A zookeeper has written a lengthy opinion piece on last weekend’s incident involving a gorilla and a 3-year-old boy, which has gone viral.
Amanda O'Donoughue, a zookeeper with experience in working with gorillas, explained how a toddler was able to enter the Cincinnati Zoo’s Gorilla World enclosure, and what the gorilla’s behavior meant. She also reasoned that zookeepers made the correct choice in shooting the endangered great ape, named Harambe.
She wrote on Facebook this week:
“Now Gorillas are considered ‘gentle giants’ at least when compared with their more aggressive cousins the chimpanzee, but a 400+ pound male in his prime is as strong as roughly 10 adult humans. What can you bench press? OK, now multiply that number by ten. An adult male silverback gorilla has one job, to protect his group. He does this by bluffing or intimidating anything that he feels threatened by.”
“In more recent decades, zoos have begun to redesign enclosures, removing all obvious caging and attempting to create a seamless view of the animals for the visitor to enjoy watching animals in a more natural looking habitat. *this is great until little children begin falling into exhibits* which of course can happen to anyone, especially in a crowded zoo-like setting.”
She added that she’s watched the video several times, noting Harambe’s posturing and “tight lips.”
