On May 28th, Harambe, a Western Lowland Silverback Gorilla was celebrating his 17th birthday along with his enclosure mates “Chewie” and “Mara” at the Cincinnati Zoo. On May 29th, a 4 year old boy fell into the enclosure and zoo officials had to make the decision to shoot and kill the “critically endangered” gorilla.

I have withheld on this article for a day knowing my personal feelings about this matter. I wanted to digest more facts and information rather than making a blunt twitter-like article that I cannot take back. As a frequent visitor of Busch Gardens Tampa I have spent many hours hiding from the rain watching the gorillas play or hide in that same rain. I like to feel I have somewhat of a personal connection with some of those gorillas like passholders of the Cincinnati Zoo probably do also. There are times I flush with anger watching people of all ages tease the gorillas thinking “they may be penned,” but like us, they are also God’s creation.

ON Sunday a 4 year old boy fell into the enclosure. I am choosing not to identify any names of the boy or mom because my article is not meant to inflame, but to educate. After a 10 minute ordeal, the Animal Response Team at the zoo decided to shoot and kill Harambe to protect the life of the boy. Videos (of which I choose not to link) showed the gorilla pulling up the boys pants and also violently dragging him through a moat. It also appeared that Harambe stood protectively over the boy at some time. Some say the crowd agitated him and others say the boy was in no danger.

I have never been to the Cincinnati Zoo, but I have been to the Columbus Zoo and to Busch Gardens Tampa and seen their enclosures for their many animals. Is it possible to get into an enclosure with a dangerous animal? Yes, I have seen some where it is possible. Is it easily possible, though? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!! There is no enclosure with a dangerous animal I have seen that is easily able to get into without effort. I am sure this zoo is the same.

Why was tranquilizers not used on a 415 pound gorilla? Would a tranquilizer work fast enough for the safety of the child? Zoo officials said it would not have. On the other hand, if it was MY CHILD or the child of someone I was with. I would hope the zoo would not hesitate one second in making that decision to protect my child, whether deadly or not. I also know I would live with the guilt of that animal’s death til my dying days.

Stories are mom knew the child teased upon going in there. Mom saying no you are not. Whether true or not, mom was not paying attention to the 4 year old child long enough for him to get through this enclosure. Negligence on mom? Negligence on zoo officials for not having better enclosures or monitoring equipment? That is the question we have to deal with in the aftermath of this beautiful creature’s death.

A lot of people want to hold the mom liable and have even started a petition on Change.org called “Justice For Harambe” that wants to hold the mom liable for the gorilla’s death. It is up to you to decide what is right or what is wrong. Instead, I Suport the decision of the Cincinatti Zoo, but more importantly, I feel we should mourn the death of this gorilla and learn from it for both Cincinnati and other zoos so something like this may never happen again

This Memorial Day I mourn those that have died while in service to our country, and, Harambe, a victim of circumstance that he, as a wild animal, could not control. RIP

This post are the thoughts of the writer, The ThrillFreak, and are representative of any opinions or facts of anything other than what I have read or heard in both online and television research. This is not to be construed as a man with a mission, but a man to educate for the future.

David “Thrills”
The Thrill Freak @TampaAmazeMe

David “Thrills” is an avid enthusiast of thrill parks and entertainment activities in the Tampa Bay Area. He is also a proud veteran of the US Army. Be sure to follow me on twitter for live tweets or email me at tampathrillme@gmail.com for any questions or concerns.