Child falls into gorilla cage, gorilla protects it, and then is shot.

Watch this gorilla save this baby after he falls into gorilla cage. Really awesome. However instead of tranquilizing the animal, the zoo keepers shoot it. Animals can't win for losing.

[video=youtube;kvEV42WuTvY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvEV42WuTvY[/video]

 

Sad situation. It looked like the silverback was protecting the child. They say frantic onlookers could have made the situation worse.
Seems like the gorilla should have been tranquilized vs. shooting & killing. On the flip side I realize zoo keepers are trained for these situations, I'm sure the last thing they wanted to do was shoot one of their animals.

I know small kids can be very impulsive and unpredictable but dang...why weren't those dumb parents watching this kid. You cant quickly or easily get into any animal enclosure, plus the kid kept saying he wanted to get into the water. Hint to parents...time to watch kid closer.

 

Darting an animal that large can take up to 10-15 minutes to take effect. They had to outweigh the risks and if they had darted him and he tore the child in half we would all have very different attitudes of their response. They acted conservatively to ensure the child survived.

This story breaks my heart. This is no one's fault but the crappy parents not paying attention. Kids my be impulsive, but this gorilla paid the price of this kid's impulsiveness. These parents should be sued out the a$$ or ticketed with heavy fines. Something that brings a little justice to this sad story.


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This is very sad. In another similar incidence several years ago, the handlers were able to lure the gorilla to the other end of the enclosure and someone ran in and grabbed the kid. Not having enough information, I don't know if that would have worked in this particular situation, but I do hope all options were considered.

It does surprise me that some of you think this is somehow the parent's fault. Do you have kids? Have you ever tried to keep track of a toddler? It is like trying to keep track of a two foot tall ninja on speed. Look away for a moment and the kid vanishes. The alternative is to be a "helicopter parent", constantly hovering over your children, but then how will the child ever learn self-reliance and responsibility?

No, it is not the parent's fault. It is just a perfect storm of bad coincidences that resulted in the death of an animal.

 

At first I was leaning toward agreeing with the group saying the gorilla was protecting the child. However the force with which the animal was dragging the child and the threat of it smashing the child's head against a rock or inadvertently drowning the child was overwhelming. Sadly, the right decision was made.

Where the hell are the parents of this child?

 

I feel bad for the Gorilla, but child safety more important.

 

The parents were indeed responsible for the demise of this gorilla. This is just a symptom of what our society has gotten to. Parents expect government, teachers, store clerks and other to keep watch on their kids. Yes indeed you are correct parents are obligated to watch their kids.

 

It is a sad situation all the way around.
I've read that tranquilizing would have taken too long and the gorilla may have become violent before it took affect. There is no way to know what the gorilla may have done the the child.

What amazes me is the comments I've read on different social media sites.
One poster commented on a story about Jack Hanna saying the zoo made the right choice because the gorilla would've ended up killing the child, "Thank you Jack, now do you think kid should have been killed or the animal? I say they did the right thing in saving toddler. Sorry RIP gorilla but humans come first!"

"Humans come first?!! What the (*)(*)(*)(*)?!? Humans are not the kings of earth. We were NOT here first and all we're doing is pilfering this world until it's uninhabitable. The PARENTS should've been watching their damn kid and they should be held fully responsible. This I'd EXACTLY why we have an entire generation of people that DON'T take responsibility for their actions."

"humans come first? try feeding your great grandkids on that mentality. animals and the biodiversity should come first. especially critically endangered animals. we humans are not critically endangered are we? sickening that ppl can live with eyes wide shut."

Then there are these:
"Why do people think they are above every other living organism? We are the only species that cant function properly."

