Remembering Harambe 8 years after his tragic death (archive)
By Mary LeBus
Published: May 28, 2024 at 2:22 PM UTC | Updated: 11 hours ago
CINCINNATI (WXIX) - May 28 has become somewhat of a sorrowful day for Cincinnatians as it was the day the Cincinnati Zoo’s beloved gorilla, Harambe, was shot and killed eight years ago.
It was a catastrophic 10 minutes that caught the world’s attention.
On May 28, 2016, a young boy climbed through a barrier at the zoo’s Gorilla World and fell about 15 feet into a moat around 4 p.m., zoo officials wrote.
As soon as the zoo was made aware of the situation, the first thing they did was call the gorillas of the exhibit, Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard previously said. While the two females left the area, Harambe did not.
Once he spotted the child sitting in the moat’s water, Harambe became curious.
A few seconds into their interaction, the 450-pound gorilla was seen “violently dragging and throwing” the boy across the exhibit, the Cincinnati Fire Department wrote in the incident report.
A difficult decision had to be made and made quickly.
Moments later, the Zoo’s Dangerous Animal Response Team was left with no other choice but to shoot and kill Harambe, sparking a global outcry.
Many wondered why a tranquilizer was not used to stop the interaction, however, Maynard said it would have made the situation much worse.
“It is important to note that with the child still in the exhibit, tranquilizing the 450-pound gorilla was not an option,” Maynard explained. “Tranquilizers do not take effect for several minutes and the child was in imminent danger. On top of that, the impact from the dart could agitate the animal and cause the situation to get much worse.”
Months after the unfortunate incident, the U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded that the gorilla barrier was not up to par.
Constructed in 1978, when Gorilla World first opened, the barrier had not been updated until after Harambe’s death.
According to FOX19 NOW’s previous story, the barrier did not effectively restrict contact between humans and the gorillas.
Since then, the report says the Cincinnati Zoo replaced the fence, making it taller with a nylon mesh barrier, instead of two cables. Three surveillance cameras were also added.
Cincinnati remembers Harambe
This year marks the very first Harambe Day, according to a group of his biggest supporters, such as Northern Kentucky Photographer Jeff McCurry.
Several Harambe and animal enthusiasts held a “worldwide protest” at their local zoos this morning in remembrance of the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla.
On Tuesday, Ludlow’s Esquire Theater is showing a special screening of “HARAMBE,” a documentary that depicts the Western Lowland Gorilla’s life before his death and what happened the day he died. While it received a good review on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie holds an “anti-captivity” undertone and is critical of the Cincinnati Zoo.
The documentary will begin at 6 p.m., and tickets are $15.
FOX19 NOW reached out to the Cincinnati Zoo for comment but has not heard back yet.
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Copyright 2024 WXIX. All rights reserved.
By Mary LeBus
Published: May 28, 2024 at 2:22 PM UTC | Updated: 11 hours ago
CINCINNATI (WXIX) - May 28 has become somewhat of a sorrowful day for Cincinnatians as it was the day the Cincinnati Zoo’s beloved gorilla, Harambe, was shot and killed eight years ago.
It was a catastrophic 10 minutes that caught the world’s attention.
On May 28, 2016, a young boy climbed through a barrier at the zoo’s Gorilla World and fell about 15 feet into a moat around 4 p.m., zoo officials wrote.
As soon as the zoo was made aware of the situation, the first thing they did was call the gorillas of the exhibit, Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard previously said. While the two females left the area, Harambe did not.
Once he spotted the child sitting in the moat’s water, Harambe became curious.
A few seconds into their interaction, the 450-pound gorilla was seen “violently dragging and throwing” the boy across the exhibit, the Cincinnati Fire Department wrote in the incident report.
A difficult decision had to be made and made quickly.
Moments later, the Zoo’s Dangerous Animal Response Team was left with no other choice but to shoot and kill Harambe, sparking a global outcry.
Many wondered why a tranquilizer was not used to stop the interaction, however, Maynard said it would have made the situation much worse.
“It is important to note that with the child still in the exhibit, tranquilizing the 450-pound gorilla was not an option,” Maynard explained. “Tranquilizers do not take effect for several minutes and the child was in imminent danger. On top of that, the impact from the dart could agitate the animal and cause the situation to get much worse.”
Months after the unfortunate incident, the U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded that the gorilla barrier was not up to par.
Constructed in 1978, when Gorilla World first opened, the barrier had not been updated until after Harambe’s death.
According to FOX19 NOW’s previous story, the barrier did not effectively restrict contact between humans and the gorillas.
Since then, the report says the Cincinnati Zoo replaced the fence, making it taller with a nylon mesh barrier, instead of two cables. Three surveillance cameras were also added.
Cincinnati remembers Harambe
This year marks the very first Harambe Day, according to a group of his biggest supporters, such as Northern Kentucky Photographer Jeff McCurry.
Several Harambe and animal enthusiasts held a “worldwide protest” at their local zoos this morning in remembrance of the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla.
On Tuesday, Ludlow’s Esquire Theater is showing a special screening of “HARAMBE,” a documentary that depicts the Western Lowland Gorilla’s life before his death and what happened the day he died. While it received a good review on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie holds an “anti-captivity” undertone and is critical of the Cincinnati Zoo.
The documentary will begin at 6 p.m., and tickets are $15.
FOX19 NOW reached out to the Cincinnati Zoo for comment but has not heard back yet.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2024 WXIX. All rights reserved.
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