Toddler falls into gorilla cage at Cincinnati Zoo

[Potoooooooo]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ti-zoo_us_574a1bc9e4b03ede441504e7?yptr=yahoo
A 17-year-old western lowland gorilla was shot dead at the Cincinnati Zoo after he snatched up a 4-year-old boy who fell into his enclosure Saturday.

The gorilla, named Harambe, held him for about 10 minutes, zoo officials said at a press conference. The boy was taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. He is listed in serious condition, Fox 19 reported.

 

[fast]

I started to create this thread. So, who should bare the blunt of the responsibility? CNN reported that people were saying the parent should since the parent failed to control the child; however, I was wondering if the zoo should.

 

[Potoooooooo]

Here is a repost of the video that was taken down

Some info from the person who took the video
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gorilla-cincinnati-zoo-video-shot_us_5749f024e4b03ede44150165

O’Connor said she overheard the boy talking about wanting to get into the enclosure before the incident took place.

“The little boy himself had already been talking about wanting to ... get in the water,” she told WLWT. “The mother’s like, ‘No, you’re not, no, you’re not.”

She noted that the boy’s mother was also watching several other young children. Officials believe the boy crawled through a railing barrier, then fell into the moat around the enclosure. He was taken to a hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

 

[Underseer]

Feel bad for the gorilla and the kid.

The gorilla probably meant no harm, but was killed anyway just to be safe. I'm not second guessing the zoo officials' decision, the more intelligent animals are more unpredictable.

That poor kid is going to have to live with the fact that he got a gorilla killed for the rest of his life.

 

[fast]

Feel bad for the gorilla and the kid.

The gorilla probably meant no harm, but was killed anyway just to be safe. I'm not second guessing the zoo officials' decision, the more intelligent animals are more unpredictable.

That poor kid is going to have to live with the fact that he got a gorilla killed for the rest of his life.

The kid had three years to get his shit together. The zoo had three decades.

 

[jab]

The video doesn't show the whole range of the gorilla's behaviour--apparently the noise and fuss made it increasingly agitated.

 

[DBT]

I wonder about the culpability of the parents. Perhaps they should have known better.

 

[Potoooooooo]

I will tell you an incident that happened to me. I was at my local zoo and was standing next to an older gentleman looking down into the gorilla enclosure. from out of nowhere to little girls (4-5 years olds) ran up and started climbing the railing to the enclosure. The old man grabbed one and I blocked the other. The mom ran up and scolded the girls for running off, and ever thing was ok. But I can't help but think things could have ended badly if neither of us were their to stop them.

Little kids love to climb and seem to think anything with bars is playground equipment.

Is there some other way to design these enclosures that takes this into consideration?

 

[Potoooooooo]

 

[Potoooooooo]

It seems the boy ss back home with his family now.
His mother has released a statement
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ar-old-gorilla-s-enclosure.html#ixzz4A8WAkZqt

Michelle Gregg, the mother of the boy, posted a message on Facebook saying: 'I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers today. What started off as a wonderful day turned into a scary one.


'For those of you that have seen the news or been on social media that was my son that fell in the gorilla exhibit at the zoo. God protected my child until the authorities were able to get to him.

'My son is safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes... no broken bones or internal injuries.

'As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids. Accidents happen but I am thankful that the right people were in the right place today.'


'We are so thankful to the Lord that our child is safe. He is home and doing just fine. We extend our heartfelt thanks for the quick action by the Cincinnati Zoo staff.

 

[fast]

I will tell you an incident that happened to me. I was at my local zoo and was standing next to an older gentleman looking down into the gorilla enclosure. from out of nowhere to little girls (4-5 years olds) ran up and started climbing the railing to the enclosure. The old man grabbed one and I blocked the other. The mom ran up and scolded the girls for running off, and ever thing was ok. But I can't help but think things could have ended badly if neither of us were their to stop them.

Little kids love to climb and seem to think anything with bars is playground equipment.

Is there some other way to design these enclosures that takes this into consideration?

Design is possible with money.

A zoo brings inherent dangers that the general public is il-equipped to handle, so we look to the zoo to ensure our safety for both ordinary and inordinary dangers. We see pretty smiles on brochures, not death traps lurking. Yes, had the parent not turned her eyes, this wouldn't have happened, but then again, had entry been better fortified, this wouldn't have happened.

 

[fast]

CNN reported that there is a Twitter frenzy over the issue of whether or not the zoo should have shot the gorilla and that it was split 8:1 with eight for every one saying they should not have.

 

[HelixSpiral]

It really couldn't have gone down any other way (for the response team). You can't just instantly knock out a gorilla and you can't leave a four year old in with a silverback.

 

[repoman]

 

[Ford]

It really couldn't have gone down any other way (for the response team). You can't just instantly knock out a gorilla and you can't leave a four year old in with a silverback.

Or any other 400lb wild animal for that matter.

If this had been a 400lb tiger, there would be considerably less uproar IMO.

 

[Potoooooooo]

additional photo

 

[Harry Bosch]

It really couldn't have gone down any other way (for the response team). You can't just instantly knock out a gorilla and you can't leave a four year old in with a silverback.

I feel terrible for the gorilla. But I also see no other alternative. A powerful tranquilizer would have made the gorilla violent and unpredictable.

 

[Keith&Co.]

View attachment 6968

Yeaaaaaaaaaah, there's a reason PETA is made fun of more than listened to.

 

[zorq]

It really couldn't have gone down any other way (for the response team). You can't just instantly knock out a gorilla and you can't leave a four year old in with a silverback.

I feel terrible for the gorilla. But I also see no other alternative. A powerful tranquilizer would might have made the gorilla violent and unpredictable.

FIFY

As it was, they killed the gorilla anyway because they felt he was unpredictable, but not yet violent. It's possible that a more compassionate approach might have worked also. You can't just discard those options.

As I understand it, the zoo was watching the gorilla for 10 minutes before they decided that the ape was getting more agitated and made the call to shoot. If they had used the sedative immediately the ape may have never gotten to an agitated state. Or other options like ringing the dinner bell and sending in the animal handlers to snatch up the boy might have been an option too.

As it was, the zoo didn't want to take any chances. Which is fine.

 

[Harry Bosch]

I feel terrible for the gorilla. But I also see no other alternative. A powerful tranquilizer would might have made the gorilla violent and unpredictable.

FIFY

As it was, they killed the gorilla anyway because they felt he was unpredictable, but not yet violent. It's possible that a more compassionate approach might have worked also. You can't just discard those options.

As I understand it, the zoo was watching the gorilla for 10 minutes before they decided that the ape was getting more agitated and made the call to shoot. If they had used the sedative immediately the ape may have never gotten to an agitated state. Or other options like ringing the dinner bell and sending in the animal handlers to snatch up the boy might have been an option too.

As it was, the zoo didn't want to take any chances. Which is fine.

Yea. Good post. Sad story. I hate to blame mom, but come on.......