RIP Harambe the Gorilla

[Doc Oc]

Blaming the zoo because it wasn't idiot-proof enough doesn't sit well with me. Personal responsibility is important. Thousands of kids have visited that exhibit... no one else has ever had an issue....so I doubt it was so poorly constructed that a 4 year old could get through in a matter of seconds.....unless they had just come out of the spider exhibit where he was bitten by a genetically engineered arachnid.

[schoy]

Every parent knows that it is impossible to keep your eyes on your kids every single second of the day. Especially at a zoo where the primary purpose of the zoo is to distract the attendants (ie to look at the animals). And that doesn't include dodging other people, watching where you're walking, talking to the cashier when you're buying souvenirs, etc.. This may have happened to any other parent. Blame here goes to the zoo for not securing the enclosure properly. Agree though that the mom should have kept her mouth shut.

[gthal]

Originally Posted by jpdchicago

You should not keep your eyes away for 1 second from a 4 year old. End of story. Usually more because of weirdos roaming around. Plenty of stories of pedophiles in public places...
That mother should be charged.
Even though it will never replace the poor animal, it will teach her a lesson...and reimburse the taxpayers for the cost of the first responders.

I don't disagree... HOWEVER... being the father of 3 myself, I can absolutely see how this could happen (that is, a 4 year old slipping away) even when you are paying attention. If it is one on one, then there really isn't an excuse. If you have several kids with you, a child can absolutely get out of your sight even when you are diligent. I'm just suggesting it happens to the best parent and people shouldn't be so quick to judge

[ShopVac]

It's the lady's lucky day...she'll be tossing in a law suit here in a few months just like the mother that lost her son to the spotted dogs in the Pittsburgh zoo did. And that case...she was holding the 2 year old on the railing and he slipped.

Don't matter how dumb people are, there's always money in it for them.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by Dave 90TT

Charge the mother with child neglect and take her to civil court for all costs related to the incident. And I say that as a parent of two small children

100% Agree.

Originally Posted by jpdchicago

As a parent of four grown kids I fully agree. No excuse. Sure it took more than 2 or 3 seconds for that kid to locate the fence, slip through it and walk away.
And someone said she was responsible for a group of kids?
Give me a break! Let her spend a few days in jail. Her kid won't notice she is gone anyway...

She was distracted for much longer than that AND the child had already announced his intention to get into the cage. At that point, she should have had him in hand until they left the zoo. Period.

Originally Posted by Msizzle

though i don't agree with this lady, anyone bashing her for losing track of the kid(assuming it was quick) isn't a parent them self. My son is 6 and 1 or 2 times a 1 second distraction has caused issues with him. Thank god never major. Another time i was at a car show in nyc with my 10 year old daughter and i turned to say hi to someone and turned back and she was gone. As it turned out she kept walking with my friend but it was terrifying. Other parents feel free to post your horror stores or lets keep judging her like for 18 years you never had a lapse

I'm sorry but I disagree. I have an 18 y/o daughter and I never lost her at any point, because I knew that it could be the end.

My wife and her goofy sister let her get away in NYC in our hotel when she wanted pop corn from a kiosk in the hotel. They walked into the room and I asked, 'Where is XXXX?' they both looked dumbfounded and said, 'We thought she was up here'. We went back down and luckily she was sitting on the fountain. She was about 6 at the time with long hair and green eyes. I read them the riot act and I was so incensed that I almost ended the vacation. We got lucky. Extremely lucky.

[zx10guy]

For those that felt the Zoo's actions were too extreme:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/n...lled/85181272/

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/05...killing-nr.cnn

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jack-han...mbe-justified/

[Mandi90TT]

Originally Posted by Msizzle

though i don't agree with this lady, anyone bashing her for losing track of the kid(assuming it was quick) isn't a parent them self. My son is 6 and 1 or 2 times a 1 second distraction has caused issues with him. Thank god never major. Another time i was at a car show in nyc with my 10 year old daughter and i turned to say hi to someone and turned back and she was gone. As it turned out she kept walking with my friend but it was terrifying. Other parents feel free to post your horror stores or lets keep judging her like for 18 years you never had a lapse

Gosh, it's like I didn't say it in my original post...

I am a parent, of a 5.5 yr old and a 4 yr old. I don't lose track of them. Period. Including a 7 day trip to Disney Land and various other amusement park trips and zoos and such.

[nyalpine90]

the gorilla should have not been killed but tranquilized with the correct amount of dosage per weight.

honestly do you think these animals are happy in their enclosures?

when they can be in their regular habitat, they are locked in for human entertainment. this topic can go on and on.

[Alfisti]

I don't understand the fucking outrage. it's fucking child, jesus it's a no brainer, you terminate the animal as fast as you can.

Yeah the poor thing should not be in a zoo to begin with but that's another whole can of worms given some cunt would likely have killed him by now to use his hand as an ashtray.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by Doc Oc

Hope this hasn't already been discussed. Searched but didn't see anything. Been reading the story of how this gorilla was killed after an unattended child fell into his enclosure. Just wondering what others think? It appears the gorilla was actually trying to protect the child but unfortunately zoo keepers felt killing him was still the best option. Today I saw a letter from the boy's mom that just made me all that much more mad:

“I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers today,” she wrote. “What started off as a wonderful day turned into a scary one. For those of you that have seen the news or been on social media that was my son that fell in the gorilla exhibit at the zoo. God protected my child until the authorities were able to get him. My son is safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes...no broken bones or internal injuries.”

