The Cincinnati Zoo continues to cope with the fallout over Harambe the gorilla, who met an early end last weekend, just after his 17th birthday. The 400-pound animal discovered an errant toddler in his midst, and the situation turned into a blur. Harambe dragged the child through his moat area while horrified onlookers screamed. Depending on whose perspective one takes, the powerful gorilla may have been trying to protect the boy while still endangering him, and in the end, the zoo made a swift, difficult decision to put the big boy down. The aftermath has generated discussions of whether large animals should be held in captivity, but most of all, people are completely furious and want #JusticeForHarambe.
Much of the criticism — even from Anonymous, who stepped back into their online vigilante role to call for an investigation — has landed upon the boy’s mother (the father was not present), who was overheard screaming during bystander videos. Folks don’t understand how a child reportedly expressed a desire to dive into the water and was told no, but he still ended up in the pen anyway. Those questions will likely remain unanswered, but in the meantime, the zoo is taking measures to prevent a repeat incident at Gorilla World, which will reopen next week with a larger, taller fence enclosure:
“It takes hard work and a sustained commitment to excellence to meet AZA accreditation standards,” Thane Maynard, director of the Cincinnati Zoo, said in a statement, referring to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
“Our exhibit goes above and beyond standard safety requirements, but in light of what happened, we have modified the outer public barrier to make entry even more difficult,” Maynard added.
Here’s the original barrier that the child crawled through before landing in the Gorilla World moat.
This is what the modified barrier looks like. The new structure is chock full of rope netting, thick wood beams, plus 3.5 feet of hopefully toddler-insurmountable height.
New barrier at Cincinnati Zoo Gorilla World is 42 in. high with wood beams top and bottom and knotted rope netting. pic.twitter.com/5WnA6XgDWl
— WCPO 9 (@WCPO) June 2, 2016
The new construction won’t settle the debate, yet the zoo wisely beefed up the barrier, likely for both legal and a social reasons. Meanwhile, Cincinnati law enforcement have finished (but not released) their investigation into what transpired on this sad day, which could have ended in an even more tragic way. The boy’s mother has also spoken out in a new statement (which follows up a rumored social media posting) where she says her son is doing well:
“We continue to praise God for His grace and mercy, and to be thankful to the Cincinnati Zoo for their actions taken to protect our child. We are also very appreciative for the expressions of concern and support that have been sent to us. Some have offered money to the family, which we do not want and will not accept. If anyone wishes to make a gift, we recommend a donation to the Cincinnati Zoo in Harambe’s name.”
According to the mom, people were indeed offering to send money, which is an odd way to react to this incident. Yet at least the young boy walked away with mere scratches, for this incident could have been doubly tragic.