Last week, a 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe was shot and killed after a three-year-old boy fell into his zoo enclosure.
The decision to shoot the animal was made by Cincinnati zookeepers because a tranquiliser would not work quickly enough and there were fears for the safety of the boy, Isaiah.
https://twitter.com/XLNB/status/736936236892323840
There was a huge outcry over the animal’s death, with a lot of criticism focusing on Isaiah’s parents, especially the mother, Michelle Gregg. In a Facebook post the day after the incident, Gregg provided some context around what happened, and said “accidents happen”.
After an initial investigation into her role in the accident, Gregg will not face charges, the prosecutor in Hamilton County, Cincinnati has said.
Gregg had told her son he was not allowed to go anywhere near the pit, but she then became distracted by the other children under her care.
Prosecutor Joseph Deters said:
“By all account, this mother did not act in any way where she presented this child to some harm. She had three other children with her and she turned her back”
“If anyone doesn’t believe a 3-year-old cannot scamper off quickly, they have never had kids, because they can.”
Deters added: “I might have been dead that day because I would have gone in there. And I’m not much of a match for that animal, unless I’m armed. I just think we’re lucky that the zoo did what they had to do.”
Sums it up perfectly. #justiceforharambe pic.twitter.com/Ika95fM9Kv
— ✈️ (@theburnxngwolf) May 30, 2016
He also defended Gregg from the barrage of hostility she received from online commenters. “Had she been in the bathroom smoking crack and letting her kids run around the room, this would be a different story,” he said.
The Gorilla World exhibit is due to reopen today, and a number of changes have been made. The public barrier has been raised to 42 inches, solid wood beams have been added to the top with knotted rope netting fixed at the bottom.
Speaking about these further safety measures, zoo director Thane Maynard said:
“Our exhibit goes above and beyond standard safety requirements, but in light of what happened, we have modified the outer public barrier to make entry even more difficult”.
