# Gorilla shot to save young boy **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 30, 2016, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046 "2016-05-30T01:13:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/21 "2016-05-30T02:49:48Z")
> [@purplehearingaid](#): > > Simple , the parents weren’t doing their job in watching their kids , this never happen at this zoo before according the news I saw tonight. There’s no way to know this. It could well have been that the kid spent fifteen determined minutes finding a way to squirm himself between the bars while his mom stared at her phone, but it also could have been a kid who managed to pull his hand out of his mom’s grip and take a runner and just get really “lucky”. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/22 "2016-05-30T02:57:52Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Why not criminally? She let her kid wander into a life-threatening situation, and caused the killing of a gorilla. I’d be ok with criminal charges too. I just meant that if criminal charges didn’t apply for whatever reason, to bring a civil suit as well. Not being a lawyer, what do I know? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/23 "2016-05-30T03:02:14Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I’d be ok with criminal charges too. I just meant that if criminal charges didn’t apply for whatever reason, to bring a civil suit as well. Not being a lawyer, what do I know? And, if you could prove it wasn’t the parents’ fault, that would be fine, too, right? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/24 "2016-05-30T03:26:55Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Offer to trade bananas for the kid? Sure. Just look on the commodities exchange. I believe the current going rate is 6 bananas for one child. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/25 "2016-05-30T03:46:18Z")
I feel like most of the blame lies with the parents, but some lies with the zoo. I feel like animal enclosures should be such that under no circumstances can a small child get into one. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/26 "2016-05-30T03:48:06Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I’ve read the article and I’m still not clear on how the boy got into the enclosure in the first place. Poor fences. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/27 "2016-05-30T03:53:33Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Poor fences. …make poor neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/28 "2016-05-30T04:07:43Z")
I think the zoo acted reasonably in a potentially deadly situation. What I don’t understand is the outrage against the parents. Isn’t watching your 4 year old being dragged around a gorilla enclosure a fitting enough punishment? Even if the parents weren’t 100% vigilant- how the hell does a 4 year old get into the enclosure of a deadly animal? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/29 "2016-05-30T04:09:23Z")
Perhaps zoos should be banned and any wildlife sanctuaries we create should have a strict no visitors policy so stupid little brats don’t get to have everything killed. What purpose do zoos serve anyway? Education? Preservation? Please. Keep your brat at home and stick him in front of a video game, like other kids. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/30 "2016-05-30T04:11:51Z")
> [@LVBoPeep](#): > > I think the zoo acted reasonably in a potentially deadly situation. What I don’t understand is the outrage against the parents. Isn’t watching your 4 year old being dragged around a gorilla enclosure a fitting enough punishment? … This reminds me of the old joke about the guy who was convicted of killing his parents and then asked the court for mercy because he was an orphan. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/31 "2016-05-30T04:16:24Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > This reminds me of the old joke about the guy who was convicted of killing his parents and then asked the court for mercy because he was an orphan. Right…because that’s exactly the same thing :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/32 "2016-05-30T04:26:55Z")
I suspect this thread will be headed to the Pit soon… I think the parents ought to be heavily fined. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/33 "2016-05-30T04:27:04Z")
> [@LVBoPeep](#): > > Right…because that’s exactly the same thing :dubious: Yes, neither of the parents killed their parents. I should have pointed that out. My mistake. I don’t know exactly what happened or how the kid got inside the cage or whether the parents committed a crime or did anything wrong. If, in fact, the parents did commit some sort of crime (again, I am not saying they did), I find the argument that they should be let off the hook because they had to suffer the tragic consequences of that crime unpersuasive. I do not think we generally let people off because committing the crime made them suffer. And, I will once again say that I do not know if the parents did anything wrong. If they didn’t, then they should not be punished. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/34 "2016-05-30T04:38:20Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > Really? My education on this topic consists entirely of watching nature documentaries and the animals seem to drop like rocks milliseconds after being shot. I still think they should have tried it. If the gorilla wasn’t dropping fast enough THEN they could have shot him. You know absolutely nothing about the subject, and you weren’t there, but you think you can second-guess trained staff who were there?:dubious: Given that the gorilla was violently dragging the kid around in water at some points, he could easily have drowned at any point. The kid was certainly in imminent danger, regardless of what the “intentions” of the gorilla might have been. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/35 "2016-05-30T05:27:57Z")
“Magilla Gorilla” is not a nature documentary. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/36 "2016-05-30T05:47:20Z")
Reading this thread reminds me of the comment areas on news websites, where people generally demand the death penalty for anything more severe than jaywalking and any misbehavior by a person younger than 30 results in cries of “Arrest the parents too!” I have absolutely no doubt that there will be no criminal charges filed against the child’s mother, and the zoo will not seek pursue kind of civil action against her either. If anyone is at fault here, it’s the zoo that created a gorilla enclosure that a 4-year old could penetrate with ease. That is stunning incompetence, given that zoos are almost always swarming with young children. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/37 "2016-05-30T06:06:19Z")
I agree there should be consequences for the parents. Zoos are not daycares: either you watch your child, you hire a nanny to watch your child, or no one will be watching your child. These are wild animals, not barnyard goats at a petting zoo. If you defeat the safety measures (like climbing over/under the railing), **it is not safe.** Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered, so more than just losing an individual silverback, there are wider repercussions here, too. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/38 "2016-05-30T06:13:43Z")
I disagree. No matter what the parents did, this is almost entirely the zoo’s fault. Zoos are designed for small children - children are their primary audience, and it’s perfectly reasonable for parents to assume that they’re in a safe environment. If a child can get into an enclosure without a bolt cutter, then the zoo has done something wrong. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/39 "2016-05-30T06:19:50Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I disagree. No matter what the parents did, this is almost entirely the zoo’s fault. Zoos are designed for small children - children are their primary audience, and it’s perfectly reasonable for parents to assume that they’re in a safe environment. If a child can get into an enclosure without a bolt cutter, then the zoo has done something wrong. 100% agreed. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046/40 "2016-05-30T06:30:43Z")
Um no. Sorry. The world isn’t a day care center for incompetent parents. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorilla-shot-to-save-young-boy/756046.md?page=3)