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A boy allegedly wants to venture into a Western lowland gorilla exhibit.
A boy falls into that very exhibit.
A boy is faced with a male silver-back gorilla with a strength of 10 men.
The gorilla reacts to the boy.
Witnesses panic.
Zoo officials decide to shoot the gorilla dead in fear of boy's life.
17-year-old gorilla dead.
Internet points fingers at mother for bad parenting.
Internet points fingers at zoo for making that decision.
Internet backs up zoo's decision.
Zoo stands firm on their decision.
Mother stands firm on her parenting skills.
Boy survives with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Mother thanks zoo officials for saving her son's life.
Gorilla's former caretaker is heartbroken.
Police starts investigation.
Media releases full and edited footage of gorilla and boy in the enclosure.
Experts share their expertise and try to translate gorilla's body language.
And we're all in this dilemma by the name of 'ethics'.
Most of us have already heard of the incident involving a 3-year-old boy named Isaiah Dickerson and a 17-year-old Western lowland silverback gorilla named Harambe. Isaiah fell into the Cincinnati zoo's gorilla enclosure by accident after he allegedly climbed his way into it only to be faced with a 450-pound Harambe. In the video, Harambe was seen standing over, touching, pulling and even dragging Isaiah across the enclosure's moat by his feet. Soon after, Harambe was shot to death by zoo officials.
Link to full video (instead of the WLWT edited version) of the incident that eyewitness Kim O'Connor filmed: https://youtu.be/Zfuz7cTDNeI
The public has expressed outrage that an innocent and endangered species gorilla had to be killed in order to save a boy's life. Some have even posed death threats against Isaiah's parents for their alleged negligence. While for some others, they have openly defended the zoo's decision. What we see in the video is what happened. The problem lies in what was the wrong and right thing to do in that situation. That is where the public becomes divided in their idea of what was the right thing to do for the zoo officials and Isaiah's mother.
“We are all devastated that this tragic accident resulted in the death of a critically endangered gorilla,” he said. “This is a huge loss for the zoo family and the gorilla population worldwide.” - Thane Maynard, Cincinnati Zoo director
(Quote Source: News Corp Australia Network)
The zoo has stood firm on their decision that the lethal shot to Harambe had to be done in order to save the boy's life. Zoo officials and experts have provided reasoning that if the zoo personnel were to instead use tranquilizers, it will take a long time for it to take affect on Harambe and it that time the gorilla could have been potentially more dangerous to Isaiah. It took just 10 minutes from the time Isaiah fell into the enclosure to Harambe's death. The zoo barriers were apparently safe and exceed any required protocols according to certain officials. Police have begun investigation but no legal action has been taken on the zoo or the boy's parents.
Isaiah's mother, Michelle Gregg defended her responsibility as a parent saying that she keeps tight watch on her kids and accidents happen. She was thankful that her son was safe. The question of exactly how long Isaiah was left unsupervised for him to be able to get through the enclosure barriers and fall 10 to 12-feet into the surrounding moat will be never known.
The whole situation boils down to ethics and a whole lot of unknown factors. I certainly do not claim to be a gorilla expert or certainly even a good parent. I do not know the meaning behind Harambe's actions. I do not know what actually happened between Isaiah and his parents in that zoo. But what I do know is that Harambe was acting like a gorilla. Gorillas are much stronger than a grown adult. Isaiah was only a toddler. Certainly he will get hurt. Do we really expect that Harambe would understand his own strength? Can we actually blame an adult gorilla for being more powerful than a human child? Similar incidents have happened before. Why has it happen again?
A woman's voice can be heard saying in the video: "Calm down, Isaiah! Mommy loves you!"
