Should Harambe Have Been Shot?

Nah, the Gorilla wasn't really trying to hurt the kid, I have no doubt if they tranq'd it or just had some keepers get down there they would have gotten the kid back without issue. Besides the Gorilla is endangered so it has more worth than a random kid anyway, objectively speaking.

They should have done their best to get the kid back peacefully then shoot the mom instead.

No, there was no need to shoot it. I honestly believe that if someone is in an animal enclosure who isn't supposed to be there (as in, not a keeper or something), the animals safety should take priority. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe, but that's my opinion on it.

As tragic and heartbreaking as it was to shoot an endangered species of gorilla wasting its life for stupid reasons and how completely irresponsible the parents of the 4 year old child were for letting him fall into the enclosure, I still think the boy's safety comes over the gorilla's. I would have authorised the use of tranqs myself but apparently they wouldn't have worked fast enough on the gorilla before the boy could be seriously harmed. Still, I agree that the zoo keepers should have pursued non lethal options to securing the boy but I don't work in a zoo so I don't know the appropriate response. However, I see several people are following the trend of assuming themselves experts on gorilla psychology, reminds me of this satire article; http://eveningharold.com/2016/05/31/everybody-suddenly-an-expert-on-behaviour-of-gorillas/

Absolutely. That's child's life is infinitely more valuable than an animal's.

The parents should have to pay in some way though.

In my opinion, no. The ape was simply standing idle, he wasn't displaying signs of aggression or hostile behaviour. I mean, I know how Gorillas can get, but they're also very intelligent animals. I think a tranq would have been sufficient enough to both spook Harambe off and put him down in a non-lethal manner. Or at least get a zoo keeper inside to lure Harambe away.

I personally would hold the parents accountable. To have a child is to have responsibilities and they neglected their responsibilities as soon as their kid wandered off.

The average cost of a human is $45million.

The average cost of an endangered species (animal): $348million.

Herambe literally costs more than a human.

shot with tranqs.

@citizensentry: Out of curiosity, where does that human figure come from?

Funny you should say that cause I was just thinking about how weird it is how often humans think that they are so above animals while still being ones..

The Cost Of The Body

There are other prices but i just chose the biggest one to make it a smaller gap.

the Environmental Protection Agency set the value of a human life at $9.1 million. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration put it at $7.9 million — and the Department of Transportation figure was around $6 million.

@alphaq: Sorry to sound harsh but your absolutely WRONG that gorilla is critically endangered, there are millions of little black kids in the world , to shoot just one has dealt a massive blow to the population of gorilla, yes I do agree in shooting an animal if its attacking and can see how dragging the boy looks like it but its absolutely heartbreaking that it was shot after protecting the boy and just a day after it 17 year old birthday its just a sad situation overall ? and this may sound mean but I would rather the boy died then harambe, obvs prefers neither to but if I had ti choose then I would save the gorilla

Leaning towards no. Yes the kid was getting bruised by the treatment, but the gorilla was not agressive and probably wouldn't have done anything to him unless provoked by the kid starting fighting back or someone else coming to the rescue. What the zoo did was, in my eyes, assume the worst and not try any alternatives that might have saved both.

From the human perspective it was ofc the right thing to do, because the gorilla could have turned aggressive and easily have killed the boy. But on the other hand I think it's just sad that an animal, and a critically endangered one, had to die because of human neglect and stupidity. And quite frankly, I hope the parents get their pants sued off for this: it's their child after all, and the fence and drop are there for a reason, and it's not for climbing.

Yes it was. Shooting the gorilla with a tranq dart would have agitated it and the tranquilizers don't act instantly on a calm animal and take even longer on one that's been worked up, like say a gorilla that's suddenly been jabbed with a sharp object out of nowhere. It could have very easily hurt or killed the kid in that state. So yes it was the right thing to do.

Why was there a gap that a kid could fit though?

Tragic as it is - yeah. I value a humans life far more than any animal; endangered or not. That being said, the parents are negligent asswipes for allowing thier kids to get in that situation from the get-go, so the blame should be placed on her.

This is ridiculous. Humans > > > > > > animals. If you think animals are equal to humans, then why do you eat them?

