Folks are outraged that the gorilla had to be killed to save a kid whose parents, inexplicably, allowed the little crumb- snatcher to fall into the cage with the king of the apes.
I must admit that I have watched the video a few times, and I cannot see where the gorilla was
doing anything more than trying to protect the child in its own crude way.
Now of course I get it, Harambe (the gorilla's name) weighs over 450 pounds, and he could have taken off the three year old child's hands just by tugging on him. But did the zoo have to kill the poor fella? That is the question that most Americans are asking. And the mother of the child (who is going to recover) now finds herself having to defend herself from all kinds of hateration. The zoo also finds itself in a position where it has to defend itself for killing Harambe.
"Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard said he stands by the decision to kill 17-year-old silverback Harambe to save the child. The boy went under a rail, through wires and over a moat wall to get into the enclosure, according to the zoo. Footage shot by a witness shows Harambe dragging the child through the water as the clamor of the crowd grows louder.
Zookeepers shot the 450-pound gorilla with a rifle, rather than tranquilizing him. The brief encounter sparked widespread Internet outrage over the decision to shoot Harambe and whether the child's parents were to blame for failing to look after him.
But those second-guessing the call "don't understand silverback gorillas," Maynard said in a news conference. And, they were not there when it was time to make the crucial decision.
"That child's life was in danger. People who question that don't understand you can't take a risk with a silverback gorilla -- this is a dangerous animal," he said. "Looking back, we'd make the same decision. The child is safe."
All this love and concern for a caged animal that probably shouldn't have been in a cage for the entertainment of humans in the first place.
You can probably tell from the tone of my post that I am not a fan of zoos.
I just don't think it's cool to capture animals from their natural habitat and stick them somewhere like a zoo so that dumb humans can pay money to play Tarzan King of The Apes.
Aquariums are not cool, either. I am quite sure that whales and dolphins are just as pissed at the thought of having to perform tricks for humans while in captivity. And every now and then they let us humans know just how pissed off they are as well.
But back to poor Harambe, whose life came to an end after 17 years because this parent, Michele Gregg, was not paying attention to her child.
Here is a thought: if you are going to take your child to somewhere like a zoo, you might want to keep your eyes on that little sucker at all times.
"As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids,” a woman named Michelle Gregg wrote in a Facebook post reported by People. In the post, which the magazine said has since been deleted, Gregg identified herself as the mother of the toddler.
“Accidents happen but I am thankful that the right people were in the right place today. Thank you to everyone that helped me and my son today and most importantly God for being the awsome (sic) God that He is,” Gregg wrote."
I don't think that you should be thanking "God" Ms Gregg. Harambe was one of his/her creatures as well.
*Pic from cincinnati.com
45 comments:
This is a tragedy. A poor, innocent gorilla had to die to save a black child.
There are millions of ugly black children running around, but precious few gorillas. What a waste.
SMH, TBH
Man, you a fuckin racists. Why do you hate black people so much? Gorilla's ugly as hell anyway.
Fuck whote people.
Snoop Dog doesn't want to see the new "Roots":
“They going to just to keep beating that shit into our heads about how they did us, huh?”
Yo, bruh, you think white people like to keep being beat with that shit?
Gee, I wonder if there’s some big event that’s going to be happening later this year that’s giving certain people the incentive to hype black people up on historical racism porn.
Snoop even alluded to the concept of historical racism porn:
Snoop said he has no interest in new shows and movies — specifically mentioning 12 Years a Slave — that “keep showing the abuse we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”
Hmm, 12 Years a Django Skin Game. Seems like these things always seem to be peddled during even numbered years.
Well it's too damn late for the gorilla now, so there's not much use in demonizing the mother, but she will have to live with it the rest of her life, and hopefully folks don't let her forget it anytime soon.
It reminds me a little of the tiger that escaped the SF zoo after some kids tormented it and it got one of them before they shot it. Frankly, I was rooting for the tiger.
Gorillas are strong, but not usually violent unless challenged. Maybe I wouldn't want to trust my kid's life to that kind of chance, but that's one of the reasons I never wanted any kids in the first place. I wish they hadn't shot it, myself, but I see how they didn't want to risk the lawsuits they were afraid would come if they did anything less. Zoos really suck, if you ask me.
-Doug in Oakland
I am very sorry they had to shoot the ape.
I'm not certain they had a choice. If he had killed the kid, they would have been crucified for letting it happen.
I hate zoos too!!!
