The killing of a gorilla named Harambe at the Cincinnati Zoo has sparked massive media attention. After a four-year-old child fell into the enclosure housing the 17-year-old silverback, Harambe was shot. [teaserbreak]
This is a difficult and complex issue with ample guilt to go around.
It’s true that, in other such incidents in which a child entered a gorilla zoo enclosure (one in England in 1986 and another in Chicago in 1996), the gorillas not only posed no threat, but acted protectively. And, it’s true that they do not attack and hurt people in the wild.
But, the kid at the Cincinnati Zoo fell some 20 feet. Given the incredible strength of these animals and whatever injuries the boy may have suffered, serious injury or death (however unintended) could have occurred. We’ll never know. We do know that Harambe showed no violent indication on video (but the incident lasted 10 minutes past the two-and-a-half minutes of video made public).
Officials claimed that this tragedy was compounded because gorillas are endangered. But, all of the gorillas in all zoos around the world are not going to prevent gorillas from becoming extinct. The likelihood of any such gorilla or his/her offspring ever being released to the wild or contributing to the survival of the species in the wild—in years, decades, or even centuries to come—is nil. At most, we’d only have a domesticated large primate who is forever dependent on us. The fate of the species lies in countries where it occurs.
The argument that the zoo gorillas represent some sort of “ambassadors” to convince people to protect them in the wild lacks evidence. Zoos teach little. Zoos provide a false sense of security (“saving” gorillas from extinction) and misrepresent the complexity of their needs in the wild (give them a spare tire, food, and a mate… and they’re happy).
What threatens species’ survival is tied up with international politics and commerce, and is far beyond zoo visitors’ ability to correct. And, while an argument can be made that the early record of gorillas in captivity helped inform us that they are not carnivorous killers, it was really the experiences of field researchers like Dian Fossey who documented the true nature of these fellow primates.
If we want to see the Eiffel Tower, we have to go to Paris. Seeing the Sphynx means a trip to Egypt. There should be no way to see a gorilla but via a trip to Africa.
There should have been no way that child could have slipped through the barrier and taken that nasty fall, which itself put him at risk. Good grief… Four-year-olds are curious and notoriously unaware of risk; this “accident” ought never to have happened.
Visit any public zoo this summer, and you will see that they essentially act as playgrounds for young children (often unsupervised). There is little or no learning going on; little or no conservation. It is strictly entertainment: amusement parks with animals encaged.