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7_Sorrows
Guest
there is video of the gorilla climbing out of the moat tugging the boy by the leg. I am sure you can find it on you tube.
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TCEL
Guest
I do not understand this sentiment. “Throw 'em to the gorillas!” I suppose if one doesn’t think we’re any better than animals, reasoning like this is acceptable. I once thought that Roman arena sentimentality had died out, but I’m disturbed to say I think it’s on the rise. That, or its just always been submerged and I didn’t realize it.
K
Kaninchen
Guest
Parents being held responsible for their child’s safety, what their children get up to and the consequences?
You’d need to go a conservative site for that kind of argument!
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Memaw
Guest
Somehow that little boy was able to get into the gorilla enclosure. That should have never been able to happen. I think we all know perfection is not possible. no need for a lecture on that. But this could have been prevented. Blaming the parent for that is not right.To many people are hurt or killed by animals in the zoo. Seems to me with all our capabilities today, Zoos could do more to prevent that. 50 years ago I was at a zoo with my kids and they had buffaloes in a pen separated only by a tall wire fence, which a buffalo could have broken through, no problem. For some reason one buffalo was following my 5 year old back and forth along the fence and snorting etc. I reported it to a zoo person and told him of my fears for the fence. It wasn’t long after that, they moved the buffalo to a much safer enclosure. God Bless, Memaw
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GaryTaylor
Guest
Supposedly this animal activist group is up to 400 thousand signatures this morning.
newsmax.com/Newsfront/gorilla-outrage-killing-ohio/2016/05/30/id/731405/
meltzerboy
New member
I’m an animal lover but I think some of these animal activists are going too far. The child’s life, not the gorilla’s, is and should be the main concern for the zookeepers and for all of us. I would bet that true animal activists would complain that the gorilla should not have been in captivity in the first place no matter how much the setting in the zoo resembles the wild. Perhaps, but this is another issue.
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PRmerger
Guest
I am astounded at the vitriol that is being thrown at the mother on the interweb.
It seems that we have not come very far from the days of pitchforks and judgey mobs.
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Bookcat
Guest
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GaryTaylor
Guest
You would think we would have the priorities in order. The Gorilla wouldn’t have been frustrated from the start! 
We should take a better look at this entire concept imho.latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2011/02/tiger-maul-teens-san-francisco-zoo-provoked-report.html
Mary_Gail_36
New member
I agree.
I remember my husband telling me the sheer panic he witnessed once during Christmas shopping. A little guy hid between the racks of clothes, and his mom couldn’t find him. The woman was in panic until he finally came out.
It just takes a moment for a little kid to wander away.
It shouldn’t have been that easy to fall in. I’m glad he’s ok and survived the fall and being manhandled by a gorilla (or is it gorillahandled).
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PRmerger
Guest
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E
ellam25
Guest
Can I just say the response to this situation is distressing…on Facebook I have seen several people suggesting letting the child die in favor of the apes life and that the mother is so stupid she would have sdeserved her child dying. This just shows where our priorities lie. One woman even mentioned overpopulation, kind of like " eh, well it would have been better if he died anyway. Too many kids in the world" I’m sure she’s a liberal who believes in “women’s rights” but claims to dislike abortion. Smh reactions to stories like this make my blood boil. And the ape didn’t just toss him around a bit, he actually drug and grew him but most videos ommitted that.
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mikekle
Guest
Not so surprisingly the mother and fathers name is now out in the public, thanks to FB/ social media. I saw on the news last night, they said the mother was being charged with something now, but they did not say what.
M
Memaw
Guest
Seems public pressure rules the day, God help us,. God Bless, Memaw
meltzerboy
New member
She is not (necessarily) a liberal; she is apparently a lunatic. (No, it is NOT the same thing.)
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Vanny
Guest
TCEL I have seen comments around the Web similar to what ellam25 mentioned.
Yes bringing up overpopulation, even, and that it would have been better had the child died than an a member of an endangered species… and I have seen many comments from people demanding that the mothers name be brought to public attention-charged with child abuse,ect. As another poster mentioned we’ve come down to a mob mentality.
Maybe the Gorilla shouldn’t have been in captivity that is another issue, but the childs life takes precedence in this case, I’m sure the zoo officials did not take lightly shooting the gorilla.
And yes I’ve seen the video and the child could easily have been killed, even unintentionally by the gorilla.
J
jinglebelle
Guest
I believe in the US householders have the right to shoot any intruder on their property,this must be the exception to the rule where the householder gets shot. No animal keeper I’ve met would ever wake up and think today,i’d like to shoot something. In a litigious nation the bottom line will always rule and I hope the zoo will counterclaim against the lose of a valuable animal. In pure breeding terms a silverback outranks a four year old. In decades of watching David Attenborough’s documentaries,I’ve realized we’re not the crowning glory of His creation - that is what surrounds us. The silverback and his family did not choose to get on a ‘plane and buy a compound in Cincinatti. We put them there and chose to gawp at them. We will be judged collectively - a murder, a manslaughter,a war or a public execution (not the animal). Oh yes and dont’ bore me with how valuable your personal breeding programmes are,i’ve had to put up with and pay taxes for them
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Maximilan_Kolbe
Guest
Which is all tangential to the fact that when faced with the choice between the life of a gorilla and the life of a child (or any human), you always choose the human.
Arguing over who is responsible is a matter for the investigations or courts, but none of that matters once the die is cast, and one is faced with a situation like the zoo was.
Arguing against zoos, selective breeding, or anything else is noise that distracts from the real choice that was faced.
Of course having said that, there are many who don’t agree with the primacy of the human life. Those are the lost souls that need our prayers.
This was posted on Facebook today by Amanda O’Donoughue, a photographer from Florida who has also worked with gorillas:
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 there 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.
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 there 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.
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