There has been a lot of uproar about on the situation that happened a few days ago, where a boy had climbed through a barrier at Cincinnati Zoo and fell into an enclosure housing a 180kg lowland gorilla named Harambe. The gorilla was shot dead to save the boy’s life and this has caused a lot of reaction across the internet and social media. Hashtags of #RIPHarambe have been used several times with a lot of mixed emotions.
The zoo said it was forced to take action after Harambe picked up and dragged the boy. ‘[The officials] made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy’s life. It could have been very bad,’ said zoo director Thane Maynard.
Maynard said that the boy was not being attacked but he ‘certainly’ was at risk. He added that a tranquiliser would not have worked quickly enough. ‘We are all devastated that this tragic accident resulted in the death of a critically-endangered gorilla. This is a huge loss for the zoo family and the gorilla population worldwide,’ he said. Two female gorillas also in the enclosure did not approach the boy and were not harmed.
[youtube id=”UBeVfQtSD2k” width=”600″ height=”356″]
Harambe was born in captivity in Texas and moved to Cincinnati in 2014, where it was hoped he could be part of a breeding programme.
There has been a lot of controversy on whether or not the gorilla should have been shot dead. Many have shared their feelings of anger on social media stating that the gorilla should not have been shot. Some have judged the parents of the little boy and asked that they be charged for negligence. Others have even laid blame labelling the parents as bad parents for not monitoring their son better.
See alleged message from Michelle Gregg the mother of the boy below
Minority of the comments have highlighted the fact that we are talking about a gorilla’s life versus a human life. No matter how much we wish the animal should not have been shot, a mistake happened, the boy fell and a tough decision had to be made on how best to ensure the boy’s safety.
What do you think? Should the gorilla have been saved?
Source: metro.co.uk
