Harambe the gorilla died on May 29th, 2016. Just one day after his birthday.
What a sad headline this is. For those of you who don't know, Harambe was a 17 year old western lowland gorilla who lived at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio. Evidently, the nice weather enticed a particular family to come to the zoo on this particular day.
In this family, there was a four year old boy. Now, if you don't know much about four year old boys, here's something: they wander. They don't listen, and they are children. Children need to be watched. At all times. This particular boy told his mother that he wanted to go swimming in the water of the animal enclosure.
Of course, she tells him "no." But rather than watching her four year old child and making sure that he doesn't ignore her, as children tend to do, she must have turned away.
During this time, the little boy manages to slip through the bars of the enclosure and a loud splash is heard as the boy drops 10 feet into the animal enclosure. At this point, of course everyone starts panicking. While some people speculate the boy might have been protected by the 400-pound gorilla, there is video footage of the boy being dragged through the water by the animal.
As someone who has shadowed, worked, and volunteered at places that house wild animals, I am here to confirm that the consensus among them all is this: human life comes first. Always.
After 10 minutes in the enclosure with the gorilla, the four year old boy is freed thanks to zoo staff who is forced to kill the gorilla. A sad tale.
Did the zoo staff do exactly what they were supposed to do? Absolutely. Please don't blame the staff of the Cincinnati zoo.
So I guess this question remains. Who is to blame for the death of a 17-year-old gorilla with at least 8-plus years left in him?
Do we blame the four year old boy? Well, he was probably old enough to know better, truth be told. But he's a four year old boy. What good will it do to hold a grudge against a child who may not even remember this experience in 10 years?
So that leaves... the parents. Absolutely the parents. Yes, raising kids can be hard. Yes, they can wander off. Sometimes you take your eyes off of them. Perhaps... not right next to an enclosure that you think you child could potentially fit through? Perhaps not when you hear them saying they want to go inside? Perhaps not right next to a 400-pound gorilla?
Maybe this is just a call to action for our parents. It's time to make sure you know where your kids are at all times. It's time to... parent.
Maybe if that had happened, Harambe would still be alive.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am very glad that the boy made it out just fine. I would much rather have the life of the child than the life of the gorilla. But if parents were doing their jobs, it's possible that this was a choice that didn't have to be made.
I'm saddened that an endangered species has lost another member.
