Was Harambe going to harm the boy who fell into his enclosure? Wasn’t he just trying to look after him, to be the big protecting father, as a silverback gorilla should? We’ll never know. Harambe was shot dead by staff of Cincinnati Zoo and is no longer available for comment.Plenty of people have spoken up on his behalf. Witnesses to the event said that Harambe was trying to protect the boy from the strange and terrifying sound of screaming that came from the watching crowd. That’s certainly a legitimate interpretation of the events that took place on Saturday at the zoo.
YOU MAY LIKE THIS VIDEO, PLEASE ENJOY WATCHING.
The undisputed facts are that a four-year-old boy managed to crawl through the railings surrounding the gorilla enclosure and then fell into the moat that surrounded it. Video footage shows Harambe, the dominant male of the small troop, jump into the water and stand guard over the boy in the corner of the moat. The two even share a brief moment holding hands before Harambe drags the child away from the noisy crowd.Despite Harambe’s signs of protectiveness, the situation was clearly fraught, and the zoo decided to shoot the gorilla. They could have used a tranquiliser dart, but the results are not instantaneous and things were getting critical. The zoo made the decision to prioritise human life over the life of a gorilla.