Dead Gorilla

[smaneck]

Indeed. It's only the doctrine of the Imago Dei that gives us a reason to highly esteem the life of man. According to Genesis 9 the gorilla would have to be killed if it killed the boy. A policy like that would never fly in our world today!

Uh, in case you didn't notice the gorilla was killed even though it didn't kill the boy. They wouldn't take the chance. So to say a policy like that wouldn't fly today is rather ludicrous.

 

[grandvizier1006]

I know I should feel bad for the gorilla as well as the child, but in light of the whole Cecil the lion thing I just don't like it when the media picks up these "innocent animal" stories. I almost don't want to care about the gorilla at all, in fact, not because he was a "bad gorilla" or "needed" to be killed: I just don't like the media bringing it up because it forces people to side between humans or animals. As a human who loved animals as a kid that's not exact an easy thing to do. Plus I had an experience with an alligator similar to this, although alligators are not endangered.

 

[citizenthom]

One thing this incident has taught us all: the Internet is chock full of experts on gorilla behavior. Not to mention parental standards of care at zoos.

 

[smaneck]

Actually, my parents DID use a harness on my oldest brother, because he was curious and always getting into things, a trait that did help him when he started schooling, but is a detriment for a child too young to understand boundaries.

I presume you mean a deterrent. When i first saw toddlers in harnesses I was revolted by the idea, but a toddler is not going to feel they are being treated like an animal, because they are just toddlers who won't make that connection. Obviously not appropriate when they are older, but four is older in most cases. When my son was young I preferred those lightweight umbrella strollers.

 

[grandvizier1006]

Another interesting thing is that I have been to this zoo. Didn't remember much about the gorillas, though.

 

[smaneck]

Plus I had an experience with an alligator similar to this, although alligators are not endangered.

I somehow have never felt much sympathy for alligators. They just look evil.

 

[smaneck]

I feel for the gorilla in that lowland silver back gorillas are endangered. And this one did not have to die. He wasn't going to hurt this boy. He was protecting this child as he would one of his own. The screaming people caused the gorilla to go into protective mode. He covered the boy and stood there looking at the crowd of screamers.

When they shot him he had dragged the boy back into the water. He may have been trying to return it to other side, it is hard to know, but the gorilla could have easily killed this child without meaning to especially if the child was screaming at him as was likely.

He wasn't able to discern they were screaming in fear of the child. In his world even in captivity screaming passionate emotions that gorillas can sense on a wholly different level than humans means threat.

And therein lies the danger.

Now this boy will have to live with the horrific emotional scars afforded from his fall and injuries. As well as hearing the gunshots , the buckling shock of the bullet impacts upon the body of the gorilla who was protecting him. The smell of cordite, hot blood, the sounds of the gorilla taking the bullets and then dying.

Keep in mind the child was likely terrified of the gorilla whatever its intention. I doubt if the gorilla's death will be the most traumatic thing he remembers.

A tranquilizer would have saved the boy and the gorilla. The decision to kill this gorilla was irresponsible.

I'm not prepared to make that call.

 

[grandvizier1006]

I somehow have never felt much sympathy for alligators. They just look evil.

That's fair. I think people have a bit of a basis towards any animal based on how close it is to being human. People don't care as much about fish, or insects, etc. And what about mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, parasitic worms, etc.? They can harm us and we gladly would wipe them out. Although as far as I know nobody is really trying extensively.

 

[smaneck]

Chalk it up to cultural differences.

Harnesses aren't that common. Most Americans have an aversion to them too. But logically speaking the problem is with us, not the toddler. They don't care.

 

[smaneck]

Like I said, my brother's dignity was NOT harmed by being restrained.

Let's face it. Toddlers have no dignity. By the time they are old enough to care, the harnesses come off anyhow.

 

[smaneck]

Or the boy will only remember playing with a gorilla and falling a sleep. I'm sure the family will do what they can to help the boy.

Turns out the boy was only three. The child suffered serious injuries though more probably from the fall than the gorilla, though the way it was swing that kid around something could have got dislocated.

 

[smaneck]

That's fair. I think people have a bit of a basis towards any animal based on how close it is to being human. People don't care as much about fish, or insects, etc. And what about mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, parasitic worms, etc.? They can harm us and we gladly would wipe them out. Although as far as I know nobody is really trying extensively.

