CINCINNATI — There is much public outcry after Harambe, a silverback gorilla, was shot and killed after a child fell into the gorilla exhibit the Cincinnati Zoo on Saturday. Some claim the gorilla appeared to be protecting the toddler and should not have been killed. However, the zoo maintains that authorities made the right decision, as it was a matter of life and death for the child.

Harambe was a 17-year-old 400-pound silverback gorilla that was shot dead when a child fell into its enclosure on May 28.

Witnesses say they heard the child ask if he could go in to swim with the gorillas, and that his mother had said no. However, the 4-year-old managed to get past a 3-foot-tall railing and bushes that were roughly 4 feet wide before falling into the animal enclosure


he director of the Cincinnati Zoo on Monday stood by the decision to shoot dead a gorilla as he dragged a 4-year-old boy around by the ankle, saying the ape was not simply endangering the child who fell into his enclosure but actually hurting him.