Vigil held at Cincinnati Zoo in tribute to slain gorilla

Harambe the gorilla was shot dead by zoo rangers after dramatic mobile phone footage captured the endangered primate drag the youngster through a moat in his cage on Saturday.

Harambe, a 400-pound ape, picked up and dragged the boy violently after he crawled through a barrier at Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio, USA.

A child touches the head of a gorilla statue where flowers have been placed outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Sunday, May 29, 2016, in Cincinnati.

Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo is pictured in this undated photo provided by Cincinnati Zoo.

Tranquilizers were not an option because they could have a delayed effect and “the impact from the dart could agitate the animal and cause the situation to get much worse”, Maynard said.

“The gorilla was “clearly agitated” and “clearly disoriented”, stated Maynard”.

In the days since, people have taken to social media to voice their outrage about the killing of a member of an endangered species. Dozens of people held signs with messages such as “Rest in Peace Harambe”.

Trolls have criticised the parents on social media.

Maynard said while the female gorillas responded to the call, Harambe was distracted by the events and did not respond.

Maynard maintained that the exhibit was safe and the zoo was not negligent.

Maynard said the zoo’s dangerous-animal response team, consisting of full-time animal keepers, veterinarians and security staff, made the right call to kill the gorilla.

FOX25 did make several attempts to talk to Franklin Park Zoo officials to see if something like that could happen here, but we were told the offices were closed for the holiday.

He added: “This is a huge loss for the zoo family and the gorilla population worldwide”. Others said the screaming from the onlookers may have freaked out the 17-year-old gorilla.

“The (zoo’s) barrier obviously isn’t sufficient to keep the public out”, said Michael Budkie of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW.

The boy’s family commended the quick actions of the rangers stating that it was “a very hard decision for them”.

“I’m not a finger-pointer”, Maynard said during Monday’s news conference. The two appear in a corner of the exhibit while visitors yell, “Somebody call the zoo!” and “Mommy’s right here!” At the time, zoo officials said some visitors were moved for safety as the bears were returned to their main holding area.

“I do think there’s a degree of responsibility they have to be held to”, said Villanueva, a 28-year-old mother of two children.