I read where zoo officials said essentially what Tide1986 said - it's not like the movies, it takes a minute for the tranquilizers to work, and they couldn't risk agitating the gorilla - that needed an instant stop.
Was shooting a rare gorilla the only option for Cincinnati Zoo?
- Thread starter Bazza
- Start date
Something that to my knowledge hasn't been discussed......
This gorilla had been at this facility since 2004......that's 12 years.
The zoo had a 'dangerous animal response team' or some such, from what I understand.
What I would like to know is what was the exact protocol they had practised for situations like this ever happening? Surely a zoo of this caliber had a protocol in place....other than just to shoot dead their 17 year old 12 year resident endangered species.
This gorilla had been at this facility since 2004......that's 12 years.
The zoo had a 'dangerous animal response team' or some such, from what I understand.
What I would like to know is what was the exact protocol they had practised for situations like this ever happening? Surely a zoo of this caliber had a protocol in place....other than just to shoot dead their 17 year old 12 year resident endangered species.
I can't believe someone would think a gorillas life is more important than that of a human being. Regardless of fault, that was still someone's child. They did what they had to do.
I know people are very angry all over social media about this. But they have to think that a child is alive right now. He could have been killed in an instant. It wasn't the child's fault...a 4 year old was just being curious and his stupid parents weren't watching him. This wasn't an adult that was being stupid and falling in. I know most of them would say to shoot the gorilla if their child was in the same situation.
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I can't speak for what others are saying and thinking but any outrage should always be directed toward the adults....never the animal or children because they are only doing what they do. Adults know better and should be held accountable.
i saw on cnn international this morning where a zoo representative said exactly this
I don't know exactly what the adults were doing when the kid got himself into the gorilla pit. But when we hear of a child drowning at someone's pool, are we this hard on the parents? Jesus Christ people, unless the parents were being completely negligent, cut them some slack. I don't helicopter over my kids, and I don't know why everyone expected these parents to. Until I hear that they were being grossly negligent, I'm going to cut them a little bit of slack.
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How in the wide world of sports is a four year old child able to climb unassisted into the enclosure of a dangerous animal? Sounds like the zoo and the parent(s) both share some responsibility...
Ever notice that everybody who is a starting Monday morning quarterback wasn't actually involved in the game at the time?
I'll bet every single one of you here who has kids:
a) is a very good and (mostly) attentive parent
b) has at one time in your life experienced them sneaking off at the store or something similar
It only takes a few seconds. What's amazing is that if Jared Fogle would have stolen a four-year kid out of a shopping cart at Target and then taken her in and molested her, every single person would want Jared shot (and rightfully so - hell, I want him shot now but that's another story).
Any person who piped up and said, "Well, the mother should have been watching more closely" would be shouted down and berated with the, "How can you even say that?"
I'm sitting here thinking that maybe the Mom should have watched closer......I'm also thinking that maybe, just maybe it was too easy for the kid to get into the gorilla area.
(Btw - this is similar to the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin emotional argument. Way too many people (esp left-wingers in the media) pull the old "Well, if George Zimmerman would have obeyed (this is hilarious coming from a liberal who would never say this if it were a black kid shot by a white cop) the 911 operator, Trayvon Martin would still be alive."
But point out that if Trayvon wasn't suspended from school for drugs and (speaking of ironies) if his PARENTS HAD BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT HE WAS DOING........and if he hadn't attacked Zimmerman (as the forensics showed)......well, he'd also still be alive.......and you get peppered as a racist. (And btw - I think Zimmerman is a loose cannon who is a danger to society but that's neither here nor there).
Bottom line - the zoo folks had to make an instantaneous decision and they erred on the side of preservation of human life.
Btw - I wonder if the shooter had hit the kid rather than the gorilla what would be said today........
I'll bet every single one of you here who has kids:
a) is a very good and (mostly) attentive parent
b) has at one time in your life experienced them sneaking off at the store or something similar
It only takes a few seconds. What's amazing is that if Jared Fogle would have stolen a four-year kid out of a shopping cart at Target and then taken her in and molested her, every single person would want Jared shot (and rightfully so - hell, I want him shot now but that's another story).
Any person who piped up and said, "Well, the mother should have been watching more closely" would be shouted down and berated with the, "How can you even say that?"
I'm sitting here thinking that maybe the Mom should have watched closer......I'm also thinking that maybe, just maybe it was too easy for the kid to get into the gorilla area.
(Btw - this is similar to the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin emotional argument. Way too many people (esp left-wingers in the media) pull the old "Well, if George Zimmerman would have obeyed (this is hilarious coming from a liberal who would never say this if it were a black kid shot by a white cop) the 911 operator, Trayvon Martin would still be alive."
But point out that if Trayvon wasn't suspended from school for drugs and (speaking of ironies) if his PARENTS HAD BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT HE WAS DOING........and if he hadn't attacked Zimmerman (as the forensics showed)......well, he'd also still be alive.......and you get peppered as a racist. (And btw - I think Zimmerman is a loose cannon who is a danger to society but that's neither here nor there).
Bottom line - the zoo folks had to make an instantaneous decision and they erred on the side of preservation of human life.
Btw - I wonder if the shooter had hit the kid rather than the gorilla what would be said today........
Not saying they weren't, but may i ask where you are getting this from? In the story I read, it was unclear on this point and as anyone with kids can attest, in the time it takes to sneeze, they can make a break for it.
I wonder how many parents here would have jumped down in there to try and save their child when this happened?
I know TideMom already said she would.
Good for you, TideMom!
Personal responsibility.
I know TideMom already said she would.
Good for you, TideMom!
Personal responsibility.
If an adult human in a hysterical state had "jumped" into the pen trying to get to that child, this story would have had a much sadder ending.
I'm too lazy to go find the link. But there are several interviews with wild life expert Jack Hanna (CNN I think) who says it was the "1000%" right thing to do in shooting the silver back gorilla. According to Hanna the body language (specifically the facial expressions) of the animal wasn't good. Implying it could have only been a few more seconds until the gorilla ripped the child to shreds. I would consider him an expert compared to most on this board.
I have seen clips of situations in the wild, both with gorillas and chimps where a full-grown male kidnapped the simian equivalent of a child. Usually, what happens was the females gang up and face the male down, eventually taking the young ape back. The problem is that, as in this case, the male doesn't know its own strength and appears to be playing with the immature ape as if it were a toy. Injuries are normally an accident and incident to the male's rough play...
Several years ago I watched a TV program that tried to determine the one African animal that could best all others in a fight. Several zoologists and other experts prepared simulations and the healthy male gorilla defeated all of them--tigers, snakes, leopards you name it. Thing is, not being predators, gorillas are protectors and pure defensive fighters. There's a reason the male sits on the ground at the base of the tree where he's tucked his family away for the night; he has nothing to fear. Silverbacks really don't care what is coming next. Whatever it is, he already owns it.
Common sense. If a 4 year old says he wants to get in the water 15 feet below, and just for good measure there is a 400 lb silverback gorilla there, then its in gross negligence to allow him to wander off for long enough to get there.
I agree 100%...IN ADDITION, maybe, just maybe, the "open habitat" designers need to go back to the drawing board...(and maybe kid-test it with a bunch of four year-olds, and no animals).
I would think on here at least it goes without saying. If I need to say it, I would have been in and out of there quicker than you can say ambesol!
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