RIP HARAMBE :(

[HairOfTheDog]

Harambe was a 17-year-old 400-pound endangered-species gorilla. He was living at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Yesterday, a 4-year-old boy sneaked between the bars and got into the enclave.

He fell near the moat and the onlookers started screaming, at which point Harambe scooped up the boy and dragged him through the moat.

Harambe did not try to hurt the little boy, looks just the opposite to me. The boy was in the enclave for about 10 minutes and some of it was captured on cell video (below, doesn't show the shooting).



Sadly, Harambe was shot dead by rescue workers. A representative from the zoo said that rescue workers made the right decision to shoot him with a bullet instead of a tranquilizer because tranquilizers take a bit to go into effect and the child was at risk of being crushed or otherwise seriously hurt or killed in that habitat.

The boy was taken to the hospital and is expected to fully recover from the trauma.

A bunch of people on social media are going off on the boy's mother and demanding justice for the murder of Harambe.

I'm just really sad that the awesome animal is dead, but glad the boy is fine.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/201.../85095094/

[HairOfTheDog]

I just turned on the tv and CNN is covering this story and talking to witnesses.

They're also showing this pic of Harambe.



It's making me cry, damn it.

One of the witnesses told the CNN host that the boy was telling his mom he wanted to go into the enclave and into the water before it all happened. Apparently, the mother let him out of her sight and off he went.

Authorities say there are no plans to charge the parents with negligence, though many are calling for it.

The zoo is open today, but the gorilla exhibit is closed. It's the first incident in the exhibit's nearly 40 year history.

[sally]

That sucks. Especially that it didn't look like his intentions were to hurt the kid.

[Duchess]

It made me all weepy & stuff when I read about it early this morning, then I got mad! I blame the adult watching the kid.

[blueberryhill]

That sucks. Especially that it didn't look like his intentions were to hurt the kid.

I thought that, too, and wrote my little blurb on FB, but then watched a short segment on CNN....Do you recall picture of Gorilla when he was in corner when it looked as though he might be protecting child....i hadn't seen the rest of the story....all of a sudden the animal grabbed child by one arm and literally yanked him from the corner in a very violent (IMO) move.....I then saw the danger, but you stll wonder why they couldn't have used tranquilizer gun at the onset....maybe two darts but would have saved both lives.

[HairOfTheDog]

Harambe kept the boy, who was an intruder in Harambe's home, very close while the boy and the onlookers were screaming. So, unfortunately, there was a real risk of the boy being crushed if a tranquilizer was used and Harambe freaked out or passed out.

I think any quick moves made by a 400-pound gorilla towards a 4-year-old boy would look violent and aggressive in human eyes. I understand the fear and know the rescue workers did the right thing, but it still pisses me off and makes me sad that Harambe had to be killed through no fault of his own.

If Harambe intended to hurt or kill that little boy, that little boy would be an effin' stain right now. The boy was released from the hospital a few hours after the incident.

[sally]

I understand why they had to kill him because it's a 400 lb. gorilla that could have killed the boy without even meaning too, but it still sucks. It's hard to say what I'd do in that situation if I were the mother, the first thing would be not to let him fall in there in the first place, but if it did happen I think I'd jump in there after my child to distract the gorilla from him.

[blueberryhill]

Jack Hanna just said on CNN, that gorilla had angry look on his face and was not happy and that he could have killed that child in a second. He says Zoo did the correct thing by shooting him. Well, he certainly is the expert, not me.....

[Maggot]

I understand why they had to kill him because it's a 400 lb. gorilla that could have killed the boy without even meaning too, but it still sucks. It's hard to say what I'd do in that situation if I were the mother, the first thing would be not to let him fall in there in the first place, but if it did happen I think I'd jump in there after my child to distract the gorilla from him.

I was just telling the professor that that's exactly what I would have done. A 400 lbs Gorilla is nothing to mess with. Have you ever seen one of those things move? A tranquilizer would take at least 2 min to take effect and it only takes it 10 seconds to thrash a kid dead. The parents should be the ones being chastised not the zookeepers that shot him.

[HairOfTheDog]

Me too -- I would have been inside that enclave after my kid without a second thought. I don't know if the boy's mother's instincts were the same as ours.

But, according to the last CNN report, the little boy had to put some effort into squeezing through the bars and no adult could have fit.

The report also indicated that the kid was fine and playing by the water for a minute. He didn't respond to screams for him to come back, which is when Harambe scooped him up.

[Donovan]

If we lock up animals for our own amusement in order to go and gawk at them, tragedies like this are kind of our fault. The hubris of thinking we are immune to nature's laws. That a wild animal won't snap and eat us if we pet it, give it names, pretend it's our kid, make it do tricks in a water tank, or simply throw it in a cage and parade past it for hours and days and weeks and years.

[sally]

I'm ok with the ones being rescued and trying to breed them to stop extinction which I think is happening with a lot of the gorillas. I don't know how true it is but I also read that gorillas do not kill for fun or sport like chimps. A chimp will rip your face off and shit on it for pleasure, you're way better off falling in the gorilla cage.

[aussiefriend]

Look shit happens at zoo's. I watched the movie Zookeeper and it was very educational. The gorilla was the smartest one in the movie.

[sally]

shit doesn't happen unless you're not here legally, Diazs. Oryg time on Fox Mattress

[Duchess]

I'm so disgusted by this story and I'm saddened that this beautiful gorilla had to be killed because of stupidity. I'm glad the kid is fine but that's the extent of it. I just read the family has asked for privacy, I hope they don't get it. I don't care if they are harassed by people who think as I do. I want them to pay for their carelessness, it's their fault this happened, I don't blame the kid, I know you can't take your eyes off a little one for a nano second and that's exactly what the adult/s did, they weren't paying attention to their child. I care more for the animal than I do those stupid humans.

[HairOfTheDog]

shit doesn't happen unless you're not here legally, Diazs. Oryg time on Fox Mattress

You took the words right outta my mouth.

[Duchess]

Awesome. You can give me a translation then.

[HairOfTheDog]

I'm so disgusted by this story and I'm saddened that this beautiful gorilla had to be killed because of stupidity. I'm glad the kid is fine but that's the extent of it. I just read the family has asked for privacy, I hope they don't get it. I don't care if they are harassed by people who think as I do. I want them to pay for their carelessness, it's their fault this happened, I don't blame the kid, I know you can't take your eyes off a little one for a nano second and that's exactly what the adult/s did, they weren't paying attention to their child. I care more for the animal than I do those stupid humans.

I understand the anger, but I sure hope people keep their heads on their shoulders and don't threaten or stalk the parents (I know you wouldn't do that, but I fear some people will).

The kid should have been watched, no doubt. He didn't accidentally just "fall" in. That's not physically possible. He said he wanted to go in the water, he was told 'no', he had no eyes on him for a bit, and he put forth effort to get inside the enclave.

But, there also shouldn't have been any possibility for a kid to squeeze through the barrier. I'm sure that gap is being closed now.

I feel so sorry for the zoo staff who loved Harambe and had to take precautionary lethal action against him.

P.S. If the parents end up trying to sue the zoo or something like that, I'll really be pissed. Hopefully, they won't try to profit from their own inattention and capitalize on the tragedy.

[Duchess]

(I know you wouldn't do that, but I fear some people will).

Thanks for understanding that. I'm a barker, not a biter.

[sally]

Awesome. You can give me a translation then.

I don't know what it means either, but since it was directed at Aussie I don't feel bad.