Question: would you be friends with someone who eats human flesh? If your answer is no...well, you value the life of humans more than animals, just like I do.

Oh, and I eat meat and I'm proud of it, why do you guys entertain me?

@dboyrules2011: Nothing to do with what you eat , human beings are destructive assholes that think they are above everything, no human will ever be able to match the majesty and beauty of that silverback , btw I'm not a hippie or treehugger , of course shoot to stop an attack , but if you seriously value a little black kid over a critically endangered specimen of an animal

@dadivineking: My family and friends yes but everyone else can go to hell , the gorilla didn't deserve to die , he was even protecting the kid, just so sad , for some reason this story has really affected me feel really bad ?

Other options could have been better, but in that situation I think they did the right thing.

I know that if I fell there, I'd rather let the gorilla die.

Edit: And if they didn't shoot and the animal had dismembered the kid, while everything was being recorded, people would be complaining that they didn't take him down when they had the chance.

Absolutely. He was a wild animal, and could have very easily gothen aggressive and killed the kid. A human life, especially that of a child, is more important than an animal. Now, I also believe that the negligent parent of the kid should be charged with a crime, as the gorillas life was taken for an easily preventable situation

So, if you fell there with the Gorilla, you'd be thinking that he didn't deserve to die, and that his life was more valuable than yours?

@cull_obsidian:

My family and friends yes but everyone else can go to hell, the gorilla didn't deserve to die , he was even protecting the kid, just so sad , for some reason this story has really affected me feel really bad ?

Good for you hon. We can go backwards and forwards all day long, but it's obvious our philosophical outlooks on these matters are different.

I value all human life over all else; we are the greatest, and smartest species on the planet. We rightfully earned it by climbing up the evolutionary ladder - that, and I'm gonna obviously be impartial for my kind, lawl. But you seem to have a diferring opinion, which is fair by all means :) And yeah, I agree, I feel really bad for the gorilla, but it is what it is.

@cull_obsidian:

Nothing to do with what you eat , human beings are destructive assholes that think they are above everything

Blah, blah, blah... I actually agree with the destructive assholes part, but we are above animals.

no human will ever be able to match the majesty and beauty of that silverback ,

Subjective.

btw I'm not a hippie or treehugger , of course shoot to stop an attack , but if you seriously value a little black kid over a critically endangered specimen of an animal

If you was in that situation, what would have been your thoughts? The gorilla's life is more important than mine because it's endangered? Nah, you don't believe that yourself.

@dadivineking: @dboyrules2011: @jucaslucasa:

Of course I would rather he die then me if I was in that situation, but he still didn't deserve to die

And yes I agree we are above animals which is why we have to responsible to conserve them.and protect them just as the gorilla was doing , they are highly intelligent and wouldn't just attack , there was an identical incident in the UK 30 years ago where a little boy fell in and was knocked out and a silverback came over and gently stroked the boys back and stoped all the other gorilas coming over , he stayed with the boy until the keepers shooed him away,

Most of the animals going extinct are due to humans , yes we rightfully seized the opportunity to take the top of the food chain but if we are not responsible for our actions and learn from them the there wont chain to be at the top of

Yeah because an Endangered Gorilla is the same as a mass produced Pig

ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR EXPERT SAYS SILVERBACK ADULT GORILLA HARAMBE WAS NOT TRYING TO HARM 'DEFENSELESS' CHILD <(Link).

@citizensentry: Well, it is a Silverback Gorilla toying with a 4 year old. Pretty sure he could have hurt a lot even without wanting.

ASG's (Adult Silverback Gorilla's) manhandle the young of their troop all of the time.

@citizensentry: Yeah, but aren't young gorillas way stronger than young humans?

Yes but at that age, not by much.

I wish that kid died instead. Humans are overpopulating the Earth anyways.

@dboyrules2011: I eat meat, just as a Lion would eat a Boar. Does that mean I value a human life more because I don't eat people? No.

Flawed argument. Not being mean tho.

@cull_obsidian said:

Was this satire or a legit response?

It was dragging the boy around pretty harshly..Also tranqs don't work the same way in real life versus fiction. It would agitate the Gorilla, risking the boy's life even further before it can take effect.

