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
