Zoo kills gorilla to protect child

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

A special zoo response team shot and killed a 17-year-old gorilla Saturday that grabbed and dragged a 3-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla exhibit moat, the Cincinnati Zoo’s director said.

Authorities said the 3-year-old boy, who fell 10 to 12 feet, is expected to recover after being picked up out of the moat and dragged by the gorilla for about 10 minutes. He was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Director Thane Maynard said the zoo’s dangerous-animal response team that practices for such incidents decided the boy was in “a life-threatening situation” and that they needed to put down the 400-pound-plus male gorilla named Harambe.

“They made a tough choice, and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy’s life,” Maynard said. “It could have been very bad.”

He said the gorilla didn’t appear to be attacking the child, but he said tranquilizing the gorilla wouldn’t have knocked it out immediately, leaving the boy in danger.