Harambe‘s death was unwarranted and a display of inhumanity in which many people will never forgive.
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The shooting was controversial, with some observers stating that it was unclear whether Harambe was likely to harm the child. Others called for the boy’s parents or the zoo to be held accountable for the gorilla’s death. Director Thane Maynard stated, “The child was being dragged around… His head was banging on concrete. This was not a gentle thing. The child was at risk.” Police investigated possible criminal charges against the parents, while the parents defended the zoo’s actions. The boy’s mother became the target of online shaming. On June 6, 2016, Ohio prosecutor Joseph Deters said that the mother would not face any charges of wrongdoing. The zoo was investigated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which sets the standards for zoos, and the USDA.
The incident was recorded by a bystander and uploaded to YouTube, where the video went viral and received global publicity. It sparked debate among biologists and primatologists on whether gorillas and other primates should be held in captivity at all. Primatologist Jane Goodall said that according to the video it seemed Harambe was trying to protect the child. Goodall later issued a longer explanation in an interview with the president of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, concluding that the zoo had no choice but to kill Harambe. She wrote, “It was awful for the child, the parents, Harambe, the zoo, the keepers and the public. But when people come into contact with wild animals, life and death decisions sometimes have to be made.” Goodall said that as long as humans and wild animals are kept in close proximity in zoos, there is no way to prevent accidents from happening, but she believed that zoos “with the highest standards of care” could play an important role. Zookeeper Jack Hanna strongly defended the zoo’s actions as the “correct decision”, noting that a tranquilizer dart might have taken five or ten minutes to take effect and could have aggravated Harambe further. Primatologist Frans de Waal said he saw few options for the zoo: “A gorilla is so immensely strong that even with the best of intentions—and we are not sure that Harambe had those—the child’s death was a probable outcome.”
The Incident
On May 28, 2016, a three-year-old boy visiting the Cincinnati Zoo fell into the moat at the Gorilla World habitat. Witnesses claim they heard the child say he wanted to go into the gorilla enclosure. The boy then climbed a three-foot-tall fence, crawled through four feet of bushes and then fell fifteen feet into a moat of shallow water. Zoo officials immediately signaled for the three gorillas in the habitat to return inside, and two females did so. However, the third gorilla, the inquisitive 440-pound (200 kg) male silverback, Harambe, climbed down into the moat to investigate the child splashing in the water.
Over the next ten minutes, Harambe became increasingly “agitated and disoriented” by the screams of onlookers. He dragged the child through the water, occasionally propping him up when he sat, or pushing him down when he stood. Harambe exhibited “strutting” behavior – walking around with legs and arms stiffly extended to appear bigger – a bluffing move, though one with inherent danger should he throw or drag the boy around too roughly. Harambe then carried the boy up a ladder out of the moat onto dry land. Afraid for the boy’s life, zoo officials made the decision to kill the gorilla, doing so with a single gunshot. Cincinnati firefighters said the boy was between Harambe’s legs when the shot was fired. Harambe was killed one day after his 17th birthday.
Before Death
Harambe was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas on May 27, 1999. He was named by Dan Van Coppenolle after the 1988 Shanachie song “Harambe (Working Together for Freedom)” by Rita Marley. Harambee is a Swahili term for communal labour.
On September 18, 2014, Harambe was transferred to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden to learn adult gorilla behavior and join a new social group.
The Death of Harambe 