Gorilla shot dead after 4-year-old boy gets into enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo
Child taken to hospital with serious injuries
(Reuters) - A male gorilla in the Cincinnati Zoo was killed by keepers on Saturday after he dragged around a 4-year-old boy who fell into the enclosure, a zoo official said.
The boy crawled through a barrier and fell about 12 feet (3.7-meters) into a moat surrounding the habitat, where Harambe, a 400-pound (181-kg) western lowland gorilla, grabbed him, Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard told reporters.
The boy was with the 17-year-old gorilla for about 10 minutes and the zoo's dangerous animal response team deemed the situation life-threatening, he said.
"The choice was made to put down, or shoot, Harambe, so he's gone," he said.
Two female gorillas were also in the enclosure at the time of the incident. Maynard said the boy, who was not identified, was not seriously injured in the fall. In a statement, the zoo said the boy was alert when taken to a hospital.
Harambe was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, and was moved to the Cincinnati Zoo in 2014. Western lowland gorillas are classified as an endangered species, and Maynard said the zoo had hoped to use Harambe for breeding.
CINCINNATI —A 4-year-old boy was hospitalized with serious injuries and a gorilla was shot dead after officials said the boy climbed through a railing and fell into a moat at the Cincinnati Zoo's gorilla enclosure.
A 17-year-old, 400-pound male lowland gorilla, Harambe, was shot and killed by the zoo's dangerous animal response team about 10 minutes after the boy made it into the enclosure.
Zoo director Thayne Maynard said that the boy crawled through the railing and fell into the moat just before 4 p.m. Saturday. A Cincinnati fire department incident report says that the gorilla "was violently dragging and throwing the child" when they were called.
The child was in between the gorilla's legs when the gorilla was shot, fire officials said.
"It's a sad day all around," Maynard said. "They made a tough choice and they made the right choice, because they saved that little boy's life. It could have been very bad."
Three gorillas were in the enclosure when the boy fell in the moat. Two were called out of the enclosure immediately, but the third — Harambe — stayed in the yard.
One woman said that she saw the gorilla drag the boy from one end of his habitat to the other.
Witnesses said they saw a woman crying and that the child was conscious during the rescue.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital has not released information on the child. His name has not been released.
The gorilla was not tranquilized because when the animal is agitated, Maynard said, the tranquilizer may not take effect right away. This was the first time Cincinnati Zoo officials have killed an animal in this manner, Maynard said.
The zoo houses 11 gorillas, according to its website. Gorilla World will be closed indefinitely, but the zoo will open as usual Sunday, the zoo said.
In March, two polar bears breached security and made it into a secure hallway, but not loose in the zoo, before they were contained.
The zoo posted a video of Harambe on Facebook in January.
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