• Ever thought it'd be cool to have your art, writing, or challenge runs featured on PokéCommunity? Click here for info - we'd love to spotlight your work!
  • Welcome to PokéCommunity! Register now and join one of the best fan communities on the 'net to talk Pokémon and more! We are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.

Gorilla killed at Cincinnati zoo sparks public outcry

As an Ohio/Cincinnati resident, this was big news the past few days. Anyways:

The loss of Harambe is tragic, it sucks. Losing an amazing, endangered animal to a negligent parent sucks even more, considering how few of these creatures are left. That being said, the Zoo made the right call. The life of a human being, a child no less, should be worth more in the eyes of society than a zoo animal, no matter how majestic, beautiful, endangered, etc. Tranquilizing the animal wouldn't work, as a dart isn't an immediate knockout like you see in the movies - a high dosage of a tranquilizing agent would have pissed the animal off for a good 5-10 minutes before it went into effect, which is 5-10 minutes more that the Gorilla would need to serious injure or kill the child. As terrible as it is, I would make the same call as the Zoo staff did, every time, because it's a matter of safety and a matter of saving a human life and I really fail to see how that can't be the top priority here, lol.
 
Last edited:
To bring in a different point, I wonder how the kid is and will be? A lot has been made about who is at fault, should they have shot, etc, but I can't say I've seen much news at all about the kid beyond 'he's not dead/is okay'. And he wanted to go see a gorilla - a harmless desire - and the tragic result is that it is dead. I imagine he may have some guilt later about the event, even though he is just a young curious kid who wouldn't have possibly anticipated such consequences from him ending up in the enclosure. On top of that having your parents subjected to such scrutiny - rightly or wrongly - may have an intriguing effect as well...

Yeah I would imagine the kid would feel guilty over what happened, both over the gorilla's death and parents being scrutinized, but colours already mentioned it might be short term and probably people will stop being angry at the parents.

My post is probably nothing new either, but I'm on the side the zoo should have taken better precautions on the enclosures and the zookeepers did what they have to do. I can understand where some folks are saying the parents should take measures in keeping an eye on the child, but at the same time I too feel we don't exactly know the full story on the family's side yet.
 
I guess I don't really need to expand on what I said earlier since I think what I would've said has already been said several times more or less so.....

One thing though. It's been noted multiple times in this thread that tranquilizer darts tend to agitate an animal before it's finally sedated. Why is that though? Seems odd that something meant to sedate an animal will first do the opposite. Is there something about the chemicals used or is it just the fact that the animal is pissed it was shot or what?

As for what Marcin said about the psychological effect, I wonder if perhaps the kid will end up with PTSD related to zoos or apes or guns or something.

.....as a side note, a few people have mentioned that they believe that all life is valuable/all life is of equal value, which is a notion I disagree with, but that's also a separate topic.
 
.....as a side note, a few people have mentioned that they believe that all life is valuable/all life is of equal value, which is a notion I disagree with, but that's also a separate topic.

Life is only of equal value in the sense that different forms of life exist and share the same base value of them being alive - whether or not that form of life is beneficial or 'deserves' to live is a wholly different discussion. I'll make a thread about that soon.
 
hooman child >= hooman woman > hooman man > not hooman when it comes to priority of who lives and who dies.

- I do not blame the parents or the child on this one. Yes, it's the responsibility of a parent to keep an eye on their child anywhere, especially in a place like this, but it is chiefly the responsibility of the zoo itself to provide a place of safety for those involved and the fact that an unknowing four year old could slip past their 'defences' is pretty ****ing pathetic. It is the job of the zoo to account for the fact that people will make mistakes and prevent those mistakes from turning into something as tragic as this. Whether the shooting should have happened is one thing, the biggest issue is that the option had to come about in the first place.

I believe that this is the correct approach also. Missing/stray children at a public venue will 100% occur. So the zoo's safety features must be designed with that obvious scenario in mind (be childproof).

also

A WORLDWIDE rescue mission has been launched today after thousands of internet commentators were left stranded on higher moral ground in dangerously ignorant conditions, following an incident in a Cincinnati zoo where a gorilla was shot in a bid to protect a young boy.

Internet rescue service personnel have been inundated with emergency calls from people trapped in comment sections, many of whom are incredibly passionate about news stories they can jump to conclusions on without reading the facts.

"It's very hard to gain access to the higher moral ground. It's tough for rescuers to get past the raging statements made without even a cursory look at the information, and conditions overhead aren't great as we've to weather a torrent of mindless abuse," explained lead rescuer Don Franklin.

In fact, several panicked victims resorted to lambasting the parents of the child in question in a bid to survive the gushing stream of opinions engulfing social media.

"Could I wait until the information is gathered before forming an opinion? Of course, but where's the fun in that, plus they're African American and the father also has a criminal record: I read in the Mail Online," said one man who has been trapped on the moral high ground since Saturday. "What kind of neglectful parent brings their kids to the zoo like that anyway? Surely there's a law against people who have spent time in cages, visiting animals in cages?"

Many experts in the field of ape psychology have since come forward to point out how the child was obviously safer being dragged underwater by 800 pound gorilla, who has spent most of its incarcerated life in cramped conditions while being stared at by noisy humans with flashing camera phones.

"Split second decisions which are made in high pressure situations all in the name of protecting a child are my bread and butter, so trust me when I say I knew exactly what they should have done in that moment. I'm actually livid the Zoo didn't contact me," shared Alan Boland from Waterford, a father of none and avid nature program fan.

"That poor animal should have been talked down using bananas and sign language. All gorillas know sign language and they should have coaxed him away from the child with bananas. Simple" he concluded.

If you have been affected by a gorilla tragedy, please leave your comment below. If you have not been affected by a gorilla tragedy, do not let that stop you.

https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2...as-thousands-stranded-on-higher-moral-ground/

topkek
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Her
Back
Top