Cincinnati mourns gorilla killed to save boy
The Cincinnati Zoo was open Sunday for Memorial Day weekend tourists, but the gorilla exhibit was closed indefinitely after authorities killed a gorilla that attacked a 4-year-old boy who fell into the enclosure's moat.
Zoo President Thane Maynard said the boy crawled through a barrier Saturday, fell 10 to 12 feet and was grabbed by the zoo's 17-year-old male western lowland gorilla, Harambe.
The Cincinnati Fire Department said in a statement that first responders "witnessed a gorilla who was violently dragging and throwing the child." The boy was with the 400-pound animal for about 10 minutes before the zoo's Dangerous Animal Response Team deemed the situation "life-threatening," Maynard said.
Police confirmed the child was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center near the zoo and was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Read more on USA Today.
- Gorilla irritated by people gawping at him body-slams the glass – before showing visitors his bottom
- IMAGES THAT CAN AFFECT YOU EMOTIONALLY. Two dogs cruelly killed and dragged with ropes
- FRIGHTENING CASE! Left her baby at maternity and now cannot take it back
- TRAGEDY IN GLODENI: 9-year old child drowns in lake