Cincy Zoo kills critically endangered gorilla to save boy

[Mehrunes]

In all fairness, if that kid had died it would have had a hugely negative impact on the zoo and consequently other animals due to a lawsuit/loss of revenue from visitors and donations.

However, I don't understand why zoo officials thought it was safer to kill the animal with an actual bullet than to use a tranquilizer gun. What if the bullet missed and hit the kid instead?

Well, I do understand the lethal option being on the table, but I don't understand why the two step solution being presented in the thread few times already wasn't used. I'm talking about the option of tranquilizing the gorilla first and have a guy with a normal gun on standby. They themselves said the gorilla may have acted unpredictably after the tranq shot. Gorillas aren't super fast, let alone faster than bullet, so unless the gorilla in question was the Flash (scratch that, Zoom, obviously the kid was the Flash and there was nothing the parents could have done about him running into the enclosure ) the bullet should have been faster. Though I suppose the zoo staff didn't trust their reaction time to make the judgment call in case the gorilla got angry after getting hit by the dart.

[Taeldorian]

Gotta be careful, the audience here tonight is edgier than a 20-sided dice.

Of course they did the right thing. How that is even a question is mind-boggling to me.

It's a double sided coin. The gorilla is an endangered species and why the fuck is a little kid falling into an animal enclosure? Where are the parents? Does this kid not know how to read "do not go past this point" signs which are usually present (I believe they legally have to be, no idea though) at every zoo? If he can't, why didn't his parents? What the hell were they doing?

Why does an animal (one part of an endangered species at that) have to die because of human stupidity? The parents shouldn't even be parents, if you're going to the zoo you watch your kid, period. No excuses for this type of shit.

Then again, the victim is just a little kid so blaming him for actions like that would be ridiculous. He shouldn't pay for his parents stupidity. Shitty situation no matter how you look at it.

Seriously though, some people really should never be parents.

[Deleted]

If you know anything about business, it probably wasn't their choice at all. Insurance most likely determined the sequence of events.

No doubt they would be sued and fined, and probably face charges if the child died or was injured. They probably still will just because a child was able to breach the enclosure. Which is why they can't take a risk if the gorilla is even showing signs of slight agitation, they move in very quick bursts and it's entirely plausible that by the time the gorilla reacts to the tranquillizer the other shooter is no longer able to critically wound and immediately suppress the gorilla with one shot.

[Deleted]

This isn't like a car crash where there's actually a decent chance that it can happen to someone. This is negligent parenting, and this whole 'you'll feel differently if this happens to you' is weak precisely because this kind of event is not a result of chance alone.

Nobody's denying parental negligence here.

The question OP asked what people feel about the incident and the guy I was quoting implied that they shouldn't have shot the gorilla and let the kid die because humans aren't endangered, which, quite frankly, is an abhorrent thing to say. I'm fairly confident this doofus wouldn't think that way if it was his 3 year old child.

[ItachiZaku]

Plenty of other 4 year olds out there, not many breeding males like this. Poor decision, Cincinnati.

[Stormdash]

Plenty of other 4 year olds out there, not many breeding males like this. Poor decision, Cincinnati.

Thankfully rational and moral adults were making this decision.

[ItachiZaku]

Thankfully rational and moral adults were making this decision.

Or more trigger happy rent-a-cop types.

[Stormdash]

Or more trigger happy rent-a-cop types.

People that didn't learn what they know about animal tranquilizers watching fictional TV/movies. The "why not tranq him?" people are the equivalent of the "why didn't the cops shoot him in the knee/shoot the gun out of his hand?" people -- consummately ignorant of the subject about which they are trying to signal expertise.

[Deleted]

Well, I do understand the lethal option being on the table, but I don't understand why the two step solution being presented in the thread few times already wasn't used. I'm talking about the option of tranquilizing the gorilla first and have a gun with a normal gun on standby. They themselves said the gorilla may have acted unpredictably after the tranq shot. Gorillas aren't super fast, let alone faster than bullet, so unless the gorilla in question was the Flash (scratch that, Zoom, obviously the kid was the Flash and there was nothing the parents could have done about him running into the enclosure ) the bullet should have been faster. Though I suppose the zoo staff didn't trust their reaction time to make the judgment call in case the gorilla got angry after getting hit by the dart.

Well they are a few hundred kilograms of muscle so I guess they are fast. But that aside, why didn't an employee just go in and escort the child out? From what I've seen and read in my newsfeeds the gorilla was pretty friendly.

