Cincinnati Zoo kills gorilla after child gets into his cage, May 28, 2016

[eileenhawkeye]

I am trying not to judge the mother until all the facts come out because a couple of years ago, my 6th grade teacher was killed in a car accident. She was pregnant at the time, and her husband was one of the responding officers. The comments on articles about it (since she was a popular teacher, there was some local attention) were blaming her for speeding or texting. Some people flat out said they had no sympathy because of that. It turned out that she had hit a deer (she was driving on a windy 2-lane road in a wooded area) and her car burst into flames. It was very hurtful reading those commnts, and you realize how quickly people will use any excuse to pass judgment or post the most calluous things imaginable. The new rumor about how the mother was on Facebook reminds me of when people just knew that my former teacher was texting and driving. People are more angry at this mother than they are at Johnny Depp...Why does he get the benefit of the doubt but she doesn't?

 

[1&2&3]

From reading the various articles, it appears the gorilla was gentle with the child until the crowd became noisy. It has been said it looked like the gorilla was protecting the child at first.

The other two female gorillas went to the zoo caretakers when called, but this one did not. In his mind, the noisy crowd was a disruption to him, he was protecting this small creature in his enclave by moving the child away from the noise.

Did the zoo attendants try anything to distract the gorilla after they moved the crowd and got the area quitened down? Or was it just an automatic decision to shoot to kill? Where was the main person that cared for Harambe? Was he on the grounds?

It sounds like a rush to judgement call to save the child, knowing what kind of backlash the zoo would receive if an animal killed a child. However, it sounds like a child who did what he wanted and knew his mother had her hands full so he would get by with it.
A sad situation on both sides.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

NBC/Today show video includes statement from boy's parents: http://my.xfinity.com/video/giant-g...st/Today_in_Video?cid=featurednews_sf_gorilla

 

[JeannaT]

I'm still pondering the two women who were closest when this child went over the wall - one thinking the other was the child's mother, and one say "whose kid is this?"

It seems like a good lesson here, is that if you see a child breeching a zoo barrier, even if he's not your own child, grab him. It's not like correcting someone's child for jumping on a couch.

 

[jjenny]

38 years without an incident like this proves nothing, except that they were very lucky. The San Francisco Zoo Tiger Exhibit existed for 70 years before one of the cats jumped out of it and killed someone. It was not up to standards, and I seriously doubt the Cincinnati Zoo is up to standards either, or this incident would not have happened.

Comparing this incident to San Francisco zoo's is like comparing apples to oranges. In San Francisco, an animal got out. The enclosure was not up to the standards. They actually did have prior incidents of animals almost getting out of the enclosure. In Cincinnati, witness reports she heard the kid saying he wants to get into the water (in the enclosure, mother told him NO) and sounds like the kid did just exactly that. The enclosure isn't designed to keep people out who are determined to get in and are willing to jump 12 feet into the water.

 

[jjenny]

I'm still pondering the two women who were closest when this child went over the wall - one thinking the other was the child's mother, and one say "whose kid is this?"

It seems like a good lesson here, is that if you see a child breeching a zoo barrier, even if he's not your own child, grab him. It's not like correcting someone's child for jumping on a couch.

From the description, the kid was very fast and made a bee line for the enclosure. One witness claimed she tried to grab him but he was too fast.

 

[JeannaT]

From the description, the kid was very fast and made a bee line for the enclosure. One witness claimed she tried to grab him but he was too fast.

It's the description in this article that has me concerned everyone kind of stood there wondering who was going to grab that kid.

The child went over the railing, one woman expected the woman next to her was the child's mother, and wondered when the mother would act to pull the child back. At which point, the woman presumed incorrectly to be the mother said oh whose kid is that.

There was time to act, if everyone feels comfortable grabbing kids who aren't their own who are crawling into gorilla cages.

 

[jjenny]

It's the description in this article that has me concerned everyone kind of stood there wondering who was going to grab that kid.

The child went over the railing, one woman expected the woman next to her was the child's mother, and wondered when the mother would act to pull the child back. At which point, the woman presumed incorrectly to be the mother said oh whose kid is that.

There was time to act, if everyone feels comfortable grabbing kids who aren't their own who are crawling into gorilla cages.

Grabbing the kid that is not your own could get you arrested nowdays (or killed if you are a gorilla) I am just saying...

 

[monster12]

Now we're going to "blame" the people around for not stopping someone else's kid. Again, where was his mother and why wasn't she stopping him. The kid practically told her several times he was going in and that he did....


