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

[sonjay]

I wonder. What if the policy of the zoo is, it isn't an automatic response that all the animals in an enclosure will be killed if a human breeches that enclosure.

If you purposely get into an enclosure with dangerous animals, it isn't a given that we will shoot the animals.

Just as we have the policy that the US doesn't negotiate with terrorists. As awful as it is when terrorists threaten American citizens, we don't negotiate with them. If they behead our citizens, that's how that is, sadly.

So how about that. If you purposely get into an enclosure with a dangerous animal, we will do what we can to rescue you.

I like it.

You go to the Middle East, you're on your own.

You jump in with the gorillas or the lions, you're on your own.

Works for me.

 

[bluesneakers]

Okay. But hold up

The Gorilla is a loaded gun that was tucked away and not bothering no one.

Now the child seen the gun and wanted it. But mom knew this and didn't escort her kids from the gun that was right there. Jmo

Mom knew the intentions and seen the absent barriers. But mom chalked it up to it would be the zoos fault. Jmo.

So if a 3 year old seen the open possibility. Then why not mom.

Unsecured weapons are not the same as zoo animals. I just don't see how the two situations are similar. Sorry.

 

[DexterMorgan]

I like it.

You go to the Middle East, you're on your own.

You jump in with the gorillas or the lions, you're on your own.

Works for me.

Agree.

Enter at your own risk.

We forbid this. But if you or your kids Enter. Then that's on you. Jmo.

Our animals didn't come for you. You or yours was responsible in breaching things.

So you are accountable. Jmo.

 

[sonjay]

Agree.

Enter at your own risk.

We forbid this. But if you or your kids Enter. Then that's on you. Jmo.

Our animals didn't come for you. You or yours was responsible in breaching things.

So you are accountable. Jmo.

With, of course, plenty of signs so people can't claim they didn't know. Maybe tattoo it on their hand upon entry, and make them read it aloud into a video recorder.

 

[DexterMorgan]

Imo. People have to be held accountable for their children.

Now the gorilla didn't jump out and snatch the child.

Plus the Gorilla died for the child's mistake.

So why should the zoo suffer more.

 

[Swirlz]

Zoos aren't marketed like art museums; the zoo closest to us has pony and camel rides, face painting, a bunch of active rope climbing and similar stuff, and a petting zoo. I do think if zoos are going to actively promote themselves as being kid-friendly places that encourage active kid behavior (which the one near us does), they need to be designed to take into consideration as much as possible the kinds of dumb things kids do. Because I do think people forget how unsafe wild animals are, and I don't see zoos doing much to disabuse them of that notion.

 

[DexterMorgan]

Unsecured weapons are not the same as zoo animals. I just don't see how the two situations are similar. Sorry.

Lol. I know my friend.

Dex is just having a moment. Lol.

 

[human]

Cognitive dissonance.

Was it Gene Bauer doing the talking?

Don't know, Excellent comments. Even in words the thought of animals living in hell waiting for slaughter. Why isn't there an outcry about this?

 

[Montjoy]

Zoos aren't marketed like art museums; the zoo closest to us has pony and camel rides, face painting, a bunch of active rope climbing and similar stuff, and a petting zoo. I do think if zoos are going to actively promote themselves as being kid-friendly places that encourage active kid behavior (which the one near us does), they need to be designed to take into consideration as much as possible the kinds of dumb things kids do. Because I do think people forget how unsafe wild animals are, and I don't see zoos doing much to disabuse them of that notion.

I think that this is an excellent observation. Zoos are places that encourage parents to have their children treat as parks. Really, on entering a zoo, are parents expected to act (vis-a-vis) their kids as if they were entering the MOMA or the National Gallery? Seriously. I mean, zoos largely exist because of well-meaning parents taking their kids on an educational trip (one in which the kids will scoot around a lot and sleep well at night). And zoos do, unfortunately, train kids (and adults) to have some peculiar, hierarchical/asymmetrical attitudes towards animals, such as that they exist for our amusement, rather than that they exist in their own right. The zoo near where I live -- a zoo that I confess has done some terrific work for some species, such as polar bears) -- had a 'petting zoo' in it for years, which was a horrid place. No idea if they still have it. I was at one of the marine zoos/entertainment facilities years ago in which there was a place to pet dolphins. I saw a dolphin with a fresh cut on its head that almost made me throw up, and did make me leave immediately, asking for my money back.

