A zoo shot and killed a 17-year-old gorilla that grabbed and dragged a four-year-old boy who fell into the its enclosure on Saturday afternoon.
Authorities said the boy, who fell 10 to 12 feet, is expected to recover after being picked up out of the moat and dragged by the 400-pound male, lowland gorilla named Harambe.
The boy was in the moat for about 10 minutes and was in between the gorilla's legs when the gorilla was shot, according to WLWT.
While zoo officials are still investigating, they believe the boy crawled through a railing barrier, and then fell into the moat.
Visitors to Cincinnati Zoo have blamed the parents of a boy who fell into the gorilla enclosure - forcing staff to shoot and kill the rare 400-lb animals.
As zoo officials explained that they had no alternative but to take the reluctant decision to kill the animal, a wave of outrage and anger began to focus on the as yet unidentified parents of the four-year-old, who was captured on video in the ape’s enclosure
Authorities said the boy, who fell 10 to 12 feet, is expected to recover after being picked up out of the moat and dragged by the 400-pound male, lowland gorilla named Harambe.
The boy was in the moat for about 10 minutes and was in between the gorilla's legs when the gorilla was shot, according to WLWT.
While zoo officials are still investigating, they believe the boy crawled through a railing barrier, and then fell into the moat.
Visitors to Cincinnati Zoo have blamed the parents of a boy who fell into the gorilla enclosure - forcing staff to shoot and kill the rare 400-lb animals.
As zoo officials explained that they had no alternative but to take the reluctant decision to kill the animal, a wave of outrage and anger began to focus on the as yet unidentified parents of the four-year-old, who was captured on video in the ape’s enclosure
“They made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy's life,” he said.
Tranquilizers may not have taken effect in time to save the boy while the dart might have agitated the animal, worsening the situation, said Mr Maynard.
Visitors to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanial Gardens, where the Gorilla World enclosure remained closed, said on Sunday that the incident had taught all parents a lesson.
Tricia Glenn, a parent of four, told NBC: “Listen to your parents. When they tell you don’t climb and go, you have to pay attention because bad things can happen no fault of the animal.
Pointing at her own son, she added: “We have one who likes to climb everything. He climbs on everything so we have to be really careful about that.”
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