Cincinnati Zoo kills gorilla after 4-year-old climbs into his pen

It's been more than 20 years since I last visited the Cincinnati Zoo and I don't particularly remember the gorilla exhibit, but it sounds like it took some serious inattention on someone's part for the child to be able to get into the pen.

Gorilla killed after 4-year-old falls into zoo enclosure

 

What gender did the gorilla self identify as?

 

I've always found zoos depressing and dangerous.

 

I'm torn in situations like this.

Parents aren't perfect. Mistakes and lapses will happen. 9999 times out of 10000, nothing bad happens. I don't want to rush to villify the person unlucky enough to be the 10000th just to make myself feel better that it could never happen to me.

But at the same time, at that age, their speed far outweighs their judgment and I spent a lot of my time mentally calculating the safe distance I could let them wander and still run them down if they made a break for the nearest danger. In a crowded zoo, that distance is not far.

 

If you can't manage your kids don't take em to the zoo. That simple.

 

"Be calm!"

 

The latest national outrage.

 

I made the mistake of visiting the Justice for Harambe Facebook page. People saying the mom or the kid should have been shot. The level of vitriol is fairly stunning.

 

Parents should be shot. How the f can you not watch the kid around dangerous animals. While back there was a thread about kid falling over the railing at an arena in Cali (forget which one). there was some screeching here about suing the team. Guess this is similar, no way a kid should be able to climb into the cage. Of course there is a question of personal responsibility and when the F the parents are to blame. Guess the answer is never.

 

yes it is over the top to say the kid should have been shot. but can anyone explain how the F you let a kid get into the gorilla cage? Is there any possible explanation, other than having your head up your ass or being a bad parent? Remember going to the Bronx Zoo and other zoos as a kid and my mom would not let go of my hand, or would at least have a hold of my arm if i leaned on the railing to look at lions, tigers, gorillas, etc. Is there any reason, other than the parents' negligence, that the kid got into the gorilla cage?

 

Based on the information that I've seen at this point, I'm not willing to jump to that conclusion. It's not clear what the circumstances were, and kids are unpredictable. In my experience, not every situation with children are cut and dried. What works for one kid may not work for another, and what works for one kid one day may not work for the same kid the next day.

 

So the zoo was at fault because there is no way the kid should have been able to get in the cage?