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

[BetteDavisEyes]

Zoo set to reopen exhibit with new fencing. Doesn't look that much safer to me. MOO

http://www.wlwt.com/news/prosecutor-reviewing-cpd-investigation-into-zoo-gorilla-incident/39863244

"The zoo said the new barrier railing is 42” high with solid wood beams at the top and on the bottom with knotted rope netting.
That's a half-foot higher than the steel railing barrier previously in place."

No barrier will be safe if zoo patrons - adults or children - lean too far forward over said barrier, stand on the barrier, climb on the barrier, or attempt to cross over the barrier. The same thing happens when cruise ship passengers refuse to heed warnings about leaning, climbing/sitting/standing on deck railings or holding young children on the railings. I've been on 30+ cruises and know, for a fact, that no one can simply fall over the railings or off the ship without self-propulsion. Given that this is the first time in many years that someone breached the zoo barrier, I continue to hold the mother responsible for her child's actions. If the boy had been advised to stay close to his mother and properly instructed about safety around the gorilla exhibit, this terrible incident wouldn't have happened. :moo:

 

[drjones]

TIL you can make judgments about the future of a 3 year old based on incomplete information regarding one single incident they were involved in

your 3 year old pinched the puppy one time even tho you told him not to? im sorry ma'am, your child is clearly a future serial killer.

 

[nomoresorrow]

Zoo set to reopen exhibit with new fencing. Doesn't look that much safer to me. MOO

http://www.wlwt.com/news/prosecutor-reviewing-cpd-investigation-into-zoo-gorilla-incident/39863244

"The zoo said the new barrier railing is 42” high with solid wood beams at the top and on the bottom with knotted rope netting.
That's a half-foot higher than the steel railing barrier previously in place."

Looks much safer than the original to me... (see original on video here...) [video=youtube;H2CSZchgbFk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2CSZchgbFk"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2CSZchgbFk[/video]
*The fence showing on the front page of video is NOT the fencing area where Isiah went in - you must watch the video to see that area.
And new one...

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

This article has a couple of good pictures of the existing barrier.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...o-criminal-action-against-Cincinnati-Zoo.html

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[Wyle_E_Coyote]

really?.....only one person/child has ever got into this enclosure in 30+ years, out of how many millions of people and children who have been there during that time, that seems pretty damn safe to me

Considering how much zoo exhibits have changed in the past few decades, I would be surprised if the fence hasn't also been changed. I would love to know what type of fencing was in place 30 - 40 years ago. Has anyone seen historical photos of this gorilla exhibit?

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[sonjay]

Well you can't crawl through that one but now that it's higher parents will just pick up their kids and put them on the railing to see over it.

And then there will be yet more zoo-blaming when something happens as a result of the parents' actions.

I don't know whatever happened to expecting parents to parent. It's out of vogue these days. These days, the norm seems to be to expect everyone else to parent your children.

 

[bluesneakers]

TIL you can make judgments about the future of a 3 year old based on incomplete information regarding one single incident they were involved in

your 3 year old pinched the puppy one time even tho you told him not to? im sorry ma'am, your child is clearly a future serial killer.

When my daughter was 3 she liked to wear her Halloween costume (cat) all the time. She's 24 and still hasn't become a furry.

 

[Jax49]

Looks much safer than the original to me... (see original on video here...) [video=youtube;H2CSZchgbFk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2CSZchgbFk"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2CSZchgbFk[/video]
*The fence showing on the front page of video is NOT the fencing area where Isiah went in - you must watch the video to see that area.


And new one...

Thanks. That's the best look I've had at the original.

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

When my daughter was 3 she liked to wear her Halloween costume (cat) all the time. She's 24 and still hasn't become a furry.

Maybe she's just not telling you! [emoji79]

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[rob]

really?.....only one person/child has ever got into this enclosure in 30+ years, out of how many millions of people and children who have been there during that time, that seems pretty damn safe to me

Opps, looks like they already tried to revise it to make it safer. Hope that doesn't offend you as much as my post seemed to.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/prosecutor-reviewing-cpd-investigation-into-zoo-gorilla-incident/39863244

 

[turtlefur]

Honestly, this could have been me. I have 5 children, and my middle child doesn't know fear, and has impulse control issues. It is much better now (he will be 6 in 4 days!!) then it was when he was younger. He has taken off on me twice while camping, and yes all it took was a couple seconds me for to be distracted. Once he got out of the house in the early morning hours when I was still asleep. Thank goodness he went down toward the chicken coop, and not towards the road.
I'm not a perfect mother, and "By the Grace of God go I".