But the thing is that everybody is right! The parents deserve the hate for not keeping a close eye on the child! The zoo def should have stricter security measures in place.
And I'll tell you something, I remember when I took my kids to the zoo here, I swear if the tigers took a running leap they could have crossed the tiny moat and landed outside! I was petrified, got away from there as fast as I could!!!
But the thing is that when an animal is shot with a tranquilizer dart it doesn't drop immediately. It's initial reaction is usually a violent one before it starts succumbing to the tranquilizer, and so in those moments it could have unwittingly hurt the child. So it was really the only safe action to take.
A wild animal is a wild animal with different survival instincts and there are soo many cases where they have turned on their owners, even after living together for many years, as in the case of chimps and large cats which people have been known to keep in close proximity in their homes since birth, treated as children and eventually been attacked.
I think zoos are prisons for animals! A disgrace and should be abolished entirely! As well as those sea creature shows where those poor whales are kept in inhumane conditions suffering!!!
If people want to see animals, they should go to where they are! Or watch a film and meanwhile save your money and go see them in their habitat!!!
I hope Trump puts and end to zoos and whale shows too!:)
As a matter of fact I'm writing an email to his people right now on that little issue! xD
There isn't a "Hape" here.
Parents being stupid? Yeah.
I cum so fucking hard every time I watch that Scotsman whip Kunta Kinte ... "YOUR NAME IS TOBY (whish!) ... SAY IT .... YOUR NAME IS TOBY (whish!) ..."
I can't wait for the new version. I hope they whip Kunta gooooood.
@ Lilac -
All negroes are scared of animals, so I'm not surprised you're scared of zoos. Y'all run away from little 5-lb. dogs like little bitches, LOL.
I'm not surprised that a kid could get away from his parents and get into trouble. It's not really possible to watch them every second, and it doesn't take long to do what this kid did.
I am surprised, though, that the barriers to the ape areas aren't "toddlerproof." Kids are the prime visitors to zoos, so the zoo management had to have anticipated toddlers trying to break into the animal areas. If a little guy could squeeze between the bars, then it can't have been a very secure design.
He's lucky he decided to climb into the gorilla pen, too. Gorillas are usually gentle animals. Though extremely strong and physically capable of ripping a human apart, they're just not that likely to become violent when confronted by an nonthreatening little kid. Killing the poor ape was just an unfortunate precaution the zookeepers felt they had to take.
If the kid had climbed into the tiger pen instead, he'd have been lunch.
Anonymous said...
@ Lilac -
All negroes are scared of animals, so I'm not surprised you're scared of zoos. Y'all run away from little 5-lb. dogs like little bitches, LOL.
1:18 AM
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You just want me to talk to you about my 2 man-killer dogs! Well...I'm not going to! :)
But a 5 lb.Chihuahua? You betcha!!! Those things are vicious!
Also MOT, I think parents should instill in their children that wild animals are not to be messed with. Put the fear of God into them. But then again I think he was just 2 or 3 years old wasn't he? Wouldn't have understood anyway. But the older ones though.
Even a healthy strong muscular dog can be unmanageable to a grown man. Animals are very,very strong.
Good morning survived vigorously carry out activities? We will wait for another dish that is very useful.
A vigorous dish? Try flambasted fish! Out through the snatch of Lillian Gish!
I wish!
There are millions of ugly black children running around, but precious few gorillas. What a waste.
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There are also millions of dumb assed white guys guys like you running around. Maybe we can treat you like the silverback?
#JusticeForHarambe
#ApeLivesMatter
"But then again I think he was just 2 or 3 years old wasn't he? Wouldn't have understood anyway. But the older ones though."
He's four.
This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. In 1986, a kid climbed/fell into the gorilla pen at a British zoo. And in 1996, another kid climbed/fell into the gorilla pen at a Chicago zoo.
In both cases, the apes behaved protectively toward the children. Neither ape had to be killed in those cases.
"He's four."
Sorry, now I see this version of the story said three. I've seen the boy's age both ways, so I'm not sure which is right. Anyhow, a little kid.
The kid was retarded, had parents like a bad bowel movement...so what?
Personally, I blame the parents for getting the ape killed.
The Ministry of Truth said...
"He's four."
Sorry, now I see this version of the story said three. I've seen the boy's age both ways, so I'm not sure which is right. Anyhow, a little kid.
3:10 AM
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:) yeah I saw three also. But either way, I feel we as parents/caretakers of the children have got to be vigilant in every way in every situation. Lord knows it's not easy but...