 

[human]

http://www.wpr.org/if-gorillas-death-moves-you-consider-other-animals-plights

want to do something more for animals, they may need to look no further than their own dinner.

We have heard a lot in recent years about the 8.5 billion chickens that are slaughtered for food in the United States every year. The ones that live on factory farms are kept in cages about as large as a sheet of copy paper. Their feet never touch the ground. They never see the sun or sky. They never play or mate. Their beaks are often snipped or burned off to keep them from pecking each other to death in those cramped, congested cages.

Harambe's death might also remind us how more than 100 million pigs are raised for food in the United States. The ASPCA points out that pigs, who are known to be as intelligent as dogs, are one of the few animals Americans both keep as pets and raise for food.

Most pigs are kept in windowless sheds on factory farms, in cages so small they cannot turn around; so they will grow fat. They live in their own manure, and the air is so heavy with ammonia that many pigs develop lesions on their lungs.

Female breeding pigs are put into what are called gestation crates, where they are artificially inseminated. They give birth, then are inseminated time and time again; and when they can longer get pregnant, they're slaughtered.

 

[Zuri]

Don't know, Excellent comments. Even in words the thought of animals living in hell waiting for slaughter. Why isn't there an outcry about this?

I don't know whether this is applicable to your thought or not, but many of us who are horse lovers are doing our best to rescue horses destined for slaughter in Canada and Mexico. I have a rescued TB mare that is now 8 and living her life out at a retirement farm. She raced and developed a bone chip in her left knee that was not fixed in time and she is only really pasture sound. She is one of the lucky ones. If I could afford to board more at a retirement farm I would. It is one of the most heartbreaking sights to see those once beautiful creatures loaded onto the trucks.... Tears.

 

[LinasK]

I think, JMO etc., Disney would cut the family a huge check and do their best to keep it quiet. Not that they could but they would want to make it go away quickly.

I'm wondering if the result of the criminal investigation will be charges against the zoo.

Disneyland has had deaths on rides, and the public knew about them. Two that I know of- one person got caught between the moving rooms of the Carousel of Progress- they took that ride out, but the structure is used for other exhibits, and a cleat came off where the Mark Twain boat was anchored. I'm sure DisneyWorld has probably had deaths too. I'd like to know if the prosecutor will bring charges against the mother.

 

[LinasK]

San Francisco Zoo - The walls were not high enough. Did not meet specifications. A tiger jumped up and out - killing one teenager and mauling two others. Zoo officials immediately speculated that the boys "had to have been taunting the animal". Blaming the victim seems to be the first thing out of their mouths.

Meanwhile, a woman who had previously taken the time to write a letter to the zoo director stating that she saw this same tiger jumping up and almost getting out apparently came forward.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Zoo_tiger_attacks

When your moat wall is supposed to be a minimum of 16.5 ft. high and you are claiming it is 18 ft. high, but after a tiger jumps out it turns out it is only 12.5 ft. high - something isn't right.


This incident and the publicity it has generated seems to be a fine time for a spotlight to be place on the recommendations for zoos and whether or not they are actually meeting those recommendations. The public has a right to expect that proper safety precautions have been followed.

Personally, I have never been a zoo fan. They stink.

I don't think it was "speculation" that they threw rocks and sticks at Tatiana the tiger, I think they found the rocks and sticks. This was a local story for me.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Yet, when it happens at the zoo, everybody blames the parent. If a child gets away from a parent and runs into the street and gets hit by a truck, thats just a terrible accident, but if a child get's away from a parent and falls in the gorilla pit at the zoo, thats gross negligence on the part of the parent. We got the message, zoos are terrible dangerous places, and any responsible person would know not to take a child there. We should just have the police arrest every single person at the zoo gate, who tries to take a child into the zoo, for child endangerment.

