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Gorilla killed after dragging child at Cincinnati Zoo

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Why do people keep asking this? Real life tranquilizers don't work like the ones in cartoons. Causing the animal pain would make it panic and increase the danger to the child.

Because people think video games and TV shows are real. Look at all the "why didn't they just shoot the weapon out of his hand!" posts in other threads.
 
Poor gorilla didn't want to harm the boy in my opinion. if he wanted, he would do that in the first place, not waiting for 10 minutes. he moved the boy twice and maybe he wanted to move him to a safe place. but he did this with aggressive actions (in humans perspective) and they killed it.
Sadly, I think most of us would do that if we were there.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
Heard about it yesterday...felt so bad for the Gorilla..already caged up and then getting killed because the parents didnt look after their kid...

Doesnt really matter if he wanted to harm the kid or not...the fact is that he could have harmed the kid so the outcome was expected. Just pisses me off that it got to that situation in the first place...increase your security measures and parent dont let you 4 year old wander around alone in a Zoo.
 
As a parent I don't see how the zoo is most at fault. How do you let your 4 year old get into an enclosure, where the fuck were they? That child should be within arms reach at all times.
 

McLovin

Member
What a terrible situation. The Gorilla looked like he was trying to protect him too. He easily could have accidentally or intentionally killed him though. So sad, I blame the zoos for how their easy to get through fences.
 

Astral Dog

Member
The boy family thanked the zoo for their inmediate action in saving his life, just saw it on the news, thats good right.
 

8byte

Banned
There are billions of humans.

We put wild animals in cages for our entertainment, where they lead pretty miserable lives.

This kid has toys he can't play with because he could potentially swallow them, but was trusted to be free in a zoo. Where wild animals live.

Sorry, all I don't feel bad for humans at all. Poor Gorilla.
 

Pandy

Member
Because people think video games and TV shows are real. Look at all the "why didn't they just shoot the weapon out of his hand!" posts in other threads.

Shoot him in the leg! *sigh*

Completely not relevant to the gorilla situation, as tranquilizers are a very different thing and sadly I agree that shooting the animal was the quickest and safest option here, but you do know that in some parts of the world outside of the US, firearms officers are properly trained and don't shoot to kill at the slightest provocation.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1085270

French policeman shoots an armed man in the leg to prevent him commiting suicide.
From a rooftop.
Using iron sights.
 

gamz

Member
If that was my kid I'd like them to do whatever necessary to keep him safe. I get that.... I hate Zoo's and would never bring my kid to one. They are depressing as hell.
 

Keri

Member
This is such a tragic story and, even though many are saying it's easy to lose track of a child for a moment, I can't help but blame the parents. I feel like, at 4, I understood that animals could be dangerous and it wouldn't have crossed my mind to try to get into a gorilla enclosure. Maybe the lesson is to have this conversation with your child, before taking them to the Zoo. If it seems like they don't or can't understand, then hold their hand the entire time.
 
These gorillas don't live in cages in that zoo.

An open enclosure with artificial rocks and phony trees is hardly competent to a native environment. Most animals don't live in a box like humans have become accustomed to. Some of the smallest animals, certain rodents for example have territory that span many miles or more.. Others are always traveling.

The only zoos that should exist should be rescue centers, and they should most certainly be nonprofit.
 

d3vnull

Member
Like knee jerk judgments either way when the actual details of what happened are not available yet?

What more information do you need?
At the age of four, children should be capable of understanding that gorillas are dangerous if the parents cared to explain that, which they clearly didn't.
They boy even said, that he wanted to climb down there and still the mother didn't look after him.

To me (and thankfully many more) it's very clear who is at fault here.
 

RPGCrazied

Member
Also, the news is forgetting the part were the kid was saying he was going to go into area where the Gorilla is. The mom was like no your not. Wouldn't that have been the right time to hold his hand all the way through the zoo? If you are watching to many kids, then ask another adult to go with you, or just don't take to many kids to the point you can't keep track of them.

So yes, I blame the parent in this situation.
 

Dunlop

Member
What more information do you need?
Media reporting now that kid was 3 not 4

Did the kid have a history of running off ?
What was the mother doing at the time (multiple kids)?
How long did it take a 3 year old to get in the enclosure? Fast, Zoo also to blame. Slow, parents clearly.

3 year old was heard saying he wants to play in the moat, not with gorilla. What happened after this moment is important.


I'm not absolving anyone of blame until the details come out. But I won't condemn a mother who was bringing her kids for an outing to enrich their lives until it is proven she was properly negligent.
 
What a terrible situation. The Gorilla looked like he was trying to protect him too. He easily could have accidentally or intentionally killed him though. So sad, I blame the zoos for how their easy to get through fences.
This is basically what I think as well.
 