Just a couple questions blog master field-
Field, why didn't you mention your fellow social justice warriors blaming white people and they privilege for the blah tot falling and the ape being killed?
Would these white liberal hearts bleed so much if it was a blah man killed in order to protect a blah tot who broke in front of him at a all you can eat buffet?
The better zoos and Aquariums serve important research functions. They're not like circuses. That ape was safer in Cincinnati than in Africa. Unless that kid is an X-Man, the fault here lies in the parent.
"Field, why didn't you mention your fellow social justice warriors blaming white people and they privilege for the blah tot falling and the ape being killed?"
C'mon, seriously? Yes, there are SJWs who are over the top with their racism/sexism chasing. But in this situation? You're talking about a handful of nitwits on social media who have made this argument, to the amusement of the dickhead bloggers on Breitbart and similar places. You can always find a handful of people with idiotic opinions about any given event.
No one reputable is claiming that "black toddler versus wild animal" is somehow a racism issue.
"The better zoos and Aquariums serve important research functions. They're not like circuses. That ape was safer in Cincinnati than in Africa. Unless that kid is an X-Man, the fault here lies in the parent."
It's true that zoos aren't only for entertainment purposes.
Harambe was a member of an endangered species. In central Africa where lowland gorillas live, humans are destroying their native habitat to grow crops, and these gorillas have poor fertility to begin with, so they can't tolerate much of a shock to their way of life. Keeping them in zoos might be one of the only ways to stop them from being wiped out.
"Field, why didn't you mention your fellow social justice warriors blaming white people and they privilege for the blah tot falling and the ape being killed?"
------
Why should he, an asshole like yourself will do it within the first few posts. Dumbass.
The Ministry of Truth said...
Harambe was a member of an endangered species. In central Africa where lowland gorillas live, humans are destroying their native habitat to grow crops, and these gorillas have poor fertility to begin with, so they can't tolerate much of a shock to their way of life. Keeping them in zoos might be one of the only ways to stop them from being wiped out.
1:12 PM
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Ya know...I hear this feeble argument all the time to justify keeping animals in cages for public viewing! It's getting so old really! They really should come up with something better!
One or two or a dozen? That they have to fertilize artificially because the natural stimulants, foods, conditions are not available to these animals in that caged environment? and that the majority of times the pregnancies are lost,and they are bred over and over continually with all sorts of injected hormones before one single baby may be born? Puhleeeze! I certainly do not like to visit zoos and I definitely do not like to see these animals wandering around aimlessly with nothing to do waiting to be fed with food that they probably don't even like!
Most of these animals face extinction not because of food shortages, but because of a high demand for their body parts in the western world, and so they are poached for money, and of course to be sold to zoos in 'civilized' countries! and how many are shipped and die before one strong example makes the trip?
How about the conditions of those poor Orca whales at Sea World, where they are kept in sea cages no bigger than their bodies where they bang themselves sore all night? I suppose that's also good for "breeding of endangered species"?
I do wish people would get more informed before they just repeated these assertions by rote as if they were the truth!
'It is better to remain silent and be thought the fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!' ;)
and please forgive the rant but it is a subject that is a sore topic with me!
"Most of these animals face extinction not because of food shortages, but because of a high demand for their body parts in the western world, and so they are poached for money, and of course to be sold to zoos in 'civilized' countries! and how many are shipped and die before one strong example makes the trip?"
Not quite right, Lilac.
Gorillas aren't going extinct because of their body parts, but because of habitat destruction. That's true for primates, and for a lot of other animals around the world.
However, some animals are threatened because of demand for their body parts, such as elephants being killed for ivory or rhinos for their horns. But the demand is coming from the Eastern world, not the Western one. Specifically, most of the market is in China, which is unable/unwilling to sufficiently crack down on the sellers of banned animal parts. A lot of this is because some animal parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine, and the problem is getting worse as China gets wealthier, because it means more people can afford to buy smuggled commodities.
The number of animals going to zoos is tiny.
I guess I should add that there is one area in which the Western world does contribute to global demand for animal consumption to the point of risking extinctions: fish.
Because we don't farm most fish, there's no way to increase supply to meet demand, and certain fish species could disappear if we don't stop eating so many of them.
All right MOT! They're going to the Eastern, the Western whatever! So the 'endangerment' is man made isn't it, and by the "civilized" world yet!