I still can not think of that morning that he got out of the house without feeling sick to my stomach, and it must be almost 4 years ago now.

It could have so easily been us in that situation at the zoo. I don't usually go places unless I have a decent adult to children ratio, but still, it could have been us. I could have easily been distracted by a younger child, and lost sight of him for a second. I would have blamed myself way more than an entire petition full of 100,000 of signatures could. And even when the media grew quiet and the pitch forks were pointed elsewhere, I would still need to live with the burden of my mistake. I can just so easily put myself in the mothers shoes.

 

[neesaki]

When my daughter was 3 she liked to wear her Halloween costume (cat) all the time. She's 24 and still hasn't become a furry.

What do you mean, a furry what?

 

[neesaki]

I don't know why so many people here are so quick to dismiss all of the witness statements saying that the mother was only distracted for an instant and that she had no way of knowing what was going to happen, or of stopping it? I mean, why are baseless assumptions considered more useful than actual statements of actual people who were there?

So much hatred for this woman. There must be a lot of perfect mothers out there who have never had their children do anything unexpected.

Or maybe the witnesses only actually witnessed her for an instant, I assume they were there to view the gorilla exhibit so most of their attention would be on the gorillas wouldn't it? How much attention would they really have paid to just another zoo patron? Jmo

 

[drjones]

What do you mean, a furry what?

lol - people that dress up as animals for roleplay or ummm... other stuff... are called "furries"

yeah, its a thing

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

What do you mean, a furry what?

Someone with a fetish about dressing up in animal costumes. Dare you to Google!

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[bluesneakers]

What do you mean, a furry what?

A Cliff Notes Guide To Furries And Why That TV Host Went Crazy When She Found Out What They Are

 

[LinasK]

It's human nature, imo, to believe "It can't happen to me" so we (in general) find ways to convince ourselves and prove it would never happen to us:

Mom wasn't watching the child - I always watch my child
Mom is a bad parent - I am a good parent
Mom says ____ - witnesses disagree and I believe them
Mom was on cell phone - people spend too much time on cell phones but not me (or maybe me but never again)
Child is disobedient and disrespectful - my kids are good and obedient
Zoo should have taken precautions - parents should be more attentive and/or I never go to zoos

Etc.

I've seen this with shootings, natural disasters, domestic violence, etc., etc.

JMO

Except in this situation, it has never happened to me because I did take proper precautions and watch my child at the zoo many times and different zoos. My child survived childhood.

 

[LinasK]

I'm not sure I would call it unexpected. There were witnesses saying the child repeatedly said he was going to get into the moat. No parent should be surprised that their young child does something that they repeatedly say they will.

I don't agree with opinions that say he "fell in." It wasn't a freak, haphazard accident. The child wanted in and he got in. He got in under his mom's watch, after he told her he would. He simply did something he wanted to, and she didn't stop him. It wasn't a freak thing that happened despite taking precautions. I'm not sure how I feel about criminal charges here, but I do think that CPS should be involved. NOT to drag these kids away from the mom. I just think that this situation calls for making sure this mom is full capable of keeping her children safe. Making sure that she is able to provide boundaries and appropriate supervision. She simply failed to keep her child safe and was downright lucky he didn't die. It happened. Now the proper agencies should make sure it's not a pattern.

(I realize we agree about the mother not appropriately taking caution. Your post just got me thinking and I added )

Just had to say: Excellent post!!!:goodpost::clap::clap::clap:

 

[LinasK]

No barrier will be safe if zoo patrons - adults or children - lean too far forward over said barrier, stand on the barrier, climb on the barrier, or attempt to cross over the barrier. The same thing happens when cruise ship passengers refuse to heed warnings about leaning, climbing/sitting/standing on deck railings or holding young children on the railings. I've been on 30+ cruises and know, for a fact, that no one can simply fall over the railings or off the ship without self-propulsion. Given that this is the first time in many years that someone breached the zoo barrier, I continue to hold the mother responsible for her child's actions. If the boy had been advised to stay close to his mother and properly instructed about safety around the gorilla exhibit, this terrible incident wouldn't have happened. :moo:

BBM. So true! Me too.

 

[LinasK]

TIL you can make judgments about the future of a 3 year old based on incomplete information regarding one single incident they were involved in

your 3 year old pinched the puppy one time even tho you told him not to? im sorry ma'am, your child is clearly a future serial killer.

FYI, serial killers do start out by abusing animals...