Was The Cincinnati Zoo Justified In Its Actions?

By Victoria Robertson on June 6, 2016

It seems as if everyone in the country has heard about the death of the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla, and everyone has their own opinion to match the story.

However, whether you think the shooting was warranted or not, a reputation hangs in the balance. And whichever way you slice it, there were human lives at stake, whether their own fault or not, so the situation called for more serious measures, whether considered humane or not.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, a young boy found himself in the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, and quickly learned why it was so difficult to get in. Many blame the mother, claiming the child is too young to know any better, some blame the child anyway and others blame the gorilla for being too violent with the boy.

Of course, the media only tells one side of the story; we don’t know for sure what led the mother and child to this situation. Most likely, the mother wasn’t watching her son (at all, as there were many obstacles to maneuver to get into the enclosure) and he found himself at the feet of a gorilla. But regardless of the events leading up to the incident, the outcome didn’t leave much room for error.

Social media has been filled with hate posts demeaning the boy’s mother and outrage at the death of an innocent animal at the hands of the zoo, but it’s important to take a step back, set aside the anger, and think realistically.

Experts and activists alike find themselves siding with the zoo on this issue, and it’s only fair to hear that side of the story.

For one thing, zoos have protocols in place for life-threatening events such as these (no, this is not the first time this has happened).

The zoo could either tranquilize the gorilla, or use deadly force. These are the only two, safe options that result in no more guests or workers getting hurt.

According to Ed Hansen, the CEO of the American Association of Zoo Keepers:

“The tranquilizer possibly could have worked, but the key term there is ‘possibly.’ And if you were to fire a dart at an animal, he could react violently to the first opportunity that presents itself and that would have been that small child. Unfortunately for the gorilla, the only really positive way to ensure the safety of the child was to dispatch the lethal force.”

The gorilla, a 17-year-old, 450-pound western lowland male gorilla named Harambe, without a doubt didn’t deserve to die. However, the unfortunate series of events, no matter the cause, left zoo personnel no choice but to do whatever necessary to ensure that young boy’s safety.

Because tranquilizers can take up to 30 minutes to become effective and it was unclear whether or not shooting the gorilla with a dart would anger it, this wasn’t an option. It jeopardized that little boy, and that wasn’t going to work.

And the zoo didn’t stop the attempt to save Harambe there, either. The Dangerous Animal Response Team actually attempted to coax him out of the enclosure, but this only worked on the enclosure’s females.

When this ultimately didn’t work and the boy continued to be manhandled by the large gorilla without any other feasible means of rescue, the zoo felt they had no choice but to use deadly force.

And in the midst of the hate posts and news reports, the Cincinnati Zoo has actually gotten some support as well from a few activists and patrons that understand the predicament.

A heartfelt message from Jeff Corwin, famed nature show personality, stressed the importance of watching your children at the zoo and the deadly repercussions if you don’t.

Even more frustration, Harambe was one of only 175,000 western lowland gorillas worldwide.

The frustration, however, quickly turned into aggression as a petition titled, “Justice for Harambe” received more than 330,000 signatures in one day in an attempt to hold the boy’s parents responsible in a criminal sense for the death of the gorilla.

The boy, briefly hospitalized and now recovering at home, doesn’t know the gravity of his mistake, but his parents might know soon enough, as police are currently investigating whether or not there are grounds for criminal charges.

But again, this isn’t the only time this has happened. It happened in England in 1986 when a 5-year-old fell into an enclosure and was saved by workers; in 1996 at Brookfield Zoo when a 3-year-old girl fell in and was brought to workers by a female gorilla; and in April of this year when a zoo keeper was attacked by an animal and the zoo was able to tranquilize the animal, though the woman died of her injuries after being evacuated.

This has happened many times, and with varying results. The truth is, all situations are different, so there isn’t a set protocol that would work in any given situation; there’s guidelines and a lot of room for judgment.

Of course, PETA also criticized the zoo for the lack of barriers allowing the boy to enter the enclosure as well as the fact that these animals shouldn’t even be locked up, outside of their natural habitat.

These are both valid points, and perhaps ones that will be addressed in the near future. It’s time that accidents like these stop happening, and maybe it took the death of one innocent animal to save the lives of hundreds of others.

According to PETA, “Even under the ‘best’ circumstances, captivity is never acceptable for gorillas or other primates, and in cases like this, it’s even deadly. This tragedy is exactly why PETA urges families to stay away from any facility that displays animals as sideshows for humans to gawk at.”

Until there’s some sort of change, perhaps this isn’t bad advice.

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