Furious backlash after zoo shoots dead rare gorilla

ANIMAL lovers are up in arms after a zoo shot dead a rare gorilla to save a boy who had fallen into its enclosure.

A ZOO is under fire for shooting a rare gorilla dead after a four-year-old boy fell into his enclosure.

The 200kg silverback was filmed dragging the youngster “like a ragdoll” for about 10 minutes — away from a wall and through a moat filled with water — as onlookers screamed with horror at Cincinnati Zoo, Ohio.

Animal lovers slammed zoo chiefs for their decision to kill 17-year-old Harambe — claiming he was only trying to protect the child, who was taken to hospital on Saturday, The Sun reported. Others lashed out at the child’s parents, even saying they should be charged with neglect.

One Twitter used wrote: “If Haramabe was going to injure or kill the child, he would have done so. He was protecting/rescuing. Senseless murder of an animal.”

The Hashtag #RIPHarambe is trending on Twitter and more than 4500 had liked the Facebook page Justice for Harambe.

The zoo defended its actions, saying staff reacted to a “life-threatening situation” and maintained a tranquilliser would not have had a quick enough effect.

During the ordeal, the boy’s mum could he heard shouting: “Mummy’s right here. Isaiah, be calm. Mummy loves you.”

Witness Kim O’Connor claimed she heard the boy say he wanted to get into the water surrounding Harambe’s pen.

It was claimed his mother replied: “No, you’re not, no, you’re not.” It is unclear how the boy slipped into the enclosure.

The four-year-old boy fell into Harambe’s enclosure. Picture: WLWT

Harambe the gorilla was shot dead after the boy fell into his enclosure. Picture: WLWT

The witness added panicked bystanders may have aggravated the tense situation.

“I don’t know if the screaming did it or too many people hanging on the edge, if he thought we were coming in, but then he pulled the boy down away further from the big group,” she said.

The lad was rushed to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital but escaped without serious injury and is expected to make a full recovery.

Zoo director Thane Maynard said: “[The officials] made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy’s life. It could have been very bad.”

Maynard added it was “a very sad day for the zoo”.

He went on to claim that a tranquilliser would not have had a quick enough effect and could have endangered the boy’s life.

PLEASE morning shows, don't put these idiot parents on your programs. The gorilla is dead. NO ONE wants to hear from them. #Harambe

— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) May 29, 2016

How do you not pay attention to your kid long enough for him to climb through barricades & fall into a gorilla exhibit... #Harambe

— beth grabDAMN (@elizabug789) May 29, 2016

sad thing is it looked like #Harambe was protecting the kid more than the parent was. #CincinnatiZoo

— brittany (@brittrosenthal) May 29, 2016

Rare gorilla #Harambe murdered by @CincinnatiZoo bc kid got in enclosure. Zoo & bad parents shld be held responsible pic.twitter.com/uIQE7L38Ux

— BrettMDecker (@BrettMDecker) May 29, 2016

But social media commenters reacted with fury to the decision to kill the majestic ape.

Facebook user Jackie Lynn wrote: “He didn’t look vicious to me. Harambe was just a gorilla doing gorilla things. I can’t imagine the pain the other female gorillas are faced with. They need a strong male in their habitat to keep order.”

Another wrote on the Justice for Harambe Facebook page: “Glad the child is okay, but this beautiful animal DID NOT HAVE TO DIE!”

And Sheila Katko said: “I don’t see why they could not use tranquilliser rather than kill this beautiful creature.”

Harambe, a western lowland gorilla, was born in captivity and moved to the Ohio zoo in 2014.

He had turned 17 yesterday, with the zoo posting a birthday message on its Facebook page.

The species is native to the dense forests of central Africa where they are believed to number around 100,000.

Conservationists consider the apes to be critically endangered.

The mishap has echoes of a similar incident at Chicago Zoo in 1996 when a female gorilla saved a child who fell into the enclosure.

The three-year-old boy fell about five metres and lay lifeless on the floor of the enclosure for a few minutes until Binti Jua, then eight years old, gently picked up the unconscious boy and cradled him in her arms, before handing him over to zoo keepers.

The boy made a full recovery.

Harembe’s death comes just days after two lions were killed as they mauled a man who entered their pen at a Chilean zoo in an apparent suicide attempt.

The victim was left with “grave” injuries after the incident at the Santiago wildlife park.

A child touches the head of a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Picture: AP Photo/John Minchillo

This story originally appeared in The Sun.