Gorilla Shot Dead After Grabbing Four-year-old

The gorilla was shot dead after it grabbed and refused to let go a boy who fell into its enclosure

 

A gorilla has been shot dead after it grabbed a boy who fell into the enclosure housing the big ape. The gorilla refused to let go of the child.

 

The boy had climbed through a barrier at Cincinnati Zoo and fell into the moat of an enclosure housing a 180kg lowland gorilla named Harambe.

 

The zoo said it was forced to take action after Harambe picked up and dragged the boy.

 

‘[The officials] made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy’s life. It could have been very bad,’ said zoo director Thane Maynard.

 

Maynard said that the boy was not being attacked but he ‘certainly’ was at risk. He added that a tranquiliser would not have worked quickly enough.

 

‘We are all devastated that this tragic accident resulted in the death of a critically-endangered gorilla. This is a huge loss for the zoo family and the gorilla population worldwide,’ he said.

 

Two female gorillas also in the enclosure did not approach the boy and were not harmed.

 

Harambe was born in captivity in Texas and moved to Cincinnati in 2014, where it was hoped he could be part of a breeding programme.

 

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