"Since when does one life hold more value over another?? The child should have been holding the hand of a parent. You'll soon moan when another species goes extinct then another and another. There won't be any need for zoo's then"

"What makes a human life more important than other lives? As the saying goes, all lives matter! Animals have every right to be here and live. Humans are the lesser evolved. Animals take better care of their young than some humans. This sad event is the perfect example of that. Was mom too busy on her cell or other distraction? Humans were in his home, his home was invaded. End of story. And before anyone says " well you eat meat ", I don't, I'm vegan."

I agree the parent should've been watching the child more closely. However, once the child was with the gorilla, how he got there was a mute point. The safety of the child became the number one issue. They did what they had to do.

An animals life is never more important than a humans life.

 

***Whether or not one has kids doesn't mean that they can't raise issues or comment on others parenting. AND, in certain situations, especially with toddlers or young children it behooves parents to be ESPECIALLY vigilant. And this was one of those situations. 'Hovering' over a toddler or young child at moments such as this is not going to affect their learning about self-reliance and responsibility. In my view those things are better left to the mid/later teens. Unfortunately because these parents were not vigilant their child will not have that option. While I do feel sorry and have empathy for them, they must bear some responsibility for what happened.***

 

This makes me really sad for that gorilla.

Don't we have enough kids in the world?


j/k ... kinda

 

#GorillaLivesMatter

Since the monkey was so close to the kid, what if they'd accidentally shot the KID with the bullets? Using a tranc, if the kid was accidentally shot, would have been safer, some argue.

The speed at which that monkey dragged that kid around is likely more violent/powerful/faster than almost any human could have done the same thing - this is an incredibly powerful animal, one move on it's part and that small child would have been maimed for life, or probably killed.

You'd THINK that the zoo designer could build a facility that a small person couldn't penetrate! Zoo and Death Star designers seem to suffer from the same malady.

 

The zoo would have been under even more condemnation if they had only tranqed the beast and the kid died in the many minutes that the enraged monkey was in proximity to the kid. Sadly, they made the best choice given the tough circumstances. Keep in mind that the zoo people there likely care more about their zoo's animals than any of us keyboard warriors do.

 

Good idea, but I read that they did try this, but only the female gorillas moved, and not Harambe.
"The two female gorillas in the exhibit were recalled immediately, but the third, a male, remained in the yard with the child."
http://www.bustle.com/articles/1637...ati-zoo-touted-his-intelligence-and-curiosity

....and of course everything on the internet is true.

 

According to this article the parents want to SUE the zoo. Those parents must have even bigger cojones than Harambe had!
http://www.morningledger.com/parent...fter-4-year-old-falls-into-enclosure/1375593/

 

That would have been an eternity for that small child's chances....way way too long. They did the right thing.

 

Exactly. Seven billion people is too many anyway. They kidnap an ape, and let their stupid kid in the one area in the world that the ape is now allowed, and kill the ape for that act of trespassing. The deciding factor: gorillas can't sue.

 

It's still sad this creature had to die, who was just protecting the kid, because some stupid moron let their dumb little brat get in it's cage.

 

While you are right that whether or not one has kids has no bearing on whether that person can comment on other's parenting, it does help if the person has experience. Who are you more likely to listen to when it comes to what war is like, an armchair general or someone who actually was fighting it? Who would make a better president, someone just out of Harvard Law School or someone who has been active in politics for 20 years? You can not know what you would do in that situation until you are actually in it. Parenting is a lot harder than it looks.

 

Yeah, you really get the feeling all they thought was "lawsuit".

 

Well, as long as all other options were considered and there was no other choice, then it had to be done. I'm just suspicious of hearing it from the guy in charge who is trying to save his ass.

 

`
Remind me to never refer to you as Dr. Compassion. It's a judeo-christian virtue I understand.

 

I have a lot of compassion for that poor gorilla.

 

Yes, the beast actually appears to be pulling up the kid's drooping pants at one point in the long version of that video.

 

That's probably more than it's dumbass parents ever did for it.

 

Any you never got in trouble as a kid??

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Apparently they are kind enough to take their kids to the zoo - so I hear.