So I say let's not compound that by going to those countries cutting down their trees, and organizing for profit hunting safaris! Ever hear of those little junkets! Hunting safaris for cash? $ greenbacks $ moolah$ 'member the famous little lion incident last year? Not for nothing honey,but that wasn't the Chinese awright ;)
But okay, you get your facts straight from CNN so in your mind you must be right! Okay! Ignorance is bliss, but c'est la vie! xD
As for the fish thing, well I'm baking a coconut custard pie right now,my first ever, so I def am not even going there right now! :) but maybe later, if you're lucky :)
"So I say let's not compound that by going to those countries cutting down their trees, and organizing for profit hunting safaris! Ever hear of those little junkets! Hunting safaris for cash? $ greenbacks $ moolah$ 'member the famous little lion incident last year? Not for nothing honey,but that wasn't the Chinese awright ;)"
Yeah, hunting can be a conservation problem, but as long as sport hunters stay within the regulations, it shouldn't be a big deal. I don't honestly know what happened with that Cecil the Lion flap. It's not clear whether it was a true mistake, as that dentist and his guides claimed, or whether they intentionally broke the rules and killed an animal on protected land in a reserve.
But most of the animals that get killed illegally are taken by poachers looking to sell body parts. Sport hunters are a minor nuisance, as far as conservation is concerned.
@ MOT: Excuses,excuses! x*D
The zoo and Cincinnati are facing lawsuits and criminal investigations over this, and one thing I found interesting came out in the reporting of it: There are regulations in place for the exhibition of primates, one of which states that such enclosures must be constructed to keep the primates safe from the intrusion of other species of animal, such as raccoons and skunks. If an enclosure can't keep out a human child, it most certainly can't keep out a raccoon or a skunk. So they may be in a heap of trouble, for whatever that's worth.
As far as I know TMoT is right about the poaching and the market for the animal parts. Elephants, rhinos and tigers are all being poached to sell to the Chinese, mostly for use in their traditional medicine. Some primates are killed for "bush meat", but mostly it's habitat loss driving their numbers down. At least we don't use them for lab animals any more. Why we need to keep them in zoos is beyond me,
-Doug in Oakland
The Ministry of Truth said...
Harambe was a member of an endangered species. In central Africa where lowland gorillas live, humans are destroying their native habitat to grow crops, and these gorillas have poor fertility to begin with, so they can't tolerate much of a shock to their way of life. Keeping them in zoos might be one of the only ways to stop them from being wiped out.
1:12 PM
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Where does it say that gorillas have poor fertility?
Keeping a couple dozen of them in a zoo will "stop them from being wiped out"?
What a feeble and obscene excuse for caging a grandiose beast like that!
So if they don't farm in Africa, it's bad! and if they do farm it's bad because then the gorillas die??? So lets bring a couple to an animal prison to save them from extinction???
PUHLeeese!
Maybe they should keep a blond in a nightgown to tame the wild beast when something goes wrong in the gorilla exhibit. Or call Jane Goodall,I understand she can talk to monkeys.Other than those two options,a bullet did did the job.Human in peril,goddamn monkey goes,simple as that!
Where does it say that gorillas have poor fertility?
Well,The World Wildlife Fund is one place they say this:
"Females become sexually mature around seven or eight years old but don’t begin to breed until a couple of years later. Males mature at an even greater age. Once a female begins to breed, she’ll likely give birth to only one baby every four to six years, and only three or four over her entire lifetime. This low rate of reproduction makes it difficult for gorillas to recover from population declines. Both gorilla species have been decreasing in numbers for decades, and a 2010 United Nations report suggests that they may disappear from large parts of the Congo Basin by the mid-2020s."
"So if they don't farm in Africa, it's bad! and if they do farm it's bad because then the gorillas die??? So lets bring a couple to an animal prison to save them from extinction???"
Pretty much. Humans and wildlife are often in competition for land and resources. Unfortunately, more humans=less wildlife. That's how it tends to work.
It's a grim situation, but unless human population growth is arrested, there are probably a lot of animals that will soon only exist in zoos.
Anonymous said...
Maybe they should keep a blond in a nightgown to tame the wild beast when something goes wrong in the gorilla exhibit. Or call Jane Goodall,I understand she can talk to monkeys.Other than those two options,a bullet did did the job.Human in peril,goddamn monkey goes,simple as that!
10:49 PM
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Exactly! It had to be done, there was no other way out, he was visibly bewildered, excited and disoriented and already dragging the child around in and halfway under the water quite violently!
