Last week a three year old boy, climbed into a gorilla habitat. The 450-pound silverback gorilla, Harambe, dragged the child through water and out of sight from spectators. After ten minutes of the boy crying and violently dragged by the gorilla, zoo personnel shot and killed Harambe. In my opinion, human life is a higher priority than animal life. I completely agree with taking the necessary actions to save the boy. However, even with these two statements, animal life shouldn’t just be taken away because of careless mistakes. Harambe’s life deserves amends.
In public places in America, the parent is required to be in constant supervision and responsibility of their children when under a certain age. Without a doubt, toddlers should never be left unattended. This concept is universally accepted and enforced. If the guardian(s) had been paying closer attention, the boy would not have found a way to get into the habitat. Blame should not rest solely on her. Anyone who has, had or has been around a toddler knows they are a handful. A glance away, they’re off and doing something mischievous. Zoos are also busy locations. While the toddler may have taken advantage of a split second opportunity to get away, they are still the parent’s responsibility. Part of the blame, therefore, lies with the mother or who else was with them. This shouldn’t be overstated however, there are other factors to consider.
The mere fact that a young boy found a way to get into the habitat is alarming. Small children, like the boy in this situation who don’t always know better, and are small enough to maneuver into small places are most susceptible to a stunt like this. While he had the most innocent intentions, safety measures are put in place to avoid situations like this one in Cincinnati. The zoo should have taken better precautions to prevent unattended, or curious children from finding a way into an extremely dangerous situation. The Cincinnati Zoo is also at fault. Proper safety measures can include, an entry into the gorilla display, and overcrowding exhibits. Overcrowding makes it easier for a parent, even with the best intentions, to lose their child.
While the mother, and the zoo both failed at keeping the boy safe, pointing fingers doesn’t accomplish much of anything. It is important for people to take ownership of these actions. What does that accomplish? That goes back to sticking with good old fashioned morals and owning up to your mistakes. But even more seriously, it brings the spotlight to zoos. If proper safety measures are not being taken to protect the animals, and spectators, we cannot expect the animals to behave in any way but wild.
They are wild animals taken from their natural habitat and forced to live in significantly smaller, and unnatural places. Harambe was acting just like a gorilla normally would. If we cannot keep spectators safe, and if we cannot keep animals safe, we shouldn’t keep them in cages at all. Furthermore, if animals weren’t forced into cages, moved hundreds of miles into glass walls to be stared at for the rest of their lives, we wouldn’t have this issue in the first place.