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[Ray_of_hope]

IMO, there should have been no way for a child to breach the barrier. Kids will be kids and animals will be animals. I'm devastated that they killed the gorilla and I hate zoos and don't think animals should be exploited and contained for human entertainment, but that's beside the point. Make the barriers safer, reinforce, alarms... Just do it!!!!!!!!!! I am so devastated. We are responsible and should act like it.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

I'm still pondering the two women who were closest when this child went over the wall - one thinking the other was the child's mother, and one say "whose kid is this?"

It seems like a good lesson here, is that if you see a child breeching a zoo barrier, even if he's not your own child, grab him. It's not like correcting someone's child for jumping on a couch.

I would have had no problem at all, but you will NEVER find me at a zoo. I would have done it for the child AND the animal. I also have no problem breaking windows for animals dying in hot cars and I'm happy to pay for the damage to the windows too.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

May 30 2016, 1:43 pm ET

Outrage Grows After Gorilla Harambe Shot Dead at Cincinnati Zoo to Save Tot

by Elisha Fieldstadt

Animal rights activists continued to protest Monday over the death of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo who was fatally shot so authorities could rescue a child who had fallen into the animal's enclosure.

A change.org petition called for the parents of the 3-year-old boy to be held responsible for the death of Harambe, a 17-year-old male Western lowland silverback gorilla.

The petition had garnered more than 138,000 signatures by Monday afternoon. Cincinnati police, however, said they had no intention of charging the family because they don't believe a crime was committed...

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...harambe-shot-dead-cincinnati-zoo-save-n582706

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

https://www.facebook.com/Justice4Harambe/?fref=ts

 

[JeannaT]

Grabbing the kid that is not your own could get you arrested nowdays (or killed if you are a gorilla) I am just saying...

I highly doubt, if you grabbed a 4 year old who had gone over the barrier in the gorilla cage you would be arrested. I'll just chance it.

 

[JeannaT]

I would have had no problem at all, but you will NEVER find me at a zoo. I would have done it for the child AND the animal. I also have no problem breaking windows for animals dying in hot cars and I'm happy to pay for the damage to the windows too.

I have no problem doing any of those things, either. Or of following a child in a clothing store and saying where is your mother, although the child might be too young to actually understand what I'm saying.

Or catching a child as they were dropping head first toward the concrete floor after they were standing in the kiddie seat in the grocery cart. Of pushing an unaccompanied toddler out of the elevator as the door starts to close.

And really, it's surprising how many other adults stand there looking bemused when those things happened.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

I think the reason why no one rescued the child is because no one (subconsciously) wants to risk their life for the child of a mother, they view as negligent. They view the child as growing up to be a huge nuisance, like the type that throws rocks off an overpass. I'm reading comments all over the Internet...people are pissed at the mother, and no one gives a crap about the kid. He's just seen as an extension of her.

 

[JeannaT]

I'm watching the press conference. Anyone else? Did he say it was the goal to try to replace the gorilla?

 

[AlwaysShocked]

Two lions shot and killed at zoo in Chile on Saturday after 20 year old man strips naked and enters lion's den in a suicide-by-lion attempt!

[video=cnn;us/2016/05/22/lions-killed-after-attacking-man-chile.cnn]http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/22/americas/chile-zoo-lions-naked-suicide-trnd/index.html[/video]

 

[monster12]

Two lions shot and killed at zoo in Chile on Saturday after 20 year old man strips naked and enters lion's den in a suicide-by-lion attempt!

[video=cnn;us/2016/05/22/lions-killed-after-attacking-man-chile.cnn]http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/22/americas/chile-zoo-lions-naked-suicide-trnd/index.html[/video]

Why ?!? Why?!? When someone jumps in, let things play out. (Feel this is a bit different from a four year old. ) Now someone who wanted to die has been saved and two animals are dead because of someone's stupidity and eagerness to end his own life.


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[LinasK]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/u...-enters-enclosure-at-cincinnati-zoo.html?_r=0

It also led several people on social media to question the mother’s culpability, but Ms. Nicely said it would be unfair to judge the mother too harshly.

“I don’t feel like it was neglectful,” she said. “She had three other kids that she was with. She had a baby in her arms. It was literally the blink of an eye.”

She added: “I saw it, and I couldn’t even prevent it. It happened so fast.”

I'll judge her harshly! Because she couldn't control her son beyond a simple "No, no" whether she had a baby in her arms, multiple other little kids to watch, or was on Facebook on her phone- an animal that was an endangered species had to needlessly die because of her brat!!!