Next do we really know what happened between Isaiah and his parents? How long were they unaware of this absence? Were they preoccupied with something? Did they try to prevent him from going in but their efforts were in vain? I do not wish to fully blame the parents for being negligent because I do not know what actually occurred. I was not there. We were not there. Take our parents for example, I'm sure most of us can say that our parents are not perfect. They have tried to protect, mold and teach us the best they can. In the end, as their children we have our own minds. People would be quick to say that what happened to them, they won't let it happen to their child. And that is what the public is doing to Isaiah's parents. Obviously, Isaiah's parents did not look after him well enough for him to fall into the gorilla enclosure and that may cause serious trauma and consequences. Accidents are bound to happen and of course that shouldn't alone justify our lack of responsibility and judgement. They are at fault on that part. But can you really say they did not look after him at all? I emphasize on at all. The public does not know that.
And the next question would be to wonder if Isaiah would be traumatized by the incident. Would he be afraid of gorillas from now on? Would he be upset that his probably "favorite" animal (since he supposedly wanted so badly to enter its enclosure) was killed because he accidentally fell into the enclosure? Would he blame himself? Would he be angry? Would he even remember what happened to him? What would Isaiah's perception be in the future based on the actions of the zoo officials or even his parents? Would it affect his world view in the future about the idea of conservation and animal appreciation?
I really do wanna say that I fully respect the efforts made by the zoo officials to help the boy. Of course the boy is far more helpless than the adult gorilla. The zoo officials made a choice between two options. And it's easy to see what they were.
Option A: To save the boy's life and also the gorilla's life.
Option B: To save the boy's life.
I think it is obvious to us all that there was no other option but these two. If they took Option A, the outcome would be unknown. The would have had to use tranquilizers on Harambe which according to experts, would take a long time to affect the gorilla. Harambe would probably become more agitated. Imagine if you were Harambe, people screaming and shouting and this 'thing' is messing up your balance and mind. Harambe might badly injure Isaiah or even end up killing him. That would mean bad publicity for the zoo (even now they are already receiving bad publicity for killing an endangered animal). I can imagine the headlines: ZOO BLAMED FOR BOY'S DEATH FROM GORILLA ATTACK (O.K. the headline sucks but you get what I mean). The zoo might get sued by the parents. Maybe even racial issues could be brought in. They might have to close down. Ra ra ra.. Let's just say nothing good is going to come.
OR after Harambe is shot by the tranquilizer he might run away to find cover and leave the boy alone. At that time, zoo officials might have time to get the boy to safety. Obviously all these are just speculations made by an unqualified individual such as myself, I do admit. Anyway, zoo officials were not going to take that risk. I guess they knew the animal more than anybody else. Or did they think they knew? The outcome cannot be predicted. As for Option B, the outcome could be predicted. The gorilla dies and the boy's life will be spared. Clear to the point. We might never know what would happen if the zoo took Option A because they didn't take it. And I think that is what frustrated people.
It does frustrate me. The thing is I can't say what could be the right decision to make. I honestly have no right to judge the zoo's decision or even the parent's parenting skills. The boy is safe. Family is happy. Public divided. Everybody has their foot in it. Even me I suppose because I'm writing about it. There have been so many cases like this in the past about children falling into zoo enclosures. Obviously, the design of those enclosures (however much people claim it has exceeded required protocols or standards) were not safe enough to keep everyone or anyone from falling in. What is being done about that? What can the zoo officials do to bring down the number of people falling into zoo enclosures to zero? Of course it was only one child that fell in after so many years since the zoo opened, but what about the future?
What I'm really upset or frustrated about is because I somehow think that we humans are so caught up in our own agendas or supposed "goodwill" or compassion we have towards animals. In actual fact, when it comes down to human or animal, we would pick the former. Even if the animal was minding it's own business when all of a sudden a child falls into its territory, its home that we humans have provided for them behind the idea of 'conservation'.
We say we want to save this animal and that animal, but what are really protecting? We want to protect these animals for ourselves and for the future generations. Not to protect them just because we want them to be protected. The end goal is always concerned with us humans and how much we benefit from it. Zoos are for us humans. In the end, we protect ourselves first. I guess I can't even argue with that mindset because that's just how it is, "survival of the fittest". We humans reproduce to be stronger and smarter.