[Stasso]

The lack of concern for human life is not surprising in the least bit, and proof that we really are losing our way to suggest a child should be killed to save an animal. This simple lack of compassion for a fellow human life is abhorrent but makes sense in this unemphatic society we are brewing.

This is why we can't have nice things, we don't respect each other at all, and would rather see a child be dead then to face the uncomfortable truth that the reason we can't move forward is that some people just don't want to.

[Hammerfest]

Seeing as this Gorilla did nothing wrong... and has only been a slave to humans.. and then killed by humans because it dared to touch one...

Abstract concepts like "right" and "wrong" don't apply to animals like gorillas so the choice therefore becomes what option best guarantees the survival of the child. They made the best choice.

[Stormdash]

Well they are a few hundred kilograms of muscle so I guess they are fast. But that aside, why didn't an employee just go in and escort the child out? From what I've seen and read in my newsfeeds the gorilla was pretty friendly.

Gorillas are so strong, and territorial, that the calculus for a zookeeper going in changes completely with the presence of the kid. A gorilla could unwittingly kill a 4 year old human while still exercising what would probably amount to a gorilla as ordinary care of a juvenile gorilla. Again, the child could have been maimed or killed by the gorilla without the gorilla actually getting angry, but all options for rescuing the boy involved risking angry gorilla.

[Hammerfest]

From what I've seen and read in my newsfeeds the gorilla was pretty friendly.

Yeah, so was that chimpanzee that eventually tore a woman's face off.

[Deleted]

Abstract concepts like "right" and "wrong" don't apply to animals like gorillas so the choice therefore becomes what option best guarantees the survival of the child. They made the best choice.

They made the fastest choice. Number one priority is certanly the child, but if the gorilla was a model parent to him for 10 minutes, unlike some other parents, there might've been other ways.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

Nobody's denying parental negligence here.

The question OP asked what people feel about the incident and the guy I was quoting implied that they shouldn't have shot the gorilla and let the kid die because humans aren't endangered, which, quite frankly, is an abhorrent thing to say. I'm fairly confident this doofus wouldn't think that way if it was his 3 year old child.

I dunno man. Parental love is completely different. Of course a parent would love their child almost unconditionally. The kids who bombed the Boston marathon (allegedly) had their parents saying they couldn't have done it. Parentlal love I think is much different than other forms of empathy. If I had to pick between saving my brother and that four year old child... I would likely choose my brother.

[Deleted]

Gorillas are so strong, and territorial, that the calculus for a zookeeper going in changes completely with the presence of the kid. A gorilla could unwittingly kill a 4 year old human while still exercising what would probably amount to a gorilla as ordinary care of a juvenile gorilla. Again, the child could have been maimed or killed by the gorilla without the gorilla actually getting angry, but all options for rescuing the boy involved risking angry gorilla.

Yeah, so was that chimpanzee that eventually tore a woman's face off.

Fair points

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

Abstract concepts like "right" and "wrong" don't apply to animals like gorillas so the choice therefore becomes what option best guarantees the survival of the child. They made the best choice.

I'm not sure I agree. I also think that animals can, or do have some concept of right and wrong. I also think value is a difficult concept when comparing live things. Are we valuing their usefulness to their society? Their potential? Or their innocence?

Imo... the Gorilla wasn't really harming the child (to my knowledge) so I don't see why they needed to go directly to lethal means. And no, this doesn;t make me some sort of psychotic person hell bent on killing kids.

[Cthulhu 2020]

How are people still falling into these freaking exhibits?

Children climb on EVERYTHING. That's why every good zoo has high unbreakable transparent walls for viewing dangerous animals, instead of stupid "pits" with 5 foot high rails.

[Hammerfest]

They made the fastest choice.

Which was the best one considering that time was of the essence.

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I'm not sure I agree. I also think that animals can, or do have some concept of right and wrong. I also think value is a difficult concept when comparing live things. Are we valuing their usefulness to their society? Their potential? Or their innocence?

Imo... the Gorilla wasn't really harming the child (to my knowledge) so I don't see why they needed to go directly to lethal means. And no, this doesn;t make me some sort of psychotic person hell bent on killing kids.

A gorilla is easily capable of killing a human child even if it doesn't intend to, given their physical strength.

[Captnrex]

Which was the best one considering that time was of the essence.

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A gorilla is easily capable of killing a human child even if it doesn't intend to, given their physical strength.

Except this one was watching over the kid, dragging the kid is the way they do it to theirs. The only reason I saw the gorilla be nervous was because of all the screaming idiots in the crowd, so he kept trying to move away from them.