Harambe's Death.
 

Jane Goodall Responds to Harambe's Death: 'It Looked as Though the Gorilla Was Putting an Arm Around the Child' | People

There does not seem to be easy answers in this tragedy. A very quick decision was needed and it is hard to determine if it was the right one in all the confusion about what the gorilla was going to do. Who really knows?

You are right no one. We are learning more and more now about animals and so much of our past learning is turning out to be partial. Yet, if a gorilla monkey saw her baby in a questionable situation with a grown man, she might have responded by using deathly force too. It's nature and reactions are swift. I place no blame but still felt so sorry for the animal who unknown to us might have done nothing harmful to the child. We don't know.
I just finished watching a video of a polar bear who came upon a dog team and actually played with the dogs. It was known some polar bears do this so the team driver stayed three days and caught it all on video to show people. The bear kept returning to play! We just don't know about animals but they are more than we currently think.

Ever see a cat play with a mouse before it kills it?

Because the parents were insufficiently attentive the child had time to climb over the fence and jump into the enclosure. The ape had the child for about ten minutes. At one point the ape had thrown the kid ten feet up in the air according to one witness.

We do need to help the apparently endangered gorilla population by stopping the poaching!

Does anyone who values the life of an animal over the life of a human being deserve to be a babysitter much less a parent?

Let he/she who has lost sight of their child for a second be the first to cast blame on this Mother or call her inattentive!

Very wise njbchbum. Can you imagine if the animal killed the child. This is a no win second guess situation. A magnificent animal wasted like that is sad. It would be more sad if it was a child. The parents were at the zoo with the child, do you think they feel bad enough already without the media and others passing judgement on them? I'm going to guess it was an accident and they didn't tell the child to slip thru fall and play with the beast. So sorry for that family.

Corwin says the lesson is for parents to treat zoos with the respect they deserve.

“Zoos aren’t your babysitter,” he said. “Take a break from the cell phone, the selfie stick and the texting. Connect with your children. Be responsible for your children. I don’t think this happened in seconds or minutes. I think this took time for this kid, this little boy to find himself in that situation. Ultimately it’s the gorilla that’s paid this price.”

Animal expert Jeff Corwin: 'zoos aren't your baby sitter' | FOX25

I completely agree with every post so far, which leads me to believe that the adult homo sapiens that largely populate The Villages are wise and good and kind too.

Please watch this interview with Jack Hanna.

Other news channel video interviews have been clipped and do not include all the information contained in this one with Greta VanSusteren.

Jack Hanna: I agree with zoo's decision to take out gorilla | On Air Videos | Fox News

I agree with you. The blame should be placed squarely on the zoo, as it was on the Pittsburgh zoo when a mother lost hold of her child, who fell into an exhibit of wild dogs and was killed. No exhibit of dangerous animals should have any ways to be penetrated by anyone of any size.

I also agree with a journalist at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that these endangered animals should be in preserves, not zoos. JMO

Parents settle lawsuit against Pittsburgh zoo after mauling - NY Daily News

I forgot about that case.

I would have to see a lot more information about safety practices at the Cincinnati zoo's gorilla enclosure before finding the zoo negligent.

As to endangered animals and their habitats that seems to depend a lot on what habitat and what animals are involved. Many animals that are no longer with us were killed off because of man or from radical changes in their habitats. A new habitat might be needed for some endangered animals. And with some animals, a zoo is a lot safer than a place were men and women are hunting these animals sometimes to extinction.

Please see the video I posted above. Jack Hanna addresses many facets of the blame game going on, as well as how the Columbus and Cincinnati zoos (and the 220+ zoos in the U.S.) produce millions of dollars for the preservation of these gorillas and other endangered species in the wild.

He also discusses how they build, monitor and check the zoo enclosures so they'll be as safe as possible while still allowing viewing.

There are many grey areas in this whole national controversy.

The child did not just slip and fall through a hole in the fence. He had been badgering his parents to "go swimming with the gorillas". He climbed over the fence and jumped. Having been repeatedly forewarned of his likely intention, they should have been watching him closely. Duh!

To me the irony is that the mother is employed as a day care worker. I, for one, am relieved she does not work where my grandchildren go.

Everybody knows what size a toddler is and what they can slip through. Let any parent who has NEVER lost track/control of his or her child stand up and yell--be honest. I still say shame on the zoo.

Over the years millions of toddlers had safely visited that gorilla compound with their parents. The enclosure had to be idiot proof since none of the millions of children visitors in the past had ever "slipped through". BTW, this kid did not "slip through" - he scaled the fence and jumped into the gorilla pit.

The parents' behavior could merit a Darwin Award.

The zoo could hold the parents liable for the costs the zoo incurred due to their parental negligence.

And why would a fence be scaleable by a toddler?