It is always a sad day when the carelessness of others leads to the death of an innocent creature.
On May 28, 2016, a gorilla named Harambe was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo after a four-year-old boy fell into the gorilla enclosure. Although several people say Harambe looked like he was trying to protect the child, others say that he was displaying aggression. Whether you believe Harambe was behaving violently toward the boy or not, zoo officials made the quick decision to kill the animal rather than to tranquilize him. Zoo authorities feared that the tranquilizing dart would only agitate Harambe and put the young boy in even more immediate danger.
On May 27, the day before Harambe’s death, the gorilla celebrated his 17th birthday. The zoo even threw a party for him.
Many people, including animal rights activists, understand that a very tough decision had to be made in order to secure the young boy's life. However, if we are really being honest here, the real issue is a lack of human responsibility.
Animal exhibits are designed specifically to keep people out and animals in. The gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo was equipped with a barrier, bushes, a 10 to 12-foot drop, and a small moat surrounding the exhibit. I think the real question that everyone is wondering is "How the h*ll was a child so unsupervised that he could manage to fall in?"
This article is not designed to bash the mother of the child—I am sure those were probably the scariest moments of the mother's life. The purpose of this article is to further point out a giant flaw in human nature: the ignorance and selfishness that surrounds our species.
How could an incident like this ever happen? How could a child fall into an exhibit that has not had a breach since 1978? How could a parent not pay attention for such a long period of time that the boy could get through all the difficult obstacles designed to keep him out?
Considering society’s fixation with technology, who is to say that the mother was not glued to her phone? In a place where people go to respect and admire animals, this lack of accountability cost a very majestic creature his life.
Along with all the other animals in the zoo, Harambe is in captivity for “protection." Zoos are designed to keep animals safe and out of danger while minimizing the threat of extinction.
Because of human ignorance, a rare and beautiful creature suffered an unnecessary death. Harambe’s death took the internet by storm; people are seeking justice and answers so that something like this never happens again.
Harambe was just an innocent animal and he acted as a gorilla would. In actuality, the circumstance itself could have been prevented. Harambe never had the intention to hurt anybody that day.
The video account of the child's fall is circulating the internet and causing debate over Harambe's true intentions. If Harambe's true intentions were to protect the child, then it proves that humans have a lot to learn from our gorilla counterparts.
