Meet Harambe, the Gorilla whose killing called for a petition after a little boy fell into his pen

Most people don't know the untold story of Harambe, a 17 year old gorilla who was caught on camera dragging a 3 year old boy across a most in his enclosure.






As we all know, Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forest of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered), and either four or five subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos.





Gorillas are kept in Zoos for entertainment and recreational purposes.

Harambe was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, on May 27, 1999. He was named by Dan Van Coppenolle, a local area counselor who won a naming contest sponsored by the zoo.






He came up with the name after listening to the song "Harambe (Working Together for Freedom)" by Rita Marley, widow of Bob Marley. Harambe is a Swahili term for communal labor.






On September 18, 2014, Harambe was transferred to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden to learn adult gorilla behavior and join a new social group.






On May 28, 2016, a three-year-old boy visiting the Cincinnati Zoo fell into the moat at the Gorilla World habitat.






Witnesses said they heard the child say he wanted to go into the gorilla enclosure. The boy then climbed a 3-foot-tall (0.91 m) fence, crawled through 4 feet (1.2 m) of bushes, and then fell 15 feet (4.6 m) into a moat of shallow water. Zoo officials immediately signaled for the three gorillas in the habitat to return inside, and two females did so.






However, the third gorilla, the inquisitive 440 pound male silverback, Harambe, climbed down into the moat to investigate the child splashing in the water.






Over the next 10 minutes, Harambe became increasingly "agitated and disoriented" by the screams of onlookers.






He dragged the child through the water, occasionally propping him up when he sat, or pushing him down when he stood.






Harambe exhibited "strutting" behavior(walking around with legs and arms stiffly extended to appear bigger)a bluffing move, though one with inherent danger should he throw or drag the boy around too roughly.




Harambe then carried the boy up a ladder out of the moat onto dry land. Afraid for the boy's life, zoo officials made the decision to kill the gorilla, doing so with a single rifle shot. Cincinnati firefighters said the boy was between Harambe's legs when the shot was fired.



Harambe was killed one day after his 17th birthday.

Here is a link to watch the video.

https://www.wlwt.com/article/full-video-boy-falls-into-gorilla-world-exhibit-at-cincinnati-zoo/3265123

The boy's mother, identified on social media as Michelle Gregg, is heard shouting in footage of the incident.






She tells her son to remain calm, after he had climbed through a barrier and fallen into the pen at Cincinnati Zoo.

A Facebook post, purportedly written by Michelle Gregg, thanked "the right people" for being "in the right place" and said "accidents happen".






Ms Gregg posted on Facebook after the incident and at about the same time a Facebook group called Justice for Harambe was set up.






An online petition signed by more than 300,000 people was also created, calling for her to be held accountable for Harambe's death.

Ms Gregg later became the focus of a furious online backlash after zoo officials defended the decision to shoot the animal.

Police investigated possible criminal charges against the parents, while the parents defended the zoo's actions.

On June 6, 2016, Ohio prosecutor Joe Deters said that the mother would not face any charges of wrongdoing.

The zoo was investigated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which sets the standards for zoos, and the USDA.





Several vigils took place to honor Harambe's death. As many as 3,400 people attended a candlelight vigil at Hyde Park, London.





Anthony Seta, an animal rights activist, spoke at a vigil at Cincinnati Zoo, saying, "I'm not here to decide what was right and what was wrong, the fact is that a gorilla who just celebrated his birthday has been killed