The internet is buzzing with calls for #JusticeForHarambe. Over the weekend, a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo was shot after a four-year-old boy managed to slip under the safety barrier and into the moat of the gorilla enclosure. Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla, quickly noticed the child and, for a tense 10 minutes, dragged him around the moat. Zoo officials ultimately decided the only way to ensure the boy’s safety was to take the drastic step of shooting the gorilla.
“The child was being dragged around,” said Tom Richards, the Cincinnati Zoo’s director. “His head was hitting the concrete. This was not a gentle situation. The child was in danger.” The boy did suffer a concussion, and given the gorilla’s strength, officials could not risk the potential harm that could have come to him. “We are heartbroken about losing Harambe,” Richards stated in a Facebook post. “But the life of a child was at stake, and our Dangerous Animal Response Team had to act swiftly. With the child still in the exhibit, tranquilizing a 450-pound gorilla was not a viable option. Tranquilizers take time to work, and we could not afford to wait.”
While professionals at the zoo made the difficult but necessary choice to protect the child, some online commentators have shifted their focus away from the child’s safety to blame the mother. Yes, it’s true that kids can vanish in the blink of an eye, and while it’s unsettling that this child got into the gorilla habitat, it’s shocking that so many so-called Perfect Parents™ are throwing stones. In reality, every parent has faced a moment when their child has slipped out of sight, whether at the grocery store or during playtime. If you’ve never had that heart-stopping experience, consider yourself fortunate—it’s pure luck, not superior parenting.
Emily Roberts, an onlooker at the zoo, told The New York Times that the incident unfolded so quickly that the mother was not negligent. “She was with three other kids, including a baby,” Roberts explained. “The boy was in there in an instant.”
Regardless, the internet erupted in outrage, leading to a Change.org petition aimed at Hamilton County Child Protective Services. The petition reads:
“We the undersigned urge that the parents be held accountable for the lack of supervision and negligence that resulted in Harambe losing his life. We believe the child’s safety is paramount in this situation and encourage an investigation into the child’s home environment to protect him and his siblings from potential harm.”
Really? You think a child should be removed from his home because his mom’s attention strayed for a moment at the zoo? I can’t help but feel frustrated by those who signed this petition. Some sad news from a zoo has turned them into armchair activists. Maybe they should get back to their games instead.
In addition to the petition madness, many online users have suddenly become experts in animal behavior. While Harambe was indeed a magnificent creature, the professionals determined that the life of a HUMAN CHILD must take precedence over that of a gorilla. I can hardly believe I’m even typing this. We seem to live in a world where people feel more empathy for a gorilla than a human child.
He’s FOUR years old. He wandered into a forbidden area, and thanks to the swift actions of the zoo staff, he is alive today.
In conclusion, while the situation surrounding Harambe remains tragic, the priority must always be the safety of human lives.
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