Gorilla Exhibit

[Teebin]

I see lawsuit now. The railing for the exhibit in Cincinnati was completely insufficient. It was like chain link fence posts without the chain link... only two cables in between leaving 12 inch gaps. Now I understand how the child got in so quickly without the mothers knowledge. I couldn't figure it out before. Talk about "Children Welcome!".

 

[IzzyB]

I see lawsuit now. The railing for the exhibit in Cincinnati was completely insufficient. It was like chain link fence posts without the chain link... only two cables in between leaving 12 inch gaps. Now I understand how the child got in so quickly without the mothers knowledge. I couldn't figure it out before. Talk about "Children Welcome!".

Oh wow, that is pretty bad. Nowhere in AK is like that. Kids would have to climb up a good 4 feet to get over anything and into an animal area.

 

[Teebin]

It's after the wooden fence part. YOU WILL BE MORTIFIED!

 

[Imperius]

Even looking at that, it would have taken that child a little bit of time to work his way through it. I could be wrong.

 

[Teebin]

Even looking at that, it would have taken that child a little bit of time to work his way through it. I could be wrong.

I am 5'11" 165lbs and even I could wiggle quickly between those cables...

 

[SkiBum]

I see lawsuit now. The railing for the exhibit in Cincinnati was completely insufficient. It was like chain link fence posts without the chain link... only two cables in between leaving 12 inch gaps. Now I understand how the child got in so quickly without the mothers knowledge. I couldn't figure it out before. Talk about "Children Welcome!".

My wife and I were talking about this some more earlier today (before I read your post). She said that she never really felt safe with that fencing up and that she had wondered why nothing bad had happened before now. Of course, I told her that I wasn't worried about gorillas jumping the moat and coming out but I hadn't considered a kid getting through and falling down. BBC had an analyst talking about why shooting the gorilla hadn't been necessary. While I'm not sure either way, it really doesn't matter now. The Zoo is supposed to open a brand new enclosure next year that would have the plexiglass walls with no chance of kids getting in. Too little, too late.

 

[UNIrd]

Is it bad that I finally just watched the "disturbing" video of the Cincinnati Zoo incident and didn't think much of it? It looked like a gorilla acting like a gorilla. It even looked kinda nurturing.

 

[Teebin]

Is it bad that I finally just watched the "disturbing" video of the Cincinnati Zoo incident and didn't think much of it? It looked like a gorilla acting like a gorilla. It even looked kinda nurturing.

Dragging the kid hard and fast like a rag doll through water? Nurturing? At best, I will give the gorilla unsure and confused and unpredictable. The situation was a horrible pisser of circumstance and an insufficient barrier.

 

[UNIrd]

Dragging the kid hard and fast like a rag doll through water? Nurturing? At best, I will give the gorilla unsure and confused and unpredictable. The situation was a horrible pisser of circumstance and an insufficient barrier.

Did I watch an edited video?

 

[Teebin]

Did I watch an edited video?

You must have seen the earlier news posts. The later stuff hurts mentally. It's violent.

 

[UNIrd]

Lol. Okay. I just watched the actual cell phone vid. The one I saw was from the news introducing it as "terrifying" and "disturbing" but then spliced together to show NONE of the dragging thru the water.

 

[Teebin]

AND... this just in: "Cincinnati Zoo to Change Gorilla Barriers"

No kidding... :blank:

 

[MillenniumDragons]

I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but I heard it briefly last night, that the mother in question is an owner (or worker) at a day care. Now, I'm not trying to be mean or disrespectful, but talk about irony.
Checked, and she's the daycare administrator and mother of four.

 

[s8film40]

I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but I heard it briefly last night, that the mother in question is an owner (or worker) at a day care. Now, I'm not trying to be mean or disrespectful, but talk about irony.
Checked, and she's the daycare administrator and mother of four.

Sounds like that strengthens the case that this whole thing was really the zoo's fault.

 

[UK-Trigg]

You must have seen the earlier news posts. The later stuff hurts mentally. It's violent.

Agreed, a few people have mentioned how the gorilla wasn't harming the kid but my stomach turned over the first time I saw the gorilla drag him through the water. At times he looked like he was neutering the boy but with such strength and uncertainty the unthinkable could have happened in a heartbeat.

People have been pointing the finger at the parents, myself included, but looking at that barrier it is clear to see the kid could have fallen through that without much effort at all.

Cincinnati zoo had no choice but to shoot but they sure had a choice to install adequate fencing

 

[USO92]

I spent a day at the Cincy Zoo early november last year and I guarantee you that this was a case of insufficient safety precautions more than it was the parent's fault. I'm not saying their completely free of charge but the Cincy zoo is a dump. I've not been to many zoo's in my life but I left that place incredibly depressed. Habitats too small, animals don't have much to do, and those creatures looked incredibly sad. This zoo is smack dab in the heart of Cincy and they just don't have any space.

Am I a pro in zoo architecture? No. I do know, however, that what the cincy zoo has is insufficient and I could definitely see a massive lawsuit happening here.

 

[Miketheboss]

I feel like the reason the Gorilla acted in that way was because of those people yelling. The gorilla dragged the boy to the end of the enclosure seeming to distance the boy from what the gorilla perceived as danger. They made the right choice because you never know what can happen but I see the parents being at fault. The enclosure has been there since 1978 and nothing like that has ever occurred. Why doesnt the zoo release video of it? I'm sure they have a video facing the enclosure.

 

[Stitch_101]

Sounds like that strengthens the case that this whole thing was really the zoo's fault.

Or brings into question her ability to competently supervise multiple children. After reading just about everything out there about what happened, IMO there is plenty of blame to go around. The zoo clearly didn't supply a sufficient barrier to the animals enclosure. Based on all the "eye witness accounts" the most accurate to the series of events was made by a woman who saw the child going into the enclosure and tried to stop him but wasn't quick enough. She claims the mother was preoccupied with the other children and was not paying attention in any way.

Had the Zoo provided the appropriate protections, this would have not happened. Had the mother of the child been properly supervising, this would not have happened. It became a cluster of two perfect storms colliding and tragedy striking as a result.

 

[s8film40]

I feel like the reason the Gorilla acted in that way was because of those people yelling. The gorilla dragged the boy to the end of the enclosure seeming to distance the boy from what the gorilla perceived as danger. They made the right choice because you never know what can happen but I see the parents being at fault. The enclosure has been there since 1978 and nothing like that has ever occurred. Why doesnt the zoo release video of it? I'm sure they have a video facing the enclosure.

Yeah, I think the gorilla wasn't necessarily going to do anything intentional to harm the child, but such a large animal and such a small child anything could have happened even accidentally. As for the parents being at fault I suppose it has to do with the circumstances. Typically in places like this the public feels like the facility provides some level of safety. If the child could get into the exhibit within a split second as it appears one could then I have a hard time blaming the parents. Unless all parents should be required to put their kids on leashes at all times I don't see how this could be avoided. A parent knows when crossing a street for example to hold the kids hands and protect them, I'm not sure a zoo should fall into that category. It should be absolutely 100% impossible for a 4 year old to get into a gorilla exhibit.

 

[Miketheboss]

Zoo Miami has barriers that are maybe 3 feet, then a moat. People need to teach their kids to stay by there side and act appropriately. At around 18 months I was climbing out of my crib so really any normal waist high fence is "insufficient". From now on we are gonna have to be behind glass or 8 ft high fences.