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US News

Zoo kills gorilla seen dragging boy who fell into enclosure

By
Brooke Baitinger and
David K. Li
Published May 29, 2016, 11:20 a.m. ET

Credit: Kimberley O’Connor/ViralHog

The fatal shooting of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo to save a child who fell into his enclosure triggered widespread outrage Sunday.

A Facebook page titled “Justice for Harambe’’ was created in tribute to the 17-year-old rare gorilla, and garnered more than 8,000 likes within hours.

Harambe, a 17-year-old, 400-pound gorilla, was the first animal ever killed by the Cincinnati Zoo’s emergency team.Reuters

Several thousand people also signed a Change.org petition that ripped zoo officials for killing the animal — and called for the child’s parents to be “held accountable for their actions of not supervising their child.’’

One person posted on the Facebook page, “Do not let this tragedy go unanswered and unpunished ! #GODSPEED HARAMBE.’’

The 4-year-old boy was with his mother and several other children Saturday afternoon when he crawled through a barrier and fell into the gorilla exhibit, a drop of about 10 to 12 feet, and was briefly dragged through water by Harambe, witnesses said.

Zoo director Thame Maynard blamed Harambe for failing to obey orders to leave the open enclosure, saying his actions forced the zoo to shoot him to death.

“Our first response was to call the gorillas out of the exhibit. The two females complied, but Harambe did not,” Maynard said on Sunday.

A child touches the head of a gorilla statue where flowers have been placed outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.AP

“It is important to note that with the child still in the exhibit, tranquilizing the 450-pound gorilla was not an option. Tranquilizers do not take effect for several minutes, and the child was in imminent danger.

“We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger.”

Jerry Stones, Harambe’s former caretaker at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, described the gorilla as very smart and gentle.

“[Harambe] was nurturing. He would care for his sisters and his mother,” Stones told The Post. “He was not a mean animal. He got caught in a bad situation.”

Still, Stones declined to criticize the Cincinnati Zoo’s use of deadly force.

A visitor with a small child passes outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden on Sunday, May 29, 2016.AP

Meanwhile, the little boy’s mother, Michelle Gregg, defended herself Sunday.

“For those of you that have seen the news or been on social media, that was my son that fell into the gorilla exhibit at the zoo,” her Facebook page said.

“God protected my child until the authorities were able to get to him. My son is safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes . . . no broken bones or internal injuries.’’

When asked how the boy was doing on Sunday night, a man who answered the door with Gregg told The Post, “He is safe and home.”

With Laura Hobson