Although it’s summer, here’s a brief history and science lesson: humans have been around for about 200,000 years (our modern ancestors). On the other hand, fossils of complex animal organisms date back to roughly 560 million years ago. So when a human wanders into the path of a wild animal, who has the right to be there? I believe both, but animals must be respected.
At the end of May, a young boy managed to enter the gorilla habitat at the Cincinnati Zoo. A 17-year-old Silverback, Harambe, found the boy. I have only seen the shaky cell phone video, but I do not believe the child was ever in any danger. The gorilla could have seriously harmed the child if he wanted to, but all he did was help him stand up. As the video continued, you see Harambe drag the boy through the water away from the screaming onlookers and stand over him. Well if someone was yelling and throwing things at me, I would run away too. To me, I believe that Harambe was also protecting the young boy from the crowd. He shielded him, protected him. All you can hear in the phone recording is some woman calmly shouting “Mommy is here, mommy loves you." If I was the mother of that child, 1) he would never be out of my sight, 2) I would be right there in the gorilla habitat with him, trying to fight off whichever ape threatened my baby. I would have gone ballistic. Now, unfortunately, the Western Lowland Gorilla is one step closer to extinction.
I am not saying the zoo was wrong in their choice of action, but I do believe this situation could have been avoided all together. While a zoo is not a natural habitat for animals, it is a sanctuary for them in order to preserve what few species we haven’t managed to kill off yet. The zoo could have installed more safety precautions for the public. The parent could have taught the child not to wander, or the parent could have held on to the child. Regardless, the situation should never have occurred. Harambe’s life should have been spared. We must respect animals as we respect ourselves.
Just earlier this week, there was another tragic accident involving a toddler and an alligator in Florida. A toddler wandered into water where an alligator lived, and the young child went missing. There were clear signs that said “No swimming”; and although the case can be made that “he was only walking ankle deep”, we as humans have to accept our lack of common sense. This was an innocent child who walked away from his parents, and his parents let him. Again, if I were the parent, I would be right there in the water with my kid, or I would obey the signs and avoid the water all together. I cannot even begin to imagine how awful this incident is, but again, it could have been prevented. Now, this was truly a wild alligator. It was its own natural habitat. I applaud Florida for still preserving some of the natural environment and not “(paving) paradise to put up a parking lot”.
Animals, just like us, need their own space, and we must respect that and not intrude. We wouldn't appreciate it if someone tore down our homes to build a mini mall, so why do we sacrifice the homes of animals?
These are not the only animals we must consider, but the entirety of the animal kingdom must be respected. We all share this one planet, and so far the only ones that are causing it harm are us, the humans. We are also the only ones who can change that. The definition of “Harambe” in Swahili means “to pull together”, it is also a rallying cry in Kenya. This is our rally cry. It is time for us all to pull together to preserve what is left of the animal kingdom and the Earth, it’s the only one we have. These animals have been around long before us, and they will be here far longer than we will. We must respect them. We live in two different worlds, but we are one family.
"I pledge allegiance to the Earth and all the life which it supports. One planet, in our care, irreplaceable with sustenance and respect for all." ㅡ unknown
