An endangered gorilla named Harambe was shot dead by a group of zookeepers at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens in order to protect a 3-year-old child who fell into the exhibit enclosure.
After this incident, many people are lashing out on social media about the detrimental consequences of zoos and the failure of the mother’s responsibility to supervise her child. I also believe this is where the blame lies.
The Cincinnati Police are now investigating the boy’s family.
Harambe was a silverback gorilla that weighed 450 pounds. The child’s life was in danger. Animal experts agree the only way to ensure the safety of the child was to immediately kill Harambe.
Some say a dart gun could have done the job, but this would have left Harambe in a confused and upset state for more than 10 minutes for the tranquilizer to set in.
A lot can happen in 10 minutes. The child’s skull could easily have been squished if Harambe was agitated.
That being said, the reason why so many are up in arms is because the video that was released depicted the gorilla as an amicable protector of the child, coddling him from the screams of onlookers, one of which was his own mother.
At one point, the gorilla and the child are seen touching hands.
Gorillas are herbivores. Unless the child were to start attacking the gorilla, I’d have reason to believe he could have made it out there, sans the shooting of Harambe.
But no matter how unsettling the outcome, I am no expert. I’m not blaming the zookeepers for killing a gorilla because they saved a child’s life. It’s valiant to put an end to an endangered life that you have been nurturing.
Zoos are difficult to morally justify. They’re unnatural and, as shown in this case, detrimental to the livelihood of many species.
It’s the same thing as having a pet fish. One bowl of water and a plastic seaweed plant doesn’t equate to an entire ocean, lake or pond.
The zoo is no place for wild animals. Sure, rehabilitation efforts to get sick or injured animals up and running again are a great thing. But putting a perfectly healthy organism in a cage is wrong.
Humans shouldn’t be commodifying animals as a spectacle. If you want to witness a lion in its natural habitat, then save up funds to go on a safari.
This spectacle, combined with one negligent parent lead to the death of an innocent gorilla.
As a kid, I remember getting lost in the grocery store, aisles upon aisles of foodstuffs careening above me. My mom would eventually find me in the shredded cheese aisle with my hands full of bacon, cookies and whipped cream.
Kids are errant beings that, quite frankly, don’t know what they’re doing most of the time. That’s why parents need to watch their kids at all times.
I’m not a big proponent of helicopter parenting, probably because I’m only 21 years old. But in an instance like this, I wish someone had told the child not to sneak around the barrier and go tumbling 15 feet down into the gorilla’s moat.
jlkarl@umail.iu.edu
@jkarl26
