Gorilla shot dead at zoo ‘tried to protect boy, 4, who fell into cage’
A GORILLA which was shot dead after a child fell into its enclosure was trying to protect the boy, a witness claimed yesterday.
Zoo officials killed the powerful ape after the four-year-old boy fell into its enclosure on Saturday, prompting fears for the child’s life.
Video footage filmed by shocked visitors showed the 17-year-old gorilla, called Harambe, standing over the boy and then dragging him through water in the enclosure’s moat.
The 6ft, 28-stone gorilla did not appear to be aggressive but officials at Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio said they were forced to act because the boy was in ‘a life-threatening situation’.
Critics questioned how the child had been able to get into the Gorilla World enclosure at the zoo. Last week two lions had to be shot dead in a Chile zoo after a
‘Hope the parents are prosecuted’
man entered their pen in an apparent suicide attempt.
One witness said the boy had told his mother he wanted to go in the moat inside the enclosure, and was then seen crawling through a barrier.
Onlookers screamed in horror as he fell around 11ft into the water and Harambe ran over to investigate. Video footage shows the gorilla standing over the boy as he lies in the water and a woman is heard shouting: ‘Mommy loves you, I’m right here.’
Zoo keepers were able to call away two other gorillas, both females, but Harambe then grabbed the child roughly and ran through the water, dragging the boy along with him.
A child’s high-pitched scream could be heard and a woman shouted out, calling him Isaiah, and saying: ‘Be calm, be calm.’
Once further away from the screaming crowd, the gorilla touched the child with apparent gentleness, even appearing to hold his hand before he lifted him to his feet. Zoo authorities said the boy was in the enclosure for around ten minutes before its dangerous animal response team took the decision to shoot the gorilla.
Animal lovers questioned if it was necessary to kill the Western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species, and called for action against the boy’s parents.
One Twitter user wrote: ‘Such a shame that a critically endangered gorilla had to be shot dead because of the stupidity of parents who don’t watch their kids.’
Another wrote: ‘I truly hope the boy’s parents are prosecuted for child endangerment and the Cincinnati Zoo sues for the loss of their beloved Harambe.’
At least one social media site has been set up calling for ‘justice for Harambe’. Other people posted pictures of the gorilla, deploring its ‘senseless death’.
Zoo officials said they had no choice but to shoot because tranquillizers would not have acted immediately, putting the child at greater risk if the animal lashed out after it was shot by a dart.
Video of the encounter between Harambe and the boy does not show the whole episode. But a fire department report said the gorilla
was ‘violently dragging and throwing the child’. Once the animal was confirmed dead, the boy was rescued and taken to hospital. Doctors said his injuries were serious but not life-threatening.
Witness Kim O’Connor said she had heard him telling his mother – who may have had other small children in her care – that he wanted to go into the enclosure.
She told US TV station WLWT5: ‘The little boy himself had already been talking about wanting to get in the water. The mother was like, “No, you’re not, no, you’re not”.’
She said Harambe appeared to have been scared by the screams from the crowd, and said he seemed to be protecting the child by moving him away from the noise.
Zoo director Thane Maynard said the gorilla had not been attacking, but was ‘an extremely strong’ animal and his team had to shoot it.
‘They made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy’s life,’ he said. ‘It could have been very bad.’
He said the death was a ‘huge loss’ for the zoo and for the gorilla population worldwide. There are believed to be fewer than 100,000 Western Lowland gorillas in the wild.
Harambe was born in captivity and conservation workers said a breeding programme for captive gorillas was the only way to stop the species from becoming extinct.
Dr Sharon Redrobe, chairman of Ape Action Africa and chief executive of Twycross Zoo in Warwickshire, said ‘responsible’ zoos such as Twycross and Cincinnati played a vital part in that programme.
But she agreed with the decision to shoot Harambe, telling Sky News: ‘That child was being treated quite roughly. Those animals can be gentle giants but they can turn in a second. With a flick of a wrist that gorilla could have broken that child’s back.’
Cincinnati Zoo houses 11 gorillas. Its Gorilla World enclosure has now been closed to the public until further notice.
The Born Free Foundation called for an urgent review of visitor safety across all zoos. A spokesman said: ‘We are pleased that the child is safe. Nevertheless this is a tragedy – for Harambe, who has had his life cut short, and for the remaining gorillas at the zoo who have lost a key member of their family.
‘This was an entirely avoidable tragedy. It should never have been possible for a child to climb or fall into the gorilla enclosure.’
Ian Redmond, chairman of the Ape Alliance conservation group, said: ‘Harambe did not attack the child. He pulled the child through the water of the moat, held his hand, apparently gently, stood him up and examined his clothing.’
Mr Redmond said the video did not show the whole encounter so he could not say if the shooting could have been avoided, but said other zoos had reacted differently in the past.
In 1986 a boy of five was knocked unconscious when he fell into a gorilla enclosure at Jersey Zoo. A male silverback called Jambo stood guard over him and stroked his back as he regained consciousness, then led the other gorillas into their house at the back of the pen.