Endangered Gorilla shot to protect young boy

[black booty lover]

it makes my stomach turn to know the Gorilla was killed, as others have mentioned it looked to me like the gorilla was almost trying to help the boy. I understand they couldn't take the chance, but it's just stomach turning to know that animal seemed to understand the boy needed help, and was trying provide some and still paid the ultimate price.

So sad.

 

[jsanchez]

 

[Insidious Von]

Agree 100 percent, but the kid should not have to pay with his life, for stupid adults.

Incorrect.

If that had been a male chimpanzee, the boy would have been torn apart the second he came close. Silverbacks are strong fathers, in the wild they never kill offsprings. Even after a younger silverback takes over the group.

This is a huge loss for the Cincinnati Zoo, killing a silverback is akin to setting fire to a Gauguin. Also silverback draw big, attendance will drop.

 

[jrobertson1]

A little context for those who think the gorilla was 'protecting' the boy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfuz7cTDNeI

Who knows, maybe this is how the gorilla's protect their young. I'm no animal expert.
The fact is the kid's life was definitely in serious danger.

That being said, after they shot the gorilla, they should have saved a bullet for the mother. Moron.

 

[black booty lover]

A little context for those who think the gorilla was 'protecting' the boy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfuz7cTDNeI

Who knows, maybe this is how the gorilla's protect their young. I'm no animal expert.
The fact is the kid's life was definitely in serious danger.

That being said, after they shot the gorilla, they should have saved a bullet for the mother. Moron.

Well that's the problem....

The gorilla doesn't comprehend how rough it's being and probably didn't understand he may have killed the kid. They had to do what they had to do, but it's just sad knowing the gorilla may have not meant any harm and still had to die.

 

[SkyRider]

Police said parents will not be charged. Hope the zoo can sue the parents civilly for damages.

Gorillas live 35 to 40 years in the wild. Zoo gorillas can live to 50 years or more.

 

[italianguy74]

Fuji is just trying to prove a point that all species must die for the sake of man kind.
This is another zoo that needs to be shut down for their incompetence. Lets put an endangered species in the open so if a human decides to make contact it automatically becomes a big game hunt trophy.

 

[italianguy74]

Well that's the problem....

The gorilla doesn't comprehend how rough it's being and probably didn't understand he may have killed the kid. They had to do what they had to do, but it's just sad knowing the gorilla may have not meant any harm and still had to die.

Thats what the zoo was thinking when they built an enclosure that could lead to that situation, but they thought what are the possibilities of someone doing the probable?
They failed to protect their animal from comon human stupidity.

 

[Promo]

Let's not forget the young child was able to get into the enclosure .... apparently quickly and easily. It's the Zoo's responsibility to make sure this cannot happen through initial design and on-going maintenance. I doubt the zoo will be suing the parents as the parents could easily counter-sue for Zoo for their negligence.

Sure, let's all blame the parents. Gotta ask, how many of you have young children? Even perfect parents could have looked away for 10-20 seconds. As much as we try, it's impossible to be eyes-on your child non-stop in the real world. As guests, we assume the Zoo had taken every precaution to secure the enclosure so the parents were probably relaxed and enjoying their environment.

This is a terrible situation, but I think the zoo did the right thing. They had procedures for such an event, that (I expect) were written and vetted by experts. They practiced and were prepared. I'm sure other experts will now be reviewing those procedures and this particular situation and all zoos will benefit from the findings. In the meantime, fix the friggin gorilla enclosure!

Fuji is just trying to prove a point that all species must die for the sake of man kind.
This is another zoo that needs to be shut down for their incompetence. .....

Nonsense! Fuji said nothing along those lines.

 

[Promo]

And the mother has the nerve to be all 'Mommy's right here' all throughout the video, bitch where were you while your child was climbing into the enclosure?

Are you being serious?

Once the situation was unfolding, what would you rather have Mom say? Scream and shout and thereby possibly scare the gorilla or raise its tension? I think Mom did amazing well under the circumstances by remaining calm and trying to keep her child calm. It may have saved his life. If only the other fools in the background could have stopped screaming MAYBE the gorilla would not have dragged the child around the water. Who knows maybe the end-result could have been different. Let's sue them! (sarcasm)

I propose an experiment for you. Go to a public location that's not too crowded and has lots of visual distraction. i.e. A local park, Toronto Zoo, McDonald's play area, the beach. Watch the parents of young kids. I'm sure the parents will be watching their kids, but I'll bet in a 15 minute span, they won't have eyes-on their child 5+ times for 10++ seconds. Watch 3-4 families and confirm the results. We're human and we're flawed. It only takes a few seconds if the child is active and curious for something to happen.

 

[lewd]

Fuji is just trying to prove a point that all species must die for the sake of man kind.
This is another zoo that needs to be shut down for their incompetence. Lets put an endangered species in the open so if a human decides to make contact it automatically becomes a big game hunt trophy.

The bigger question in all of this, might be the need for zoos to exist at all.
I can understand the need for animal sanctuaries but not zoos for the sake of entertainment and profit.

 

[Promo]

Thats what the zoo was thinking when they built an enclosure that could lead to that situation, but they thought what are the possibilities of someone doing the probable?

You poorly wrote your comments, but I believe I get the jist of your argument.

The Zoo obviously tried to build a secure and stimulating environment for both the gorilla and us humans. Therefore either through design or maintenance, they failed in their responsibility. Best to let the professional investigators decide if there was negligence involved. The zoo has been around for a while and from my google search has not had similar previous problems.

