Should Harambe the gorilla have been fatally shot after a young boy fell into his habitat at the Cincinnati Zoo? That’s the debate everyone seems to be having after shocking footage of the May 28 incident surfaced, and wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is now adding his two cents. Find out why he supports the zoo’s decision and hear his important message to parents about zoo responsibility here!
“You should be watching your kids in a zoological environment like this,” the Animal Planet personality tells CNN. “Here’s the thing, when you go to these places, the zoo is not your babysitter. You have a responsibility. We have so many examples where people don’t employ common sense in a national park.”
The Cincinnati Zoo has faced major backlash for fatally shooting the gorilla after the little boy was trapped in its enclosure for about ten minutes, but Jeff admits that, while the situation is tragic, he can’t see any other way it could have ended.
“The idea of waiting and shooting it with [a tranquilizer] was not a good idea,” the zoo’s director explained in a press conference on May 30. “That would have definitely created alarm in the male gorilla. When you dart an animal, anesthetic doesn’t working a second, it works over a period of time of a few minutes to ten minutes. The risk was due to the power of that animal.”
As for preventing situations like this from happening in the future, Jeff says the responsibility is that of the parents bringing their kids to these zoos and national parks.
“We’ve had examples — tragedies — where people place children on the edges of exhibits for that awesome selfie and then the kids slip in and disaster occurs…and we blame the zoos,” he says.
“Ultimately, there has to be some personal responsibility. You’re there with your kids, enjoy the moment but you’re responsible for your family and their actions.”
Do you agree with Jeff that this incident was the parents’ responsibility, folks? Do you think Harambe should’ve been shot?
hollywoodlife
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