Across the nation, likely even the world, people are voicing their disagreement with the Cincinnati Zoo’s recent decision to shoot and kill their gorilla Harambe in an effort to save Isaiah, a young boy who had fallen into the animal enclosure. Due to silverback gorillas’ dwindling population people feel as though shooting Harambe was rash, an overreaction that greatly impacted the environment, specifically this particular gorilla species. Their argument is not, obviously, to have left the boy in the enclosure to meet impending death, but rather to go about saving him a different way, using tranquilizers, treats, or other means to lure the gorilla away from the child. Their argument is that Isaiah should’ve known not to go into the enclosure, that he was misbehaving and that his parents should have been keeping a better eye on him.
Was Isaiah misbehaving? You could say so; after all, kids shouldn’t wander into animal enclosures. Isaiah, however, is a child, and children, as parents everywhere can attest to, misbehave. Children break rules; it is for that reason time outs and detention exist. But breaking rules are for learning from your mistakes and moving forward, not for losing your life to a ferocious animal.
Should the parents have been keeping a closer watch over Isaiah? You could say yes to this too, however, mistakes happen. As an avid babysitter and an aunt to five, I can attest to the fact that kids can get into an insane amount of trouble in an unbelievably short period of time. My niece once chopped off her sister’s pigtails in the amount of time it took the babysitter to walk two rooms over to the kitchen to grab something off the counter. With kids accidents happen, and they happen in the amount of time it takes you to look down and then look back up again. That’s why parenting isn’t for the faint hearted and every single parent has a laundry list of mistakes they’ve made. Things happen.
So why couldn’t the zookeepers use a different means of rescuing the boy? Imagine it from their point of view. They have a 400-pound gorilla dragging a young boy through the water. This alone could lead to a number of problems… the boy drowning, the gorilla dislocating the boy’s shoulder or leg by dragging him to harshly, or even accidentally slamming the boy’s head on the side of the enclosure. On top of that the zookeepers not only had a crowd of people watching, most of whom were parents and children, but they had the mother of the trapped boy watching their every move. Additionally, whether or not you think this is a valid thought to be crossing their mind, they have to think about their jobs and their zoo. What happens to their jobs, or even the zoo as a whole, if on their watch a young boy is killed by a gorilla? And not just their jobs, but also their conscience? How would they live the rest of their lives knowing a death happened on their watch? And how do they know how much time they have to react until the situation takes a turn for the worst? They can either tranquilize the gorilla and risk him falling onto the boy, crushing him or drowning him, or even reacting violently before the tranquilizer kicks in. They can try to lure the gorilla away from the boy, risking the gorilla reacting violently or dragging the boy around the enclosure with him. Or, they can shoot the gorilla, ensuring the boy no harm whatsoever, but unfortunately killing the gorilla. Which would you choose? I know that given the circumstances of the high-pressure situation with the clock ticking and all eyes on me I would shoot the gorilla and return the frightened boy to his mom for what I’m sure would be the biggest hug he’s ever gotten.
Some argue that Harambe’s actions show that he was trying to protect Isaiah. Regardless of the intentions of the gorilla, the gorilla’s actions were potentially fatal for the boy, as well as unpredictable. I’m an animal lover and all about conservation of the environment, especially endangered species, but I also think that as a species of our own we have a loyalty to each other, especially children. For that reason, when one of us is in harm’s way we should react in a way that protects each other. It truly is a tragedy that Harambe was lost. It’s a big loss for silverback gorillas, but I would have a hard time getting sleep at night if Isaiah’s life had been lost in order to protect the gorilla. We should look out for endangered species, but as our own species we need to protect ourselves too. Isaiah is just a child, as a species, it’s our job to protect him.
