Harambe, the 17-year-old western lowland gorilla killed by zoo staff May 28 when a 3-year-old child, Isaiah Dickerson, fell into his enclosure, did not belong in the Cincinnati Zoo.

No member of the scientific classification Class: Mammalia; Order: Primates; Family: Hominidae should be locked out of its natural habitat.

For Pete’s sake, those are the same classifications (Class: Mammalia; Order: Primates; Family: Hominidae) to which we human beings belong.

Humans and gorillas have a 95-percent to 99-percent match in their DNA.

Gorillas are our closest relatives, after chimps and bonobos.

The 5-percent to 1-percent difference is that we are members of the Genus: Homo and Species: H. sapiens (man the wise).

Ha, man the wise.

We keep our closest cousins behind bars, and they haven’t even been convicted of a criminal offense.

I remember when Koko, a female western lowland gorilla, was taught a variation of American Sign Language by Stanford graduate student Francine “Penny” Patterson.

I remember when Koko told Patterson, in December 1983, she wanted a kitten.

Koko chose a gray Manz and named her All Ball.

Koko cradled that kitten as gently as a human mother would hold her own newborn.

I also remember when Koko was told actor Robin Williams had died. He was a close friend who had made her smile after the death of her gorilla companion, Michael.

Koko’s response on hearing of Williams’ death was one of pure humanoid sadness.

I also remember watching the “Planet of the Apes” movie (1968) and its sequels.

Apes were at the head of the food chain. Man was subjugated to a much lower spot in the animal hierarchy.

When are we, man the wise, going to wise up and realize there are some things we should not do to our nearest relatives?

In this day of Internet videos, YouTube and trail cameras, gorillas and chimpanzees can be, and should be, viewed in their natural habitat, doing what they normally do in their everyday lives.

Maybe then, Harambe would still be alive.

Deb Palmieri

editor

Parkland Press

Northwestern Press