Harambe

  I'm not a zoologist. I'm not a veterinarian. Or a zoo keeper. Or animal care worker.  Neither is anyone I know. Yet every single person I know has an opinion on the incident of a four year old boy falling into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. And they are heated opinions.

  If you have children you know it's impossible, impossible, to keep an eye on them at all times. Please don't comment that you can because I don't believe it. No one. That's why kids get broken bones, break things, fall down and get lost. It happens to every parent. This just went to another level.

  The snippet of video the world saw is not the entire time this child was in the enclosure. According to zoo staff and eye witnesses, the gorilla became agitated, due in part to the reaction of the crowd, took the child by the leg and dragged him to the other side of the enclosure. All the time the boys head was in water, bouncing off the ground. Not the gentleness you saw in the first few seconds.  A few seconds after stopping, the boy tried to stand up but was taken by the leg and dragged again.

  Zoo staff, who considered and ultimately rejected a tranquilizer, made a decision. The 400 plus pound silverback gorilla must be put down. And quickly in order to ensure the safety of the child. These are the people who worked with this gorilla for years. Who had established a relationship and love towards this animal. They were the experts and they knew what had to be done. Like it or not they did it to save the child's life.

  A child's life. A gorilla's life. I would assume everyone would choose the child. However I'm wrong there. Some people are saying other options should have been looked at. How do you know they weren't and vetoed? And what kind of outrage would there be if the gorilla had killed the boy? Would the masses be asking why wasn't the animal shot? The answer to that is yes.

  I have spent a lot of time watching gorillas. I've seen countless documentaries on their interactions, customs and families. I've seen them play. I've seen them fight. Trust me a gorilla could snap a child in two. And while it makes me sad this happened, in my opinion the zoo staff made the right decision.

  This is a sad event. Anytime an endangered animal is killed is difficult. But a child is alive and that means more.

  To me anyway.
  Ang