The child sounds like a little brat anyway. Gorillas>bratty children!

..well, the police are now investigating the parents and the leading up to the child getting into the enclosure so hopefully that will appease those on media sites who are responsible for death threats to the parents...my thoughts are still that regardless of any negligence found or not..a child wandering off is not the cause of Harambe's death..only a breach-able enclosure can be held accountable for that...

I agree with what you say there, and I can see how they could not try to sedate it first too, as the shot could have initially really angered the Gorilla and would not have worked instantly.
Thereby endangering the child's life even more with more uncertainty as to any rescue too.

well yeah, that is the crux of it really, if the aim really is preservation than it should be done properly in sanctuaries not in Zoos, they're outdated. I'm sure they will eventually stop like the way circus animals are starting to be phased out but it will still take quite a while I'd imagine

:laugh2:

We only have the opinion from those who have worked with and studied the behavior of gorillas but even those opinions are conflicting.

Jennifer Miller who has worked with these beings had this to say:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...cincinnati-zoo