I had a friend who did some research with a professor in the Amazon jungle. It turned out they didn't bring near enough food and while there was plenty of fruit around they were basically starving for want of protein. A group of hunters and gatherers came across them and taught them how to catch and prepare pythons to eat. The foragers would also roast monkeys but our researchers couldn't stomach that. It looked to them like they were cooking babies.

 

[grandvizier1006]

I had a friend who did some research with a professor in the Amazon jungle. It turned out they didn't bring near enough food and while there was plenty of fruit around they were basically starving for want of protein. A group of hunters and gatherers came across them and taught them how to catch and prepare pythons to eat. The foragers would also roast monkeys but our researchers couldn't stomach that. It looked to them like they were cooking babies.

Interesting. Just goes to show that in certain situations humans are willing to eat almost anything that won't kill them aside from heir own kind.

 

[Nithavela]

Interesting. Just goes to show that in certain situations humans are willing to eat almost anything that won't kill them aside from heir own kind.

In some situations, some humans are perfectly willing to eat human meat, as well.

 

[He is Risen 72]

All animals from Africa belong in Africa.

 

[He is Risen 72]

Turns out the boy was only three. The child suffered serious injuries though more probably from the fall than the gorilla, though the way it was swing that kid around something could have got dislocated.

Something DID get dislocated or COULD have? No need to add to the story unless it is the meteor that COULD have hit the earth and killed the gorilla and kid.

 

[He is Risen 72]

In some situations, some humans are perfectly willing to eat human meat, as well.

Leningrad and Stalingrad come to mind. Mmmmm, long pig.

 

[HannahT]

I found a video of a chimp being drugged, because it escaped. The reaction is like many animals you see when they are tranquilized. They are ticked off, and can get violent. Chimp

I feel awful for all involved, and that does include this Gorilla. Yet, I'm not so sure I would want to take the chance of this LARGE animal getting ticked off after being shot with the tranquilizer with that small child being next to him.

 

[trunks2k]

Something DID get dislocated or COULD have? No need to add to the story unless it is the meteor that COULD have hit the earth and killed the gorilla and kid.

We know the kid suffered some serious injuries. We don't know really what exactly caused the injuries. It could have been the fall, it could have easily been from getting dragged around.

When you're dealing with an unpredictable 400lb gorilla that could do serious harm without even intending to, I don't fault the zoo keepers for killing the gorilla. Anything else was just too risky for the child.

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As for the mom, I'm gonna defend her some. I'm not sure what the mom did that was so outright negligent. She lost track of her kid for a little bit. How many people here don't have at least one story of having gotten lost in a public place as a child? Maybe I'm just weird, but just about every one I personally know can remember a couple times that happened. And it's not like "oh, my kid could easily end up in that animal enclosure so I better take extra super care" is a likely thought to enter a parents mind - the assumption would be the enclosures are such that a wayward child CAN'T get in. In regards to a previous criticism about the mom apparently trying to handle 6 kids at once, I am not particularly willing to fault her for that. I know several families that have 5 or 6 kids and often have just one of the parents looking after the kids. Not to mention the plenty of times I remember a group of friends going out with only one adult looking after us.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

The kid had a concussion according to most of the reports. There's also an account from an eyewitness, I'll see if I can find it later since I'm on my way to work. Basically, this kid got away from him mom while she was taking a picture. In the mere seconds it took for the mom to realize he was gone, and for the crowd to realize something was amiss, this kid had crawled into the area. There's a 15 foot drop that a kid wouldn't have seen from his eye level. The woman who posted the account said she had to stop her husband from trying to go in after the boy. She continued that the gorilla was doing okay with the okay until the crowd freaked out.

By her accounts, this was something that was just a tragic accident. Perhaps had the mom had the leash, it would've been okay. We don't know. I feel for all involved, but I feel the zoo made the right choice under the circumstances and I don't feel that placing blame on anyone does any good here.

 

[Landon Caeli]

The parents weren't watching their child. The boy isn't the son of the zoo he's the son of parents who had something other to do than watch their boy when he was near a gorilla enclosure. And now a gorilla who was actually looking after the boy who became injured due to parental neglect is dead.

So you're okay with zoo's not fully barricading dangerous animals off from the public, and you prefer there be ways that little children can fall into exhibits where gorillas can get ahold of them when their parents aren't looking.