paul65 Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 It's a parent's responsibility to protect their children from dangerous situations, and they didn't. A zoo isn't supposed to be a dangerous situation. It is supposed to be an extremely safe environment for spectators, a large proportion of whom are children. I wouldn't have been that keen taking my son to the zoo if they said, 'The compounds can be accessed by small children and they may get eaten or ripped apart if you don't watch them for every second of your visit.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul65 Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Like in the same way that the zoo can be held responsible for this. If you are remotely silly enough as parent not to keeping your eye on a child whilst in a place like that 24/7 then how can be the zoo be at fault. You mean a place that's supposed to be safe for people to view 'wild' animals that are in secure enclosures? Children get away from even the best parents, they shouldn't then be able to get into animal compounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingo15 Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 The wild animals are in safe enclosures, The gorilla didn't get out. You could write a list of things we do every day with kids that are unsafe realistically but we take every precaution to make sure they are safe. Im afraid this no different. but thats just my view on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 The zoo has to take full responsibility! Isn't a zoo somewhere we were taken as children and somewhere we take ours to? There is no way a child should be able to enter any cage especially one housing dangerous animals. Poor design by all accounts. The zoo let down the gorilla as well as the parents of that child. absolutely, a determined 4yr old can become invertabrate if it sees a space, how many schools visit zoos with hoards of kids, I see a few people are saying the gorilla looked harmless, how are they able to judge the mental stability of an animal living in such un-natural conditions, perhaps they would have prefered waiting until the odd limb was stretched before eventually taking the only option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul65 Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 The wild animals are in safe enclosures, The gorilla didn't get out. The inability of the animals to get out is only part of what makes the enclosure safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted May 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Why do people find it too easy to blame anyone or anything else other than themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonepark Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Still no pics of where child got in where tens of thousands of others haven't........... Being cynical did parents lift him over vegetation for better view? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Still no pics of where child got in where tens of thousands of others haven't........... Being cynical did parents lift him over vegetation for better view? good point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 A lot of zoos try to get away from the image of having bars around the enclosures and just rely on height difference to keep the spectators safe. There have been a few instances at other zoos of people jumping into enclosures with big cats and bears so maybe not that hard to fall in. Whatever, I bet there are some difficult meetings taking place right now with their insurers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Why do people find it too easy to blame anyone or anything else other than themselves. Same reason some are quick to point the finger without knowing all the facts I expect . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyS Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Gorillas drag things around when highly agitated, like branches, as a display of strength and to intimidate. To say he was protecting it, i think, is being a bit naive. As to who's at fault, 6 and two 3's. I know as a child i've got lost by wandering off as I'm sure the majority of people commenting here would have at least once. It seems zoo's these day are trying to minimise a disturbed view of the animals, maybe thats gone too far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12gauge82 Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Agree here, only with a lot of effort - climbing a high fence, bending bars - should it be possible to access an animal enclosure +1 and if the child got in with alot of effort as stated above then I would say parents fault as they should have a reasonable amount of supervision of their children Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srspower Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 Yes the gorilla did not choose to be there, would of thought a tranquiliser dart would have been more called for. A dart could have easily really annoyed the gorrila and that wouldn't have boded well for the child ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 The gorilla was born in Texas (in captivity)....so why the repeated statements that it was not in its natural environment? It was in the only environment it had ever known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12gauge82 Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 The gorilla was born in Texas (in captivity)....so why the repeated statements that it was not in its natural environment? It was in the only environment it had ever known. Still doesn't make it it's natural environment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 (edited) The gorilla was born in Texas (in captivity)....so why the repeated statements that it was not in its natural environment? It was in the only environment it had ever known. That is like saying that because a budgie was hatched out and lived all of its life in a tiny cage is in its natural environment I hate people keeping birds in cages but that is not the point I do not now how big the gorillas enclosure is but it did not look that big to me the ones that they have at Longleat live on an island in the middle of a large lake and people can see it when they go by in the boat. As for them shooting and killing it I tend to think that they had no option if the boy had banged his head and died when the gorilla was dragging it around the zoo would have been well in the poo even though it was not there fault we all now that we live in a PC world rite and wrong does not come into