Im sorry but the "why do you eat them" argument is just stupid, eating cattle is far from the same as raping and destroying entire species. Also, you are acting like there's no vegetarians or vegans in the world when in fact it's one of the quickest growing sub cultures. It's also hard to argue against a fundamental part of human nature, meat has always been a part of our diet - and even despite that people are turning against it, that should say something about how great the practice of systematically slaughtering other creatures is. One day I think we'll be looking back with disgust just as we do today on slavery, or the systematic execution of Jews during WW2, and all other countless atrocities -humans- have caused.

We are overpopulated with humans, a very overrated species that is not only destroying other species but the earth itself even though we have options to change it. Why? The king a holes that managed to elevate themselves to the elite and has any real power are afraid to loose a small portion of their ridiculous wealth. Meanwhile animals are just living life and there isn't a single one with a hint of malice in it, in my opinion that makes them not really equal, but somewhat superior. Just less intelligent, but if that was reason enough we might as well start executing retards too as they are nothing but a drain on society.

Oh and a funny fact, did you know that Koko the gorilla's IQ was tested and on a human scale she scored around 70-95 while the average african scored 70? Not that it's any substantial evidence that Gorilla's are better, but it's enough to make one think that maybe we shouldn't just brush them aside as "just animals" so easily, yeah?

And just putting it out there as a personal note that really has nothing to do with my argument, I love eating meat, and i'd eat human meat too if it wasn't illegal.

@jucaslucasa: Well, you know what they say, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".

@jucaslucasa:

I know you're making a point. But the mods won't take kindly to that response.

Shoot the parents of the kid, they are expendable

It's pretty simple here. It was either kill the gorilla or take the chance of letting the kid die or getting severely injured. We don't really know what the gorilla would've done to the boy with even more time. That's the decision they made. End of story. Sure it was terrible that a gorilla died, but it was the gorilla or the kid. Which you value more is up to you. Either way this is pretty much the parent's fault.

Also, LMFAO at "#JUSTICEFORHARAMBE". I'm sure Harambe appreciates that lol.

Mate, tranqs don't work like they do in fiction. They're not instant and would probably make it worse by agitating the Gorilla.

@heatblaze123: No one implied tranqs work instantly.

@heatblaze123: Why would it be satire ? Because I said black ? Could have been a white kid. Wouldn't matter

@heatblaze123: According to the experts he most likely wouldn't even have felt it

But of course there's a chance ,what I would have done is tranq him after trying other ways to get him away while hsving a marksman ready and aimed , but they prob didn't have time or didn't want to take a chance to plan it , such a shame that beautiful animal had to be killed

I dread the day that I say to my grandkids if I have any That we can't see then gorillas anymore as they are extinct

The boy is still at risk in that time frame. And It also runs the risk of pissing it off so it's a bad option regardless..

Saying that a child is less important than an endangered Gorilla while adding in the fact that the child is black, leads me to thinking you're either a racist, or having a shit taste in humor. The Child's race is completely irrelevant.

@heatblaze123: Its still an option I would consider. The only thing that pisses animals off is the people spectating. You saw what happened to that man in the tiger enclosure right?

Or leaves you physically and mentally impaired in a way that you're 100% weaker than before.

I know.

@heatblaze123: Explain how it makes me racist for describing him ? Does calling someone fat make me fatist ? Or old or young agist ? No it doesn't so keep ur pc views , if anything it just make me guilty of pointing out irrelevant info, not hating a race

Lol racist in 2016 means a white guy saying black wow

(Sighs) You saying that the black child's well being is less important than the Gorilla's makes you sound racist. Yes I know it's endangered. Given how the impact of race has on us in the past and even today, rather than being old or fat ( which isn't comparable btw), it's sounds stupid. You devaluing the child while adding in his race makes you sound racist. Your ignorance is outstanding.

*sigh* I'll never understand this kind of thinking lol

Anyways, I bet you they wouldn't have shot this gorilla

lol

No one in this thread seems to realize how tranqs work.

I know the parents of the kid were irresponsible, but this is just awful. God forbid your loved ones were in the same situation or anything similar and someone said this. Keep in mind I'm using a hypothetical.