Cincinnati, US: A special zoo response team has shot and killed a 17-year-old gorilla that grabbed and dragged a four-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla exhibit moat, the Cincinnati Zoo’s director said.
Authorities said the boy, who fell three metres, is expected to recover after being picked up out of the moat and dragged by the gorilla for about 10 minutes. He was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre with serious injuries.
Director Thane Maynard said the zoo’s dangerous animal response team that practices for such incidents decided the boy was in “a life-threatening situation” and that they needed to put down the 181kg-plus male gorilla named Harambe.
“They made a tough choice and they made the right choice, because they saved that little boy’s life,” Maynard said. “It could have been very bad.”
A Cincinnati fire department incident report said that the gorilla “was violently dragging and throwing the child” when they were called.
The child was in between the gorilla’s legs when the gorilla was shot, fire officials said.
Maynard said he hadn’t talked with the boy’s parents yet.
He said the gorilla didn’t appear to be attacking the child, but he said it was “an extremely strong” animal in an agitated situation. He said tranquillising the gorilla wouldn’t have knocked it out immediately, leaving the boy in danger.
Maynard said it was the first time that the team had killed a zoo animal in such an emergency situation, and he called it “a very sad day” at the zoo. The lowland gorilla is an endangered species.
The incident was reported at around 4pm. The area around the gorilla exhibit was closed off on Saturday afternoon as zoo visitors reported hearing screaming.
Harambe came to Cincinnati in 2015 from the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas.
Maynard said the zoo believed the exhibit remains safe. They are still investigating, but zoo officials believe the boy crawled through a railing barrier, then fell into the moat.
The zoo prides itself for its work in protecting endangered species, and has been part of successful captive breeding efforts in recent years in the effort to save the endangered Sumatran rhino.
The incident follows one in Chile last week where visitors to Santiago’s Metropolitan Zoo watched aghast as a man who climbed into a lion enclosure, stripped naked and taunted the big cats into attacking him was shot with a tranquilliser dart by zookeepers.
The man had been carrying what appeared to be a suicide note, authorities said.
The drama began when Franco Luis Ferrada, 20, climbed atop the roof of the lion pen, then forced his way into the cage. According to witnesses, the lions initially ignored the intrusion but attacked after Ferrada taunted them.
Zookeepers responded at first by turning a hose on the animals, then by firing a tranquilliser dart — but hit the man in the neck instead of the lions. As the lions set upon the man, a zookeeper opened fire with live rounds. The two beloved animals died in front of a horrified and massive holiday crowd.
Ferrada was taken in critical condition to a local health clinic with injuries to his pelvis and head, as well as a massive dose of tranquilliser.
Gerson Sepulveda, subcommisioner of the investigative police’s crime division, confirmed that one of the darts hit the young man and said that Ferrada had left a written message thought to be a suicide note. “We are comparing it with other [writing samples],” said Sepulveda, who said police were also looking at videotapes, still photos and the firearms involved.
He is now recovering from his mauling.
Alejandra Montalva, the zoo director, defended the actions of staff. “The alarms sounded and chemical control arrived [tranquilliser darts] and an independent shooter arrived. The shooter decided to save the life of the person and unfortunately we had to sacrifice two members of our family,” she said.
“The zoo has an established protocol because people’s lives are very important to us,” said Montalba, adding she was “deeply affected” by the deaths of the two lions, a male and a female.
Chilean social media exploded with a firestorm of criticism against zoo authorities: reactions ranged from calls to boycott all zoos, to questions about the use of deadly force. Others commented on the treatment of people with mental health problems like the young man involved.
