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The Haramb Tragedy

Decent Essays

On May 28, 2016, tragedy struck, when a three-year-old boy fell into a gorilla cage inhabited by a 440-pound male silverback, named Harambe. Inside the Cincinnati Zoo, chaos ensued, as the mother of the child panicked, horrified by the gorilla dragging her son by the arm and leg across the enclosure. Harambe had climbed down to investigate the child who was stuck in the corner of the moat, simply wishing to inquire about what was occurring. In the end, Harambe was tragically killed, as the zookeepers did not wish to chance a child’s life. While it was a tough and appalling decision, we as a society can now conclude that it was the correct one, as a human beings’ life should be saved at any expense.
Animals have been known to act out before, especially when someone unknown enters their living quarters. In this instance, zookeepers made the decision to fatally shoot Harambe, as the Zoo-Director, Thane Maynard, stated, “It was a life-threatening situation and the silverback gorilla is a very dangerous animal”. I strongly agree with this statement, as the child was clearly in harm’s way, and when a life is at risk, it is best to be sure to save it, to protect our own species. The gorilla may or may not have had poor intentions, but in any instance with a child in danger, it is best to not find out, to play it safe instead of risking a three-year-old boys’ life. Also, who would have known the animal better than the zookeepers, the ones that trained and grew up with the animals,

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