Not everyone is blaming the parent. To hear some people talk you would think folks are falling into animal enclosures on a daily basis when this is actually very rare according to statistics. jmo

 

[Jax49]

I guess I'm in the "blame everyone" camp. Mother and zoo share in the blame, IMHO.

 

[JeannaT]

I don't know if anyone has seen CNN's mock-up of the enclosure.

it's extremely cheesy, but I think at the end, when the reporter is standing in the graphic of the moat, you can see why no one before this has purposely jumped in. It's an extreme distance to the cement bottom of the moat, and almost no one would jump that distance.

The rest of the video and interview is painfully cheesy.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/0...deo/playlists/boy-falls-into-gorilla-habitat/

 

[Jax49]

I don't know if anyone has seen CNN's mock-up of the enclosure.

it's extremely cheesy, but I think at the end, when the reporter is standing in the graphic of the moat, you can see why no one before this has purposely jumped in. It's an extreme distance to the cement bottom of the moat, and almost no one would jump that distance.

The rest of the video and interview is painfully cheesy.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/0...deo/playlists/boy-falls-into-gorilla-habitat/

That link takes me to an older story. This should link the story you're talking about. (fingers crossed)

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/0...h-charges-virtual-habitat-foreman-lv-erin.cnn

 

[tangelo]

http://www.wpr.org/if-gorillas-death-moves-you-consider-other-animals-plights

want to do something more for animals, they may need to look no further than their own dinner.

We have heard a lot in recent years about the 8.5 billion chickens that are slaughtered for food in the United States every year. The ones that live on factory farms are kept in cages about as large as a sheet of copy paper. Their feet never touch the ground. They never see the sun or sky. They never play or mate. Their beaks are often snipped or burned off to keep them from pecking each other to death in those cramped, congested cages.

Harambe's death might also remind us how more than 100 million pigs are raised for food in the United States. The ASPCA points out that pigs, who are known to be as intelligent as dogs, are one of the few animals Americans both keep as pets and raise for food.

Most pigs are kept in windowless sheds on factory farms, in cages so small they cannot turn around; so they will grow fat. They live in their own manure, and the air is so heavy with ammonia that many pigs develop lesions on their lungs.

Female breeding pigs are put into what are called gestation crates, where they are artificially inseminated. They give birth, then are inseminated time and time again; and when they can longer get pregnant, they're slaughtered.

all excellent reasons for raising your own meat. has nothing to do with the gunman (zoo employee with unknown training) who shot the ape (cincy zoo is not a gun free zone) and should be prosecuted.

 

[KaaBoom]

I don't know if anyone has seen CNN's mock-up of the enclosure.

it's extremely cheesy, but I think at the end, when the reporter is standing in the graphic of the moat, you can see why no one before this has purposely jumped in. It's an extreme distance to the cement bottom of the moat, and almost no one would jump that distance.

The rest of the video and interview is painfully cheesy.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/0...deo/playlists/boy-falls-into-gorilla-habitat/

The same people who are blaming the mother for not jumping in, would be the same people who would blame her if she had jumped in. Then two people would have had to be rescued, instead of one. It’s nothing but irrational victim blaming. They would consider the mother wrong, no matter what she did.

 

[JeannaT]

Well, I'm not blaming anyone for not jumping in!! I did note that no one considered jumping in, as a way to illustrate this extremely deep moat wall would have been clearly too fall to jump, and so to most, it wouldn't even occur to them to attempt it. They wouldn't consider it and discard the thought, they literally would not even think of it.

And that's why, IMHO, no one except this 4 year old ever did this. Although certainly many preschoolers were intrigued and might have liked to play with a gorilla. The sheer drop off was prohibitive.