By now if you haven’t heard the news that the Cincinnati Zoo had to make the unfortunate decision to kill their gorilla Harambe in order to save a child’s life, what rock are you living under?? Sadly not the kind of news that Cincinnati needs or deserves.
While Thane Maynard, Cincinnati Zoo director stood by the ultimate decision it was not without regret as a long time advocate for animals both in the wild and in zoos. Of course that doesn’t stop the internet whenever a tragedy occurs to Monday morning quarterback the situation. The mob mentality that had a hundred thousand signers of a petition that the parents of the child should be held accountable. As tragic as it was, I am glad after investigation the Cincinnati police did not pursue charges.
Others use the incident to say that zoos need to be closed and the animals should run free in the wild. Zoos have been the greatest proponent of saving endangered species through education and fundraising. And yet you continually hear little noise about the poaching that goes on that causes the vast majority of these animals deaths and endangering their extinction. You want to jump on the bandwagon? Fine. Just make sure it is going on the right track.
_______________
Charity Challenge Week 3 Results
Looks like for the first year, the charity challenge is a bust. Might have to do something different going forward
Cartoonist using “Bearman” in their cartoons ($10 each):
- None
Blog about the Challenge ($5 each):
- None
New Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter Followers ($1 each)
- 0 Google Plus
- 0 Facebook
- 6 Twitter
Week 2 Total of $6 and Grand Total of $124!!
Find out how you can support the Charity Challenge at no cost to you here.
Let me know if I missed anyone.
It would have been a lot better if they had just tranquilized the gorilla. Perhaps there wasn’t time.
Zoos, if run properly, can serve a very good function in introducing people to wild animals., which helps them to appreciate them. One thing which many don’t consider is that living life in the wild is not carefree. Animals are under constant threat from predators, hunters, food availability, diseases , parasites, and climate. Many animals in zoos live much longer lives than they would in the wild.
If it wasn’t for the Steve Irwin zoo, I would never have seen a wombat and known what the heck you were talking about haha
There you go. And now you’re madly in love with them.
Social media sites and thinking before comments and passing along outrage – fail to share the same space.
Good comparison in your cartoon.
thx bill
If you tranquilize the animal, it takes anywhere from 3 to 6 minutes to take affect. Until it does, you ceded control of the situation to the animal. Does the animal suddenly get angry? Does the animal suddenly decide he/she’s gonna climb a tree with the child? Can you control which way the animal is going to fall? The answers are possibly; possibly; no.
This, according to the professionals who do this kind of stuff for a living, is why the option of putting the gorilla down with a bullet was pursued.
GB I can’t say what the correct course of action was so I have to agree and just take the experts at their word