Harambe was a 17-year-old endangered silverback gorilla who was shot and killed after a young boy fell into the gorilla's territory at the Cincinnati Zoo. Since last Saturday (May 25, 2016), the internet has been swarmed with differing opinions on the situation. As the zoo explains, backed up by footage captured at the scene, a young boy slipped away from the crowd and after climbing through a barrier and falling 15 feet, ended up in the gorilla's enclosure. As expected, Harambe was intrigued by the young boy, but showed no signs of causing harm. In fact, footage shows Harambe blocking the boy from the crowd as if he was trying to protect him. As the footage continues, viewers and bystanders could see that Harambe began to drag the young boy by his feet through the water. To many, this was seen as a harmful act by Harambe; however, an Australian animal behavior expert debunks this argument by saying the gorilla showed no signs of causing harm. In fact, silverbacks are known to be protectors. Silverbacks make their aggression known before engaging in harm. Based on the footage circling the internet, no initial aggression was seen.
Of course, critics cannot forget that there was a scared, defenseless child near a gorilla, but both sides of the arguments have flaws. Harambe was an endangered gorilla spending his life stuck in captivity. The young boy is an interested and adventurous child who was willing to test his limits. It can be assumed his goal was not to reach the gorilla's cage, but to get as close as possible. Critics are not letting each other forget about the mother in this situation. Viewers of the footage never see the mother of the child, but can hear her yelling to her son, "Mommy's right here." Is this mother to be blamed for the death of Harambe? Well, many people are arguing that she should be. According to many news outlets, the mother of the son has refused to apologize for the events that occurred that day, but as of June 3, 2016, there will be no criminal charges. Is it the mother's fault that Harambe is gone because of her failure to watch her son? Was the gorilla truly putting the boy at risk of harm? Or is Cincinnati Zoo to be blamed for keeping an endangered species in captivity and failing to prepare for these unexpected events?
If anything, this event should be an eye opener to the reality of zoos. No animal should be put in captivity for the sole purpose of entertaining humans. The boy and the Cincinnati Zoo are fortunate the gorilla did not aggressively attack. Things could have easily taken a turn for the worse if Harambe had attacked. The Cincinnati Zoo needs to reevaluate how they handle these situations. As unexpected as it was, an organization like this needs to be prepared for the unexpected. Harambe and all other zoo animals should be trained to respond to these situations in a safe way.
This beautiful, endangered animal did not deserve to die, but because of humans' mistakes, this world now has one fewer silverback gorilla.