it. Edited June 1, 2016 by four-wheel-drive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 It strikes me there are a few considerations here. Setting aside the why and the how of the kid managed to do it as soon as that kid was in the enclosure the zoo at that point had to make the choice of killing the gorilla outright or do something else. The animal has immense capacity to kill or seriously injure the child without warning or possibility of intervention, even if it is not being hostile or aggressive. The zoo made a decision that the safety of the child was of greater importance than the life of the animal. I agree entirely. As for how the kid got into the enclosure, as yet we have no facts so speculation is worthless. It may be contributory negligence on the part of the parents, i.e. lifting the kid over a parapet or it may be negligence on the part of the zoo in not having adequate measures in place or it may be a bit of both. We will find out in due course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piebob Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 I read a posting from a person who had worked with gorillas for a number of years. She had looked at the footage, and made some comments. She said- gorillas are extremely dangerous - the most dangerous category listing for zoos in her opinion the gorilla was NOT trying to protect the child - it was using the child for display purposes, a show of strength, leader of the pack. Who knows what the next move was going to be? male gorillas have around 10 times more power than the most powerful human - it could easily have severely harmed/killed the child without actually meaning to the screaming and shouting from the crowd were starting to make the gorilla anxious tranquilisers have there place but take time to have effect. If shot with one, the gorilla could have slumped unconscious into the moat, drowning itself and the child Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingo45 Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 This was a caged animal well fed. These male gorillas in the wild are very gentle and caring towards their little ones.This gorilla supported the child in the water to start with until people started to get excited. He was calm and had a look round as if to say what should I do now . As I say he was not hungry he was not like a lion that would kill if in contact with a child - He was a very thoughtful Guy but not given any protection by the zoo from idiotic visitors and the use of the gun in American life. Given half a chance he would have probably cared for the child and keepers could have removed the boy. If male gorillas in the wild were killers their own population would not thrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElvisThePelvis Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 In the wild, do male Gorillas care for the offspring of other Gorillas or attack them? I think most Male animals are hostile to the offspring of others, the comments from the lady who has worked with Gorillas in the past make sense, particularly that the child could have come to harm through no internet by the Gorilla but through its sheer strength. In incidents such such as this, or indeed when animals in captivity dies for one reason or another, what happens to their remains? It occurs to me that, for example a lion skin, would have a commercial value, is this sold to support the zoo? I wonder about Elephants and Rhinos for that matter as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ordnance Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 (edited) He was a very thoughtful Guy but not given any protection by the zoo from idiotic visitors and the use of the gun in American life. Given half a chance he would have probably cared for the child and keepers could have removed the boy. If male gorillas in the wild were killers their own population would not thrive. Whats guns in America got to do with anything. ? As for the rest are you a Gorilla expert. ? Edited June 1, 2016 by ordnance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 ......................As for the rest are you a Gorilla expert. ? Are any PWers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 This was a caged animal well fed. These male gorillas in the wild are very gentle and caring towards their little ones.This gorilla supported the child in the water to start with until people started to get excited. He was calm and had a look round as if to say what should I do now . As I say he was not hungry he was not like a lion that would kill if in contact with a child - He was a very thoughtful Guy but not given any protection by the zoo from idiotic visitors and the use of the gun in American life. Given half a chance he would have probably cared for the child and keepers could have removed the boy. If male gorillas in the wild were killers their own population would not thrive. It was a gorilla, a guy is an adult human. Can you tell us your information source on gorilla psychology and fortune telling ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 I had no interest in seeing this but one of the lads at work showed me footage on his iPad. We saw the gorilla dragging the boy by a limb at a phenomenal speed through water, and then when it stopped the boy looked up at the gorilla which then appeared to stand the boy on his feet before dragging him through the water again. He could quite easily have had his head dashed against the walls of the enclosure which wouldn't have been pleasant at the speed with which he was being dragged. Under the circumstances there was only ever going to be one outcome if those in authority thought the boys life was at risk. What were the alternatives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbyathome Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 of course it was the zoos fault if the cage is designed to keep animals in it should be designed to keep humans out the parents also must share part blame for letting the little one slip out of there hands and inside the cage but children slip away from parents all the time it shouldn't happen but in real life it does I do agree shooting it was the best way a gorilla is so powerfull it could snap the childs neck in a milisecond and although such a magnificent animal I am afraid humans must come first bad all round I would hate to be the zookeeper taking the shot and I would hate to be the parent watching your baby in a gorillas hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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