An open enclosure with artificial rocks and phony trees is hardly competent to a native environment. Most animals don't live in a box like humans have become accustomed to. Some of the smallest animals, certain rodents for example have territory that span many miles or more.. Others are always traveling.

The only zoos that should exist should be rescue centers, and they should most certainly be nonprofit.

Rescue centers don't get the funding a zoo does. Once again, it seems topics like this all the supposed "experts" on zoos and animal captivity.

"Besides spending millions in research and enrichment to keep their animals healthy and active, zoos and aquariums are in fact the biggest reason that many of these species, including the lowland gorilla, are not completely extinct yet. Conservationists cannot get the money to do what they do without donations and the passion of the public. You take zoos out of the equation, most of that money disappears. "

-my roommate who has a Master's Degree in Primatology and pursuing this path as a Ph.D.

I basically let him type all that shit out on my computer lol
 

Kinyou

Member
I see most of you have not watched the full video.

If you had, you'd see the gorilla only stood the boy up gently and with love and affection after dragging him by the leg at great speed through shallow water full of rocks...And after standing him up the gorilla pushes the kid over and the drags him again over a greater distance. Whatever Harambe's intentions, he was rough as hell with that small child.

Warning, not safe for parents:

http://m.wlwt.com/news/full-video-boy-falls-into-gorilla-world-exhibit-at-cincinnati-zoo/39781440
I don't see any rocks, but it is pretty brutal. I do wonder if they attempted to just let the child walk towards the exit.
 
An open enclosure with artificial rocks and phony trees is hardly competent to a native environment. Most animals don't live in a box like humans have become accustomed to. Some of the smallest animals, certain rodents for example have territory that span many miles or more.. Others are always traveling.

The only zoos that should exist should be rescue centers, and they should most certainly be nonprofit.
Read up a little on the success of the breeding program at the Cincinnati Zoo. They are doing everything they can to save endangered species.
 
Completely not relevant to the gorilla situation, as tranquilizers are a very different thing and sadly I agree that shooting the animal was the quickest and safest option here, but you do know that in some parts of the world outside of the US, firearms officers are properly trained and don't shoot to kill at the slightest provocation.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1085270

French policeman shoots an armed man in the leg to prevent him commiting suicide.
From a rooftop.
Using iron sights.

So why post this here?
 

MIMIC

Banned
OK, CNN showed the whole video.

Yeah, that was pretty violent (from our perspective). It's sad, but what had to be done had to be done. There is absolutely no way a zoo could have allowed that to happen without shooting it.
 

darscot

Member
That railing looks ridiculous the zoo needs to do a better job protect their animals from people. The enclosure should serve both purposes. Once the child was in the enclosure they had no choice, just another reason Zoos should not exist.
 
I don't understand why this is controversial? Yea, parents should have watched their kid, but that gorilla was super rough with that 4 year old and probably would have killed him without intending to. What's the alternative? Just let the boy die? That's not an option. I really hate seeing animals killed senselessly, but I would hate seeing a 4 year old killed even more. Also that railing sucked. Are we sure these parents are really shitty, or is this just an unfortunate accident?
 

shoplifter

Member
^^^ Based on GAF sentiment, apparently it's better to let the kid die. After all, there are millions of kids.


After seeing the 'fence,' I remember taking my kids there last year and thinking that it wouldn't be impossible for a kid to climb through it and fall.
 

Carlius

Banned
This is unfortunate but a human life is worth more than an animal's. They did what they had to do.

what? nowhere in the video dose it show the gorilla being agressive towards the kid, in fact, i dare say the other way around. I saw the gorilla trying to protect the kid.

there was absolutely no necessity in killing it. too bad the mother wasnt around to make sure her child didnt fall in there.
 
If I'm ever a parent I'm showing my kids nature documentaries where animals are fighting and eating the shit out of each other. No Disney movies where animals are all friendly singing songs and shit. I bet they won't try to jump into gorilla enclosures after that.

That sounds genuinely like good advice rather than selling them falsehoods that is indoctrinated in them from a young age of how animals act.
 

Wagram

Member
There's allegedly a post of the mother speaking out about the incident:

13344558_10206726791423722_5822078787422175859_n.jpg


Not one single word about the death of the innocent animal. No remorse, no care, only that people are quick to judge. I fucking hate society.
 

akira28

Member
my dad was just a little bit of a sadist, telling me pretty vividly which animals would eat me and which would simply crush my little body like an afterthought.
 

shoplifter

Member
There's allegedly a post of the mother speaking out about the incident:

13344558_10206726791423722_5822078787422175859_n.jpg


Not one single word about the death of the innocent animal. No remorse, no care, only that people are quick to judge. I fucking hate society.