Just to be clear, I'm a believer that sh*t sometimes happens and there isn't always a need to chop someone's head off. It's possible the Zoo took every reasonable precaution and this is just a very unfortunate series of errors. Fix the problem and learn from it and don't start firing and suing.

They failed to protect their animal from comon human stupidity.

What common human stupidity are you referring to?

 

[SkyRider]

The bigger question in all of this, might be the need for zoos to exist at all.

In the case of gorillas, they generally live 10-15 or more years longer in zoos than in the wild. Of course, some people might argue better to live a shorter (and maybe riskier life) in the wild than a longer safer life in a zoo (unless of course when you are shot because a 4 year old kid landed inside your compound).

 

[Promo]

The bigger question in all of this, might be the need for zoos to exist at all.
I can understand the need for animal sanctuaries but not zoos for the sake of entertainment and profit.

I get your point, but may I suggest that Zoos are needed to raise public awareness that results in the money to pay for the sanctuaries and the staff to protect them.

TV is too impersonal. See the animals with your own eyes and we're more likely to demand our gov'ts provide protected lands and allow support for the dollars needed.

 

[IM469]

This is really sad. The clips I've seen show all show the silverback's body language, and he was definitely not acting like he was threatened by the boy. If anything, he hears the screaming and shouting, and perceives THAT as a threat to the boy. Hence the gentle prodding (well, as gentle as a male gorilla would be with his own kind) and sheltering the boy away from onlookers. And the zookeepers know this.

Unfortunately, the zookeepers know that having taken protective custody of the boy, the silverback wouldn't likely give him up or move away without a fight. And so, the silverback dies.

I saw nothing that suggested anything indicating harm to the boy either. The problem is how to get the kid separated from the gorilla who probably surmises the kid was abandoned. I would have hoped the gorilla could be tranquillized but it's reaction to the darts before loosing consciousness could be dangerously unpredictable.

Bottom line - the gorilla was probably shot simply because he cared.

 

[lakeboy1]

Amazing! I had no idea how educated TERB members were on the thought process of a gorilla. I can't figure out what the person standing next to me in line at the supermarket is thinking and were both humans!

 

[italianguy74]

What common human stupidity are you referring to?

Climbing into an animals enclosure at the zoo is common stupid behavior.
I can draw you a diagram if you want. lol

 

[doggystyle99]

Wrong decision. They should have shot the parents. I will wager the parents placed the boy in a place where he has able to fall into the exhibit. I don't buy the story in the video that the kid crawled there. He was just 4 years old. If he did actually crawl into the exhibit then I would imagine that took some time. Where where the parents that whole time? But I still say when all the details are known it is going to turn out the parents placed the kid up on a rail where he could get a better view of the gorilla.

and I didn't see any "dragging" in the videos I saw. What I saw was a wild animal trying to care for a small human the the best he can. If it weren't for all of the idiots handing over the exhibit and screaming the kid could have spent the afternoon in there.

You obviously didn't look hard enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfuz7cTDNeI

It should have never happened in the first place. I heard that the kid told mom he wanted to go into the water. That should have been a signal right there. Chances are she was too freaking busy posting about the experience on Facebook.

I hope someone checks her cell phone records.

This is really sad. The clips I've seen show all show the silverback's body language, and he was definitely not acting like he was threatened by the boy. If anything, he hears the screaming and shouting, and perceives THAT as a threat to the boy. Hence the gentle prodding (well, as gentle as a male gorilla would be with his own kind) and sheltering the boy away from onlookers. And the zookeepers know this.

Unfortunately, the zookeepers know that having taken protective custody of the boy, the silverback wouldn't likely give him up or move away without a fight. And so, the silverback dies.

Right decision. But really really sad.

What's worst is that the age of social media, now and into the future, there's zero chance that little boy will not know of his part in the destruction of such a magnificent creature; now, and as he gets older.

This one is on the parents. And I hope the zoo sues them for the cost of any improvements to that enclosure while it exists in order to have more secure separation between people and the remaining gorillas.

+1
Couldn't have said it better.
Had that silverback been agressive or felt threatened by the boy's presence, this would've turned ugly in a few short seconds.

You all might want to watch this video to see that the gorilla was actually dragging the kid in the water which at some point he was under the water potentially leading to the kid drowning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfuz7cTDNeI

 

[Promo]

Climbing into an animals enclosure at the zoo is common stupid behavior.
I can draw you a diagram if you want. lol

The child is 3 YEARS OLD. Did you listen to any of the videos or read anything about this incident?

Yes, please draw me a diagram. Put yourself in the center.

 

[LeeHelm]

You obviously didn't look hard enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfuz7cTDNeI







You all might want to watch this video to see that the gorilla was actually dragging the kid in the water which at some point he was under the water potentially leading to the kid drowning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfuz7cTDNeI

The kid should have never gotten in the enclosure in the first place. It had been reported that the kid told mom he wanted to go into the water. This should have been a red flag for mom to not take her eyes off of the kid for a second. But Facebook was probably far more important than watching over the kid.

Amazing they already decided not to press charges before they completed the investigation. Check her cell phone records, that is easy. Bet they will find she had her face in the phone when she should have been watching the kid. Same goes for Dad. Hard to believe that two adults can't keep their eyes on on 3/4 year old. Forget about the the animals in the exhibit, there are animals in the crowd that prey on little kids in places like this. They have caught people that snatched up kids, and they had already changed clothes and hair color of the kid.

Sadly shooting the gorilla was the right call. The zoo could be partially at fault but certainly the parents are at fault.

And the gorilla was not treating the child any differently than any of his own children. That kid would have been ground meat if the gorilla decided to get aggressive.