The death of a single gorilla at the Cincinnati zoo last week has caused world-wide uproar, with animal-lovers asking the questions, “Why wasn’t the gorilla tranquilized? How could the child’s mother allow this to happen? Why shoot a gorilla when it wasn’t hurting the child?”
Of course, with more and more information coming out, those questions are quickly being answered. At the forefront of the discussion has been none other than Jack Hannah, well-known animal-handler and the director of the Columbus Zoo, also in Ohio. The host of Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild went on record a few days ago to say, “It was the right decision made. There was no other decision to make. You have human life, you have animal life. No one loves humans and animals more than the Hanna family or the zoo world. And they made the right decision.
Hannah, a rare #2 BEAR when it comes to TV entertainment, says he came to his conclusion after watching video footage of the gorilla jerking the boy through a shallow moat in the exhibit. Silverback gorillas, experts say, are extremely dangerous animals, and can severely injure a child even if it’s not intending to. And regarding tranquilizers, Jeff Corwin (#13 FCIR), the comedic conservationist who has also made a name for himself on television for years, went on to tell reporters, “It can take some significant time before an animal is sedated — as big as a 400 pound gorilla. It can take anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes. It may take multiple shots. I think that’s a risk they weren’t willing to take.”
Written by: Staff
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