:) Gorillas do not care for blondes in nightgowns, see that was another crazy western idea to further validate the need for caging them.
As for Jane Goodall, what exactly the hell did she accomplish except for some pretty good footage of the animals for the world to see. Other than that, I guess it was her childhood fantasy to interact with gorillas,so she did, I dunno, what earth shattering good to mankind did all of her interaction with them bring about? Nothing,nada,zilch,zero! But hey, whatever floats her boat!
Let's just leave animals alone and in their habitat. Nature will find a way, it always does, because it's more powerful than anything. And if an animal has to go extinct then maybe it's natures call.
Would we want dinosaurs walking around today??? I mean, some animals just become extinct. There supposed too.
The Ministry of Truth said...
It's a grim situation, but unless human population growth is arrested, there are probably a lot of animals that will soon only exist in zoos.
11:41 PM
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Oh my God how very grim!!! Lol! Somebody get the violins! :)
Lawdy,lawdy, with all the people maiming and killing each other in wars and conflicts across the globe,and he's worried about almost extinct animals imprisoned in a cage and how necessary it is to humanity!!! Oy!!! xD
Soooo very necessary! yasss!
I'm going to eat some more pie, see ya! Go visit a zoo and enjoy x*D
"Lawdy,lawdy, with all the people maiming and killing each other in wars and conflicts across the globe,and he's worried about almost extinct animals imprisoned in a cage and how necessary it is to humanity!!! Oy!!! xD"
Wait, but you were the one worried about animals being unhappy in the zoo!! :-D
No, I'm worried about how you feel it's so necessary to cage and imprison them for their supposed well being and benefit.
BTW did you see any dinosaurs at the zoo? Oh wait, they're extinct now! What a pity no one thought of caging them and starting a dinosaur breeding program so they would still be here with us huh? LOLOL! Bet Jurassic Park is your favorite movie ever huh ?:)
The Ministry of Truth said...
...Pretty much. Humans and wildlife are often in competition for land and resources. Unfortunately, more humans=less wildlife. That's how it tends to work.
It's a grim situation, but unless human population growth is arrested, there are probably a lot of animals that will soon only exist in zoos.
11:41 PM
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So you actually believe that "human population growth should be arrested" do you?
And I suppose you mean that it should arrested in those lowlands in Africa where farming has humans in competition with gorillas? Whoooooaaaaa!!!
Koo-koo! and it's not for cocoa puffs xD
Where do you get those crazy ideas MOT? LOL you funny kid!
There's a Bloom County comic up on Berkeley Breathed's Facebook page that covers the topic pretty well.
https://www.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed
And Lilac: It's gonna be arrested no matter what, the question is only how, and what kind of a world is to be left afterwards.
-Doug in Oakland
"So you actually believe that 'human population growth should be arrested' do you?"
Don't see how that is "koo-koo," actually. If the human population doesn't level off on its own, it will at some point undoubtedly fall to global political leaders to impose population controls, since the Earth's resources won't be able to support an infinite number of humans.
But that's a science-fiction discussion for the future. The only thing I'm advocating is that we don't let ourselves wipe out huge numbers of species of living things, which is happening right now. If the only way we can preserve some of them is in zoos, then so be it.
"There's a Bloom County comic up on Berkeley Breathed's Facebook page that covers the topic pretty well.
https://www.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed"
One of the comments immediately under that comic:
"The other question is: why do people care more about one gorilla dying in Cincinnati than hundreds dying in their native habitat?"
Yeah right...listen you guys, I have a Dodo bird egg I'd like to sell you.
Of course people will raise hell for the black parents, the usual suspects are out petitioning and crying. Why don't they aim their outrage towards the negligence of the Zoo, or the animal-in-captivity culture? No, they rather go for the parents, this time.
Funny how things work and funny how they call black people chimps and Gorillas, but the life of a real Gorilla is worth more than the life of a black child. If the child was white, no doubt there would be outcry from these usual obtuse no-life white hypocrites, but not this much hate. It's so blatant.
And Field, why are you beating up on the mother too, I sense a little shade. But ya know, the black father's criminal history is now on full blast, shoot, he is fit to be lynched right about now (a black man). So have you had a change of heart as yet, now that daddy is included in the hateration?
Anyhoo, I see Ms. Lilacpr (the nice Arab lady pretending to be boricua) is against the parents (of course she is) and she's rooting for Trump as well? LOL, I have to come back and visit more often.
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