Boy falls into gorilla exhibit at Cincinnati Zoo
By The Horse
@TheHorse (219316)
Walnut Creek, California
May 30, 2016 12:47pm CST
By now, you've probably heard about the boy who climbed through a fence and fell into the gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo yesterday.
A 450 lb male gorilla "rescued" the boy and was alternately kind and gentle with him, and then rough with him, dragging him too fast through a man-made stream in the exhibit.
Authorities ultimately shot and killed the gorilla, and rescued the boy.
Of course, there are many questions. Are there other courses of action the authorities could have taken? I wonder if a tranquilizer gun would have worked, or might it have enraged the gorilla. Could the gorilla have been distracted with food? Would he have shared it with the boy? Or moved away from the boy to eat it?
Of course, the fence will be changed. No toddler should be able to climb through a fence and into an exhibit. Protesters will probably protest the killing, and I'm sure there are lawyers out there drooling away.
What would you have done, had you been there? Did authorities take the right course of action?
Here's the story:
A visitor who recorded the moments after a 3-year-old boy fell into the gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo said that the ape appeared to be gentle.
21 people like this
15 responses
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
31 May 16
Who is responsible for this? The zoo. It really doesn't matter if the mother was watching the child well or not. The point is that legally, the zoo is responsible. They collect animals, some dangerous. They put those animals in enclosures and invite the public onto the property to view them. They have the highest duty of care to protect those visitors from the animals. No 4 year old, supervised or unsupervised, should be able to gain entry to a gorilla enclosure. They killed a gorilla. It's a shame, but it's the zoo's fault. Meanwhile, if I were the mother, I would be in hiding because the entire world via social media is gathering pitchforks and torches to come after her, screaming for blood. I honestly think the world has gone mad.
5 people like this
@marguicha (223430)
• Chile
31 May 16
I disagree in part. Although I agree that the zoo did not have the animals safely placed, the mother was completly STUPID and uncaring. Who would let a 3 year old wander alone anywhere?
1 person likes this
@Lolaze (5093)
• St. Louis, Missouri
30 May 16
I blame the zoo. The fact that kid was able to get into the enclosure shows negligence on their part. I can't blame them for killing the animal, although its sad...they had to save the kid. I'm hearing conflicting reports now about what the parents were doing at the time but IF they were on their phones when the kid climbed in they need to have child protective services called on them.
4 people like this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
31 May 16
@ElizabethWallace There would be an equal number of people rising up to condemn the mother if she had the child on a harness. Bottom line, no 4-year-old should be able to defeat a security barrier on a gorilla enclosure, no matter how neglectful his mother might be. Zoo is negligent.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
31 May 16
@TheHorse When someone is in a dangerous place with small children, there needs to be at least an equal number of adults to kids (unless they are on leashes).
2 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
30 May 16
That's sad they had to kill the gorilla. They couldn't temporarily harm the gorilla only? But it's for the best interest to rescue the little boy as time was ticking. I don't think they have a protocol in case this happens.
2 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
30 May 16
@TheHorse oh maybe but I guess it doesn't happen often to remember. I wonder if it's enforced yearly.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (219316)
• Walnut Creek, California
30 May 16
@infatuatedbby I'd imagine all of the zoo keepers receive some kind of training about what to do in such a situation. Not sure how often, though.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
31 May 16
I think there is plenty of blame to go around on this one. But, even if the mother was negligent (and I am not saying that she was) there should not be a way for a 4 year old to fall into the enclosure, period.
2 people like this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
1 Jun 16
@TheHorse Yah I seem to meet up with that 50% everywhere I go!! lol
@garymarsh6 (23405)
• United Kingdom
30 May 16
There are great hysterical debates going on about the outrage of the zoo killing the Gorilla and absolute condemnation towards the mother. The tranquilliser dart would take time to take effect which may anger him and he may well have lashed out at the boy or tried to drag him off up a tree or something. They had no option to shoot. Had they not shot him and the boy got hurt these same people would be screaming why was the gorilla not shot to save the boy.
Either way it was a sad situation but it is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. Hopefully once the full investigation is over then we may really know what happened. It only takes a few seconds for a kid to get up to mischief.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (219316)
• Walnut Creek, California
1 Jun 16
@ElizabethWallace Did the tiger continue to maul her in the time it took for the tranquilizer to take effect?
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
2 Jun 16
@TheHorse I don't know, but she continued to bleed and went into shock.
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
31 May 16
I have a different take on this and other such cases than most people. I think that when people get into trouble (lost in the mountains, falling into a gorilla exhibit), then they should be fined the cost of helping them (or killing the gorilla), if they did not take reasonable precautions.
In the case of getting lost, did they tell someone, take a charged cell phone, mirror or whistle? In the case of a child falling into a zoo exhibit, did the parents take reasonable precautions, or did they let the child get out of their sight?
I believe the zoo did the right thing in this case, although I think the gorilla would not have hurt the child. He was mostly gentle with him, but then did drag the little boy through the water, like he might have his own child. The zoo officials had no choice. But I hate that it came to this.
3 people like this
@crossbones27 (49528)
• Mojave, California
30 May 16
This is like the third or 4th recent story I have heard about something like this. A tiger and a lion was shot and killed for similar things. Maybe Zoos need to rebuild their enclosures or maybe we should get rid of zoos all together and just build sanctuaries for these animals. Not that is going to stop stupid people, but maybe the animals would not be in so close of contact with people.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (49528)
• Mojave, California
30 May 16
@TheHorse True, money wins every time. People just need to evolve more and do not see that happening anytime soon either.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
31 May 16
I feel bad about this one,from what I read I do think if he injured the kid it was by accident, he was trying to save it I think. but I want to know HOW a kid did that, I mean the zoos I have been at have way more than bars, so you gotta wonder.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
1 Jun 16
@TheHorse I am just surprised the fence was such he could do that you know
@JESSY3236 (19992)
• United States
31 May 16
I think with wild animals anything could have happened so maybe shooting it was the best thing.
1 person likes this
@sathviksouvik (19537)
•
1 Jun 16
Thanks for the share. I think a tranquilizer should have been used.
1 person likes this
@precious4011 (294)
• Nigeria
30 May 16
I think what they did is right, no body knows what would have be the next reaction of the gorilla.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
30 May 16
Shoot the parents who were too busy with their iPhone's to watch their kid.
Just kidding, but they do need to do some time.
1 person likes this
