Did A Gorilla Have To Be Killed To Save A Four-Year-Old In A Zoo?

One four-year-old boy recently fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo on Saturday. While the zoo took the decision to shoot and kill the animal, so that they could save the boy, animal lovers and activists are criticizing the action, while a petition has been filed to denounce the boy's parents as responsible for the gorilla's death.

Harambe, the 17-year-old mountain gorilla grabbed and dragged the boy. It appeared to act strangely protective as well as aggressive towards the four-year-old.

One woman who captured the incident on a video that became viral said she overheard the boy declare that he was going to breach the barrier and go inside the gorilla enclosure.

"I heard the exchange while I'm waiting. 'I'm going to go in.' 'No, you're not.' 'I'm going to go in.' 'No, you're not.' The mother turns around to her other children," Kim O'Connor said.

Zoo director Thane Maynard said he was regretful that they had to shoot the gorilla, yet "the right choice was made." He was remorseful that the Western lowland silverback, a critically endangered species, had to be shot dead.

"The zoo's in the business of taking care of endangered animals, and we don't want to be in the situation in which they have to be killed," Maynard said. "Harambe was a good guy."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which is firm that animals should not even be kept in captivity, said the zoo should have had a second protective barrier between the gorillas' home and the public.

"Even under the 'best' circumstances, captivity is never acceptable for gorillas or other primates, and in cases like this, it's even deadly," the organization said in a statement. "This tragedy is exactly why PETA urges families to stay away from any facility that displays animals as sideshows for humans to gawk at."

Still, there were some animal lovers that appreciated the zoo's, in spite of the unfortunate incident.

"They cannot tranquilize it. It takes five to 10 minutes," said Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, also in Ohio, and a well-known TV personality. "We are all sorry. All of us in the zoo world are heartfelt for this thing, but thank goodness a human being is alive today because the decision the Cincinnati Zoo made."