HARAMBE, the beautiful silverback gorilla.One
of the 880 silverbacks in the world. Shot dead! Why? Many of you know about the
fateful incident. For those who don’t, Harambe, turned 17
at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, he was a beautiful one. This CRITICALLY endangered species was shot
dead by the zoo officials for two reasons:
1.
It was somebody else’s fault
2.
He acted like a Gorilla
It was a normal day for everyone. But that day
a 4-year-old boy managed to get into his enclosure. Thanks to the 4 year old’smother’s
carelessness! When the 4-year old fell in (a 10- to 12-foot drop), Harambe
grabbed him, stood over him, and dragged him. Silverback gorillas have a
reputation of being verycalm and gentle.
He was in no way harming the kid. I am in no way here judging the situation.
The situation was very spontaneous. When asked by the media about not using a
tranquilizer, the zoo official said “Tranquilizers do not take effect for several
minutes and the child was in imminent danger. On top of that, the impact from
the dart could agitate the animal and cause the situation to get much worse.” Which
was a possibility, no denying? A life was at stake and the zoo did what they
thought was right. Harambe’s death is setting the internet on fire. Everyone is
in search of justice for that bold and beautiful 450 pound. Whose fault was it?
Was it the zoo authority’s fault for the lack of safety? Or is the mother’s
fault for not watching over her kid?
Animal rights activists have
created an online
petition on Change.org to
protest the death of Harambe.
The
petition reads: “This heart breaking
decision was made in the best interests of keeping the child and the public
safe. This beautiful gorilla lost his life because the boy’s parents did not
keep a closer watch on the child. We the undersigned believe that the child
would not have been able to enter the enclosure under proper parental
supervision…It is believed that the situation was caused by parental negligence
and the zoo is not responsible for the child’s injuries and possible trauma. We
the undersigned want the parents to be held accountable for the lack of
supervision and negligence that caused Harambe to lose his life.”
If anyone
wishes to sign the petition, which we recommend, here is the link to it: https://www.change.org/p/cincinnati-zoo-justice-for-harambe.
Rest in peace Harambe!