Did The Zoo Officials Make The Correct Decision To Kill The Gorilla?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cincinnati-zoo-critics-blame-parents-of-boy-as-anger-mounts-over-shooting-dead-of-gorilla-a7055796.html

Many have said that they didn't, but what was the alternative?

On a radio phone-in this morning, one person was foolish enough to suggest that the parents of the child staged this, so that they could obtain video footage to later sell to the media and put on youtube.

[CrapAtCryptics]

i believe they only waited 10 minutes before shooting the poor creature. We didnt see all the video but the bits we did didnt look to show the child at immediate threat. Surely its keeper should have good enough rapport to swap the child for its favourite snack. A sad day.

[gness]

I have watched a number of videos now....the gorilla shows no signs of the known displays of aggression...but I'll accept that may have happened and not videod...I think.

But I do know that had I been the mother not looking after that child I wouldn't be standing at the top shouting...Mommy loves you....
I would have been in there, somehow, come what may.

And I certainly wouldn't now be thanking the Lord for saving my child...if there was a God he wouldn't have blessed her with a child.....

[Prudie]

Exactly gness, I had no idea there was all that time when they were just sitting there and it's changed my mind, in an emergency like that several spur of the moment actions could have been taken even if foolhardy. Shooting the gorilla is not one of them.

[gness]

Prudie.....I am cynical enough, on this occasion, to be thinking that if the compound wasn't truly secure enough....that this could be proved and the child was hurt...the parents could have sued the zoo for who knows how much.....

And something is telling me that the gorilla rushed the child through the water away from the shouting and panic above them.

[jourdain2]

I would like an opinion from, say, David Attenborough or equivalent expert on gorillas. La Vallee des Singes, near where I lived had gorillas roaming freely without demonstrating aggression towards humans ( a shallow, narrowish moat was all there was between us). I can't see any signs of that gorilla behaving aggressively, poor animal - he may even have been trying to care for an infant.

Agree with gness about mother's behaviour and think it is all very strange. Would, as I say, like an expert's opinion. At the moment, my sympathies lean towards the gorilla.

[hc4361]

jourdain, did you see the gorilla dragging the child through the water, twice?

[237SJ]

Forgive me if this has been mentioned before (I haven`t read all of the answers) but it doesn`t really matter if the gorilla was being gentle or agressive with the child. The fact is that this took place in water - the kid could easily have been drowned. The powers that be had no choice but to shoot the gorilla, unfortunately.

[Jackdaw33]

Despite the right and wrongs of it the life of a human being must take priority over that of an animal.

[Ken4155]

gness; sorry, the gorilla did not 'rush the child through the water'. It dragged him through the water. Twice! Yes, granted, the poor unfortunate beast was agitated by the screaming crowd above and may well have been trying to protect the lad, but would you have taken that chance had it been your call? I certainly would not and, imho, shooting it dead was the only solution, for reasons that have already been stated on these pages.

[hc4361]

We can't rely on on zoo animals to react in the same way as they would in their natural habitat. A 33 year old female gorilla was killed by a younger silverback in a zoo in Australia only last year, quite deliberately and with a lot of aggression.
We think of them as gentle creatures that enjoy cuddling up to David Attenborough and posing for Dian Fossey and most of them are, most of the time. Put something different, suddenly, in their environment and nobody can guarantee the outcome.

[Jackdaw33]

If the child had been killed the zookeepers would have been blamed for not acting quickly enough. It's a lose - lose situation for them.

[bodeker]

NO

[237SJ]

I would like to know how much experience people on AB have when it comes to working in a zoo and how much experience they have of wild animals. It seems interesting that they seem to know more than the zoo officials when it comes to their job. Still, each to their own.

[Bertrum]

A number of animal experts have defended the zoos decision including a famed animal zookeeper and director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo said "I can tell you now, that there's no doubt in my mind the child would not be here today if they hadn't made the decision," Hanna said.

[gness]

Rush....drag......I can't see the difference and it matters not.....

Bertrum.....had Jambo been shot I'm sure the experts would have said the same.

[Mamyalynne]

It's difficult to compare cases , Jambo acted differently and whilst showing concern for the boy, he went away when the child cried allowing a rescue.

In this case the Gorilla was still protective but in a more possessive way, I am presuming the Zoo officials made the only decision they could knowing their charge better than we do, heartbreaking though it is.


Would that every such incident ended as the one in Jersey did 30 years ago.

[Lynn_M]

What the world wants to know now is how a 4-year-old child was able to enter a gorilla enclosure. Have the media shown how this happened, or have they kept quiet about it? Shhhhhhhhh!

I hope the parents of the child sue the *** off the zoo

[Jackdaw33]

If the child had got into a lion or tiger's den there would have been no debate, so why is it so with a gorilla?

[Cloverjo]

Zoo workers have guns precisely for situations like this. They made the right decision. The life of a human child should take precedence over that of a gorilla. It's sad that the gorilla lost its life, but it would have been so much worse if the boy had.

[gness]

The child entered the enclosure because he wasn't looked after by his parents......I'd like the zoo to sue the parents......

And to be honest...I'm not sure we ...the human race....deserve to be more important than a gorilla.....x