Why do we kill mosquitoes easily without thinking twice? They are life. Why do people kill cockroaches without thinking twice? They are life. It's just who we are. We were born to eliminate anything that could harm the survival of our species and feed on anything that can make us stronger. I guess there is nothing wrong with that because if another species would dominate this Earth, they would have done the same to us. Basically, I think people have to stop hiding behind this veil of compassion. Be blunt. We are helping ourselves and if helping other species would help us, we shall do it. If it does not help us, then we won't.
I have always loved zoos. And I do believe they're doing an honorable deed to the public for raising awareness about animal conservation and appreciation for diversity. I mean, we wouldn't have loved those adorable sun bears, polar bears and even slippery snakes if not for zoos. I would have not been able to appreciate how important these animals are to diversity and the environment if not for zoos. I do not think that there is an ethical issue about building zoos and keeping animals in zoos but there is an ethical issue when it comes to the zoos vision and focus on financial gains instead of putting focus on the animals' well-being and to create public awareness. Sometimes I do also believe that people have become too arrogant.
Help save animals and trees and what not but avoid being too arrogant about it. Avoid being too arrogant about our abilities and potential as humans. We are who we are. But we are not the "savior" to animals or plants. Animals and plants do not owe us anything just because we want to help them. They are not obligated to return the favor. Maybe some animals do not understand the meaning of gratitude. Maybe some animals do, like chimps? But then again, I'm not an animal whisperer.
I hope that Isaiah would grow up to understand what happened to him in that gorilla enclosure. I hope that zoos around the world would begin to reflect on their vision and idea about conservation. I hope that what happened to Isaiah and Harambe becomes a lesson or an eye-opener to the public about the truth and ultimate goal behind our own actions or even responsibility as humans.
“Zoos have a huge importance in getting children to love animals. They need to see them. They used to think gorillas were King Kong, but if you’re around them, you’ll see how beautiful they are,” he said. “A children’s zoo is so important. They touch the goat, donkey, they feel its warmth, the odor. They can finally tie that feeling to the bigger animals. If they never see anything other than a picture, they won’t understand the importance.” - Jerry Stones, former caretaker to Harambe
(Quote source: Cincinnati.com)
Thanks for reading.
MY.
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References
Park, M., Grinberg, E., & Ap, T. (2016). CNN. 'We'd make the same decision,' zoo director says of gorilla shooting. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/30/us/gorilla-shot-harambe/
Iyenger, R. (2016). TIME. Did Harambe the gorilla have to die? Here’s what you need to know.
Retrieved from http://time.com/4352001/cincinnati-zoo-gorilla-killed-harambe-boy-toddler/
Fieldstadt, E., & Stelloh, T., (2016). NBC News. Outrage Grows After Gorilla Harambe Shot Dead at Cincinnati Zoo to Save Tot. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/outrage-grows-after-gorilla-harambe-shot-dead-cincinnati-zoo-save-n582706
Shammas, J. (2016). Mirror UK. Astonishing new footage shows gorilla 'PROTECTING' boy and holding his hand before being shot dead. Retrieved from http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/astonishing-new-footage-shows-gorilla-8082168
Santos, A. (2016). Vox. Harambe the gorilla: the zoo killing that’s set the internet on fire, explained. Retrieved from http://www.vox.com/2016/5/31/11813640/harambe-gorilla-cincinnati-zoo-killed
Chia, J., & Towner, M. (2016). Daily Mail UK. RIP Harambe: Fury at 'neglectful' parents of boy who ASKED to play in gorilla's pen before crawling in - forcing zoo to shoot silverback dead while it 'protected' the child. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3615099/Outrage-directed-parents-Harambe-gorilla-s-senseless-death-four-year-old-son-fell-enclosure-led-zoo-officials-fatally-shoot-animal.html
Good write up
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