Gorilla shooting

I understand it was the best alternative but can’t disagree with the below.

if the gorilla had any pride left…oh wait they killed it?

The real epic fail is a zoo enclosure so lame that a toddler can just wander on in.

Poor Gorilla

In the olden days, we would have just chalked any possible outcome up to Darwinism and emerged with a stronger gene pool. Instead thanks to technology, it’s been made clear that even in a zoo endangered animals aren’t safe from us and we’re now living out the plot to idiocracy. That being said, the zoo staff did what they had to do.

What primarily makes me irritated in this situation, is the commentary on people and particularly Americans at this point. We’ve digressed so far from a point where we actually had common sense and survival skills and adapted to this mindless bubble wrapped existance so well that we can’t even handle going to the zoo without finding someway to f*ck it up. In Chile last week some rare lions had to be killed because some emo douchebag stripped naked and ran into the den to attempt suicide. When I was in Pittsburgh four years ago a mom dangled her child over the wild dogs exhibit Michael Jackson style which ended with her child being mauled to death in front of her and later the dogs being killed.

The idiot four year old told his mom jokingly (a bystander heard it) that he could get in the pen. Then shortly therafter crawled under some fence and got in while his mom was presumably taking a selfie.

Agree with the decision to shoot the gorilla, but can’t believe the kid’s parents are not facing charges.

First time in the zoo’s 147 year history anyone has gotten into an enclosure. No one to blame but the mom.

more animals killed due to stupid people.

however the empire struck back in australia when two women on a “night swim” encountered a croc. you can’t make this shit up.

there’s a ‘gorilla lives matter’ protest outside my office right now.

I don’t think the dumbass parents of the kid will get sued. They will just counter sue saying the zoo didn’t childproof the enclosure. The negative publicity will call into question the zoo’s safety and will decrease zoo business.

Another tragedy of horribly bad parenting . And a gorilla had to give its life as a result

One of my friends posted this commentary by Amanda O’Donoughue, who aparently is a zookeeper. While I think it’s tragic that they had to shoot the Gorilla, I understand the reason for it and am not sure any other course of action was practical for the zookeepers. I’m surprised that it was possible for a kid to get in to the cage (potentially a zoo fault), and think the mother does have a good portion responsibility for not keeping an eye on the kid sufficiently, though kids can disappear and do odd things. Perhaps the mom’s responsability in this is not legally actionable, or practical to action, as ohai pointed out.

Anyway, O’Donoughue’s commentary is interesting:


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.

*[regarding a photo:] me working (very carefully) with a 400+ pound silverback circa 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8IXhd2GbP8

They did the right thing.

I don’t think anyone on this thread has said the zoo staff didn’t do the right thing given the hand they were dealt. I think the problem I’m seeing voiced here is with the parents.

The kid is gonna wind up getting shot by the police in a few years anyway. The gorilla at least had a future.

I liked this article about Gorrilla-gate. There was something bothering me about all the hand-wringing going on, and this article nails it.

I felt that the zoo made the right decision. The result was a tragedy, but it was not an outrage. Meanwhile the real issue of gorillas possibly going extinct in the wild didn’t seem to get much press at all. Frustrating that all the outrage goes to the wrong things.

Don’t Be Upset About Harambe: Get angry about what’s killing most other gorillas. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2016/05/harambe_s_death_is_not_a_reason_for_moral_outrage_it_s_an_opportunity_to.html

www.reddit.com/r/imgoingtohellforthis

(For those that don’t know, it’s a sub for jokes that make you laugh that are horribly non-PC or just plain wrong. I approve.)

Again, nobody here is questioning the zoo’s decision.

Perhaps nobody on AF, but there are lots of people online who clearly felt that killing the gorilla was wrong. That implicitly questions the zoo’s decision to shoot the gorrila.