The Cincinnati Zoo was housing a rare, beautiful and endangered Silverback Gorilla named Harambe, who died at the age of 17 after being shot by his zookeepers on May 30, 2016. Born and raised in captivity, Harambe's transfer to the Cincinnati Zoo just happened in April with the purpose of breeding him with the other females of his species already established at the zoo. As a Western lowland Silverback, Harambe’s species is categorized as "critically endangered." Some of the main causes of the species’ decreasing population is due to poaching and habitat destruction. Harambe was purposely transferred to the zoo to aid in his species’ re-population. However, after his death, an entire controversy has emerged. People are divided between “yes, the gorilla’s death was necessary” or “no, the gorilla’s death was unnecessary." Since I have never stepped foot in the Cincinnati Zoo nor was I there to witness the incident, my view may not provide the clearest answer for the circumstances surrounding the event. However, I stand by my belief that Harambe's death was not necessary.
All the footage provided by the Internet reveals that before the shooting started, the gorilla was dragging the boy along whenever the crowds’ volume seemed to increase, most likely because people were gathering close and were eager to see what the commotion was about. As I continued to watch the video, I noticed that people just seemed to keep screaming and get louder and louder, which was followed by Harambe becoming more agitated. This agitation showed itself in Harambe’s constant movement of glancing from one side of the habitat to the other all while keeping hold of the boy. Honestly, from what I could see, it seemed that Harambe was protecting the child in the same way I have seen other gorillas treat their own young. Throughout the entire ordeal, what resulted was the continued life of a slightly injured four-year old boy and the death of a 17-year old, endangered gorilla who was about to go into the breeding system for the zoo.
More news has revealed that the zoo stands by its decision in killing Harambe instead of using tranquilizers. A video revealed that the head of security for the zoo stated that using a tranquilizer dart would have taken too much time, while the effects of the drug might cause Harambe to react with more aggression, causing more harm to the child. Honestly, I do not understand why an endangered species was kept in captivity for the purpose of saving said species only for the zoo to quickly make the decision to kill it. I am very much an animal lover, but I cannot say that I completely agree with people solely blaming the parents for letting the child wander into the habitat. The fact that the child was able to do so at all makes me wonder why there was no security told to standby these exhibits that are open enough to let a four-year old enter without issue.
After hearing about this news, I have heard multiple views on who is to blame for the incident. I cannot blame the mother, because I am not a mother of a four-year old. However, I can see the possibility of parents everywhere keeping a closer eye on their children while taking a trip to the zoo. As for the zoo, I believe that they tried to make the best of a critical moment and made a decision based on what they believed to be the right course of action. I can say with surety that the situation was very tense and panic-filled, not helped by the constant screaming of the crowd, but I still believe in the unnecessary quality of Harambe’s death. Hindsight is 20-20, and with an outsider's point of view, I can see that the whole situation could have been avoided if the child was not able to wander, if the habitat was better enclosed and many other factors that experts can better say. However, some reparation should be made in light of Harambe’s death in the form of possibly releasing other endangered species from zoos by transferring them into more secure and open reservation areas. This is because it is obvious that as much as fun can be derived for the children to watch a wild animal kept behind an enclosure, that is not where these animals truly belong. I have no expertise to speak of in regards to gorillas, but I am going to support the Harambe Fund in its quest to save other gorillas like Harambe .
