Zoo reopens exhibit where boy fell, gorilla shot

The Cincinnati Zoo reopened its Gorilla World exhibit on Tuesday, more than a week after Harambe the gorilla was shot and killed to protect a young boy who fell into the gorilla’s enclosure.

Cincinnati resident Rebekah Ridgeway was visiting with her 7-year-old daughter as the exhibit reopened and said while the previous barrier was good, she feels more comfortable as a parent with the new fencing that visitors can see over but that blocks someone from climbing through.

The Cincinnati Zoo’s Gorilla World exhibit is scheduled to reopen to the public Tuesday with a newly raised barrier.

The mother of a three-year-old boy who fell into a gorilla enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo in the United States will not face charges, prosecutors have said.

“We work hard every day to make sure that the Cincinnati Zoo is completely safe for visitors, guests, families, and children”.

Others blamed the child’s mother for failing to supervise him adequately.

The attractive primate’s killing caused quite a bit of controversy, as people began to criticize the kid’s parents, as well as the zoo’s protocols. But how are the remaining gorillas behaving? An online petition seeking charges received more than 500,000 signatures.

“The little boy himself had already been talking about wanting to go in, go in, get in the water and his mother is like, ‘No you’re not, no you’re not, ‘ ” said Kimberley Ann Perkins O’Connor.

Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said the case did not come close to warranting a charge of child endangerment, and he defended the mother as an attentive parent undeserving of such sharp criticism.

“She had three other kids with her and turned her back. A gorilla is a wild animal and, by definition, unsafe and unpredictable”, he said, echoing sentiments of animal experts who were asked to discuss the incident.

She was “attentive by all witness accounts, and the 3-year-old just scampered off”, he added. “Their caretakers have been telling us that they’re fine, but seeing them go about their usual routine this morning made all of us feel better”, said Maynard. The USDA, which inspects the zoo annually, will look into whether the facility was in compliance with federal laws that monitor the treatment of animals in research and exhibition. “It passed twice a year inspections from the [U.S. Department of Agriculture]”.