She continued, “As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids. Accidents happen but I am thankful that the right people were in the right place today. Thank you to everyone that helped me and my son today and most importantly God for being the awsome [sic] God that He is.”

Hope this doesn't offend anyone but I'd like to tell this zealot to jump straight up her own ass. This pathetic excuse for a parent allowed her son to do something that caused this animal's death....then she has the nerve to thank god for it. Really makes me hate people.

Once you bring in God to defend the fact that you're a piece of shit, you know you're dealing with garbage.

Besides, if God did have a hand in it, He'd of probably at least made sure that her shithead son didn't end up in a gorilla enclosure.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I don't understand the fucking outrage. it's fucking child, jesus it's a no brainer, you terminate the animal as fast as you can.

Yeah the poor thing should not be in a zoo to begin with but that's another whole can of worms given some cunt would likely have killed him by now to use his hand as an ashtray.

The outrage is over the shithead mom who can't be bothered to watch her kid then her nerve to act like she did nothing wrong.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by nyalpine90

the gorilla should have not been killed but tranquilized with the correct amount of dosage per weight.

honestly do you think these animals are happy in their enclosures?

when they can be in their regular habitat, they are locked in for human entertainment. this topic can go on and on.

Yes...because tranqs kick in immediately...

Plus it depends on the animal. You don't have to worry about starving to death or being eaten so there's that.

[nyalpine90]

how can u blame the zoo, its not like gorilla got out of his enclosure and became a threat to every1.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by nyalpine90

how can u blame the zoo, its not like gorilla got out of his enclosure and became a threat to every1.

Not sure if that's directed towards me, but I'm not blaming the zoo. They, unfortunately, did what they had to.

I know people who are zookeepers, and I can say that shooting that gorilla was probably the absolute last thing they wanted to do but they had no choice.

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

Yes...because tranqs kick in immediately...

Oh don't you know? Tranquilizers work just like in the movies! In no way, shape, or form would it not be instantaneous.

Oh wait, they don't work like that. Thanks Obama.

[nyalpine90]

it wasnt towards you,

Originally Posted by fecurtis

Not sure if that's directed towards me, but I'm not blaming the zoo. They, unfortunately, did what they had to.

I know people who are zookeepers, and I can say that shooting that gorilla was probably the absolute last thing they wanted to do but they had no choice.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by nyalpine90

the gorilla should have not been killed but tranquilized with the correct amount of dosage per weight.

honestly do you think these animals are happy in their enclosures?

when they can be in their regular habitat, they are locked in for human entertainment. this topic can go on and on.

As I posted earlier, that's what they did at the Palm Beach Zoo to a tiger that attached a zookeeper, who was a trained professional and did not belong in the area where she was attacked. The zookeeper was killed and the zoo was criticized for using a tranquilizer instead of killing the tiger.

Tranquilizers do not take immediate effect and can result in unpredictable reactions. Regardless of how the kid got in there, the priority must be to get him out alive.

[nyalpine90]

dont they put the most aggressive animals in cages if the zookeeper has to drop off food or for cleaning?
most animals are aggressive when intruder is in their territory, who doesnt know this?

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

As I posted earlier, that's what they did at the Palm Beach Zoo to a tiger that attached a zookeeper, who was a trained professional and did not belong in the area where she was attacked. The zookeeper was killed and the zoo was criticized for using a tranquilizer instead of killing the tiger.

Tranquilizers do not take immediate effect and can result in unpredictable reactions. Regardless of how the kid got in there, the priority must be to get him out alive.

[fravel]

Tough situation for all involved. No one ever wants to have to face something like this, but I agree the decision to prioritize the child's life over the gorilla's was appropriate. I don't understand the outrage over thanking God for protecting her child, seems like some of you just need to get a jab in on Christianity any time you can.

Rather than playing the blame game, I would propose that we work on solutions to keep this from happening in the future.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by fravel

I don't understand the outrage over thanking God for protecting her child, seems like some of you just need to get a jab in on Christianity any time you can.

I don't discriminate with religion, they are all as silly as each other. A grown adult believing in fairytales does my head in. On top of that, if there was a god, "thanking" them is the height of stupidity, why did said god not intervene before the child fell in?

Idiocy.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by fravel

Tough situation for all involved. No one ever wants to have to face something like this, but I agree the decision to prioritize the child's life over the gorilla's was appropriate. I don't understand the outrage over thanking God for protecting her child, seems like some of you just need to get a jab in on Christianity any time you can.

Well to be fair, if God had any role in this, He'd of probably made sure the kid wasn't in a gorilla enclosure in the first place.

I'm not trying to get any blows against a religion, just the dumbass mother who is using God as an excuse for being a shitty parent.

[Mandi90TT]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I don't discriminate with religion, they are all as silly as each other. A grown adult believing in fairytales does my head in. On top of that, if there was a god, "thanking" them is the height of stupidity, why did said god not intervene before the child fell in?

Idiocy.

Agreed x1000.

Either way, given that this has not happened, except for this time, since the zoo opened in 1978, I would submit that the zoo's design is fine, it is the stupidity of the mother and the child that is at fault.

Again, prosecute the mother for child neglect, AND sue her in civil court for all costs related to the incident.