1/17/2024 0 Comments Cincinnati zoo silverback gorillaThe zoo director had seen Harambe, who weighed in at more than 420 pounds, crush a coconut with one hand.Īnd the gorilla, known by his keepers as being handsome, smart and easy to train, was already "agitated and disoriented" by the boy's presence. Western lowland gorillas are three times bigger than a human, with arms as big as our legs, and about six times stronger, Maynard estimated. And with Harambe's strength, such aggression could have been extremely dangerous. Tranquilizing Harambe would not have taken effect instantaneously and might have resulted in displaced aggression toward the child, Maynard said. "This child was being dragged around his head was banging on the concrete," Maynard said. The decision was not made lightly, Maynard said. View Gallery: Remembering Harambe the gorilla Soon, the zoo's dangerous animal response team dispatched Harambe with a single shot. Harambe carried the boy up a ladder to dry land and continued dragging him around.Ī security team emptied the exhibit. The gorilla went down into the water and grabbed the boy by the ankle. Zoo visitors – and there were plenty of them, more than 7,000 on Saturday – reacted. Keepers tried to call the gorillas inside. The boy, who has not been identified yet by authorities, started splashing around. From there, he dropped 15 feet to the moat, into a foot and a half of water. He made his way through the bushes to the edge of the moat, a distance of approximately 4 feet. Just before 4 p.m., a 3-year-old boy went over a stainless steel rail that's a little more than 3 feet high, with vertical bars every eight feet. Zoo officials have pieced it together as follows: Maynard offered more specific details about Saturday's incident. "The exhibit is safe, the barrier is safe," he said. Department of Agriculture twice a year and by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums every five years for accreditation, he said. Gorilla World's barrier setup exceeds required protocols and has been in place for 38 years without incident, Maynard said. Exhibits are inspected by the U.S. The zoo's been here 143 years, so that's saying a lot." "We have never had to kill a dangerous animal in the middle of an emergency situation. "It's unprecedented," Maynard told the crowd of assembled reporters. Those are among the key points Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard made at a packed news conference on Monday afternoon to address the death of Harambe, the 17-year-old western lowland gorilla killed Saturday after a child fell into his Gorilla World exhibit. Gorillas and humans have the same number of hairs on their bodies.Watch Video: 'It was a life threatening situation' says director of Cincinnati Zoo Chest-beating is one way a gorilla shows that it’s excited. A male gorilla has the strength of up to eight men. A troop of up to 20 gorillas is led and defended by a dominant male called a silverback. They are very intelligent, have emotions and personalities, and live in family groups. Gorillas and humans are close relatives, and share many things in common. Despite its massive size and ferocious reputation, the gorilla is actually a peaceful and social animal. A western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) must spend most of its day eating plants to maintain its large size. The gorilla is the largest living primate. Colossus(front) and Mara(back) at the Cincinnati Zoo.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |