The articles “Did Harambe the Gorilla Have to Die? Here’s What You Need to Know” by Rishi Lyengar, “‘We’d Make the Same Decision’ Zoo Director Says of Gorilla Shooting” by Madison Park, Emanuella Grinberg, and Tiffany Ap, and “Cincinnati Zoo ‘Would Make the Same Decision’ to Shoot Gorilla” by Michael Edison Hayden, Julia Jacobo and Emily Shapiro all discuss the fatal shooting of Harambe, a 17 year old male western-lowland gorilla. After a three year old boy entered the animal’s enclosure Harambe dragged the child through the water, which forced zoo officials to make the decision to shoot the critically endangered gorilla. Harambe had to be killed to save the life of the little boy; gorillas have incredible strength and no one could have known how much longer the boy could have survived with the gorilla. Gorillas may be considered ‘gentle giants’ but they should still be considered dangerous animals due to their size and strength. The director of the Cincinnati Zoo said that anyone who questioned the zoo’s decision didn’t understand that “you can’t take a risk with …show more content…
Some argue that the zoo should have simply tranquilized the gorilla but the zoo director said that anesthetic does not work instantly, it could take “a few minutes to 10 minutes” (“Did Harambe the Gorilla…”). That was time the child did not have. The tranquilizer could've just upset Harambe more untuk it worked, putting the toddler in more danger. No one could have known how the situation would have played out so the took immediate action. Witnesses say that the killing of Harambe “seemed necessary under the circumstances in order to save the toddler” (“Did Harambe the Gorilla...”). In the end, it comes down to how much the zoo was willing to risk the child’s life in order to save their