On May 28, 2016, three-yearold Isaih Gregg got into the gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo. The child was held by a 17 year old gorilla named Harambe and was dragged around the pen and through a shallow moat for a few minutes before the animal was shot, for fear of the child's life being endangered. The child sustained no major injuries.
Western lowland gorillas, of which Harambe was one, are an endangered species. Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard touched upon this fact as he stated that Harambe's death is a "loss to the gene pool of lowland gorillas."
Jane Goodall, the world-renowned primatologist and conservationist emailed the zoo's director. In her email, she said: "I feel so sorry for you, having to try to defend something which you may well disapprove of.
"I tried to see exactly what was happening - it looked as though the gorilla was putting an arm round the child - like the female who rescued and returned the child from the Chicago exhibit. Anyway, whatever, it is a devastating loss to the zoo, and to the gorillas. How did the others react? Are they allowed to see, and express grief, which seems to be so important."
"Feeling for you."
As Goodall stated in her email, the incident with Harambe mirrors an incident that occurred in Chicago in August of 1996. A three year old boy climbed a three foot fence and fell 18 feet onto the concrete floor of the primate exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo. Miraculously, the child sustained only minor head injuries and was rescued by an 8-year-old female gorilla. The gorilla carried the boy to the zookeepers and kept him safe while he was in the pen.
A Facebook page titled "Justice for Harambe" has gained over 158,000 likes in less than a week, an an online petition has over 494,000 signatures, supporting Harambe and blaming the death of the animal on Gregg's negligent parents instead of blaming the gorilla for its actions.
The Cincinnati Zoo authorities are installing a larger fence in order to prevent things of this nature from occurring in the future.
On June 6, Hamilton County's prosecutor office is expected to release their statement on the incident.
