Out of all the entities involved in the incident at Cincinnati Zoo May 28, there are two who are innocent - the two female gorillas who went inside when the zoo keepers signaled this command.

Harambe, a 17-year-old western lowland silverback male gorilla, did not do as instructed.

Killing Harambe was, unfortunately, for the safest outcome. The situation quite possibly could have been prevented, however.

I don’t think the fault lies with only one entity. Who’s responsible here is basically everyone involved - Harambe, the zoo, the 3-year-old’s mother and the child.

According to WHNT 19 News’ website depicting how the child got into the enclosure, “the child climbed over the 3-foot-tall barrier and made his way through four feet of bushes.” He then fell about 15 feet into the moat. The zoo keepers signaled the three gorillas to return inside. The two female gorillas did as instructed. The boy began splashing in the water, and Harambe went down to him. For the next 10 minutes, Harambe did several things, including pulling him violently around the water, holding his hand, pulling up his pants and bringing him up the ladder to the gorilla habitat.

According to WHNT’s visual depiction, Cincinnati firefighters reported they saw Harambe “violently dragging and throwing the child.”

The zoo staff made the decision to shoot and kill Harambe. At the time of the deadly shot, the boy was between Harambe’s legs.

If a 3-year-old child is able to get into the moat from the viewing area, what does that say about the zoo and its construction of the area around the gorillas? I have never been to Cincinnati Zoo, but from reading about how this occurred, the zoo needs to rethink the structures it has in place.

Kimberly Ann Perkins O’Connor, who witnessed the incident, told CNN, “The little boy himself had already been talking about wanting to go in, get in the water, and his mother is like ‘No, you’re not; no, you’re not.’” Before getting distracted by the other children with her, she also told her son to behave, O’Connor related.

If it is true that the mother told her son to not go into the water as the witness said, the boy should have listened to his mother. Quite frankly, children do stupid things. But that does not mean he gets a “get out of jail free” card. I do believe the boy will consider listening to his mother more when she says he cannot do what he wants to do.

As for the mother, I’m sorry, but if he was my child, and he was adamant about going into the area with the gorilla, I’d be watching him like a hawk. Maybe the mother will greatly consider listening to her son from now on when he says he wants to do something, even if it sounds impossible.

As a nanny for almost three years, I took the “mommy number 2” position very seriously. There are some situations in which you must keep an eye on a child more closely than in other situations.

During a news conference May 30, Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard said, “You can’t take a risk with a silverback gorilla. We’re talking about an animal that with one hand can take a coconut and crush it.”

The zoo staff feared tranquilizing Harambe would not take effect quickly enough and could agitate him to act more violently, putting the child in even greater danger.

Although the zoo sees losing Harambe as a “big loss,” bringing the boy to safety was its No. 1 priority - as it should have been.

Announced June 6, Hamilton County, Ohio, Prosecutor Joseph Deters said he will not seek charges against the mother.

Some may argue zoos are a danger to both animals and people. Some argue the opposite - zoos are an educational resource children and adults can utilize more safely than seeing animals in free natural outdoor living. Whichever might be true, an animal - in this case, a gorilla, whether in its natural surrounding or a manmade habitat - is still a wild animal.

Thankfully, the 3-year-old boy was not seriously injured, which could have occurred if the zoo did not take the difficult but necessary action. I am sorry Harambe was killed; I really am. But I’d be more sorry, upset and outraged if the boy had died.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Catasauqua Press

Northampton Press

Whitehall-Coplay Press