This story is causing a lot of controversy and divided opinions.

If you haven’t seen the video, here it is:

Harambe the gorilla was killed shortly after the video.

“We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made by our Dangerous Animal Response Team,” Zoo Director Thane Maynard said in a statement today.

“With the child still in the exhibit, tranquilizing the 450-pound gorilla was not an option,” Maynard said. “Tranquilizers do not take effect for several minutes and the child was in imminent danger. On top of that, the impact from the dart could agitate the animal and cause the situation to get much worse.” 

 

Many people are angry that Harambe had to be killed in this situation, especially when witnesses say the gorilla appeared to be behaving in a protective way.

We called our pal Laura the Animal Expert (she’s a recent grad in Zoology) to get her take on things. Here’s the audio!

 

 

the whole situation is incredibly unfortunate, and we feel for the zoo’s tragic loss of Harambe. Personally, we wish that another route could have been taken.

 

Photo Credit: Reuters

 

–The Pepper & Dylan Show

Filed under: animals, Gorilla, News, viral, Zoo