Yeah we should totally expect a mother that just went through that to have her shit together. Whether I'd post on facebook so soon is another story


/ "that's not a danger at all, the gorilla was just playing with the kid and trying to keep him safe."

Regardless of its intentions, the kid could have easily been killed.
 
There's allegedly a post of the mother speaking out about the incident:

13344558_10206726791423722_5822078787422175859_n.jpg


Not one single word about the death of the innocent animal. No remorse, no care, only that people are quick to judge. I fucking hate society.

Ah yes, her son was almost killed yesterday when she let him fall 10ft into a pit but let's jump on Facebook and play damage control while thanking god and taking zero responsibility for the incident. And of course no mention of the animal that had to die as a result of her negligence.
 
I don't understand why this is controversial? Yea, parents should have watched their kid, but that gorilla was super rough with that 4 year old and probably would have killed him without intending to. What's the alternative? Just let the boy die? That's not an option. I really hate seeing animals killed senselessly, but I would hate seeing a 4 year old killed even more. Also that railing sucked. Are we sure these parents are really shitty, or is this just an unfortunate accident?

The exhibit has been open 38 years without issue and is certified as up to standard. If your child tells you he's going to climb in and you ignore that, you have to take some responsibility in the matter. I'd imagine that there are similar barriers at other zoos that could be crossed, but most people tend to respect them...

I would like to know did nobody else see him climbing in (since his mother obviously wasn't watching)? Saturday afternoon of a holiday weekend, that place is going to be crowded. If he went in on the left side, I suppose there may not have been many people in that area if the gorillas were in the middle (where the viewing is better).
 

taoofjord

Member
It's sad how quickly people are to condemn the parents. Anyone can make a mistake, even one that leads to something so terrible. They could very well be terrible parents but I don't find it fair to throw immediate blame their way. They obviously know they screwed up.

It should also be a zoo's priority to make something like this extremely difficult to happen.

As for the gorilla, it did nothing wrong. Even if it killed the child, you can't villify wild animals. They're just doing what they do. They're not here to be our friends. Plus their natural behaviors can get mixed up since they're in a zoo. That said, I understand the need to kill the gorilla to save the child as quickly as possible.

By the way. I'm a hypocrite to a degree. Because if anyone driving puts my life in danger I'm more than happy to send curses their way and villify them. Fuck aggressive, negligent, and awful drivers. ;)
 
Poor gorilla didn't want to harm the boy in my opinion. if he wanted, he would do that in the first place, not waiting for 10 minutes. he moved the boy twice and maybe he wanted to move him to a safe place. but he did this with aggressive actions (in humans perspective) and they killed it.
Sadly, I think most of us would do that if we were there.

I'm certain you are an expert in gorilla behavior.

Zoo probably just wanted to kill some gorilla because they fucken love to kill animals and see blood spill.
 
An open enclosure with artificial rocks and phony trees is hardly competent to a native environment. Most animals don't live in a box like humans have become accustomed to. Some of the smallest animals, certain rodents for example have territory that span many miles or more.. Others are always traveling.

The only zoos that should exist should be rescue centers, and they should most certainly be nonprofit.

"Should"

Says who?

I love zoos. Some zoos are really nice. Animals don't have some magical drive in them that separates "artificial territory" from "magical nature happy nature territory". Those gorillas are almost certainly fine.

Fun fact: Many good zoos are getting rid of their elephants simply because elephants DO need that space. Zoos aren't just heartlessly putting animals in cramped spaces.

Are you people against zoos also against owning dogs or cats? Those species do just fine in the wild as well.
 
It's sad how quickly people are to condemn the parents. Anyone can make a mistake, even one that leads to something so terrible. They could very well be terrible parents but I don't find it fair to throw immediate blame their way. They obviously know they screwed up.

Doesn't sound like the mom knows she screwed up, but just excuses it as "accidents happen". She's more pissed off that people even criticised her parenting skills.

13344558_10206726791423722_5822078787422175859_n.jpg
 
The exhibit has been open 38 years without issue and is certified as up to standard. If your child tells you he's going to climb in and you ignore that, you have to take some responsibility in the matter. I'd imagine that there are similar barriers at other zoos that could be crossed, but most people tend to respect them...

I would like to know did nobody else see him climbing in (since his mother obviously wasn't watching)? Saturday afternoon of a holiday weekend, that place is going to be crowded. If he went in on the left side, I suppose there may not have been many people in that area if the gorillas were in the middle (where the viewing is better).

Yea, parents shoulder the bulk of the blame. But why are people pondering why an animal was killed to save this innocent child? That's my biggest problem with all of this. You can't shoot it with darts without it going nuts, and obviously this childs life should be saved at all costs.
 
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