Harambe The Gorilla’s Change.org Petition Gets More Than 35,000 Signatures

There is a Change.org petition taking off, titled “Justice for Harambe: Petitioning Thayne Maynard Zoo Director Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.” Created by Sheila Hurt of Cincinnati, Ohio, the Change.org petition is gaining steam — with more than 35,000 signatures thus far.

As seen in the above photo, the gorilla statue at the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is getting plenty of attention on Sunday, May 29. Flowers have been placed there in Cincinnati to remember the life of Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla who was killed on Saturday after a 4-year-old boy entered the moat at the gorilla exhibit.

Warning: The below video showing the 400-pound Harambe dragging the 4-year-old boy through the water could be upsetting to some viewers.

Now that the full video from the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo has been released to the public, as reported by WLWT Cincinnati, the danger of the young boy being dragged through the water by the gorilla is on display. While some viewers believe the gorilla was actually trying to protect the little boy, some also admit that Harambe’s sheer power could have accidentally and inadvertently killed the boy.

Harambe’s death is calling for some to avenge the gorilla by holding the boy’s parents responsible. The young boy suffered injuries but is expected to make a full recovery after being treated at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

The zoo officials who responded to the emergency situation made the decision to shoot Harambe to death and sacrifice his life instead of tranquilizing him. If the gorilla had been tranquilized, it could have taken a long time for the gorilla to go down — and the risk was too great with such a situation. Harambe could have become aggressive if a tranquilizer had been employed with a human being so close to him, or the gorilla could have fallen and passed out atop the little boy, crushing him to death.

The Change.org petition calls the death of Harambe a sad incident and faults the parents of the little boy, calling him “unattended.” The petition claims that the boy was overheard by witnesses speaking about wanting to find ways to get into the Gorilla World enclosure. After falling 10 to 12 feet into the gorilla enclosure, the boy had his life spared when the gorilla was put to death.

As a result, the Change.org petition is calling for authorities to step in to hold the parents of the little boy responsible.

“We the undersigned believe that the child would not have been able to enter the enclosure under proper parental supervision. Witnesses claim that they heard the child state that he wished to go into the enclosure and was actively trying to breach the barriers. This should have prompted the parents to immediately remove the child from the vicinity. It is believed that the situation was caused by parental negligence and the zoo is not responsible for the child’s injuries and possible trauma.”

“We the undersigned want the parents to be held accountable for the lack of supervision and negligence that caused Harambe to lose his life. We the undersigned feel the child’s safety is paramount in this situation. We believe that this negligence may be reflective of the child’s home situation. We the undersigned actively encourage an investigation of the child’s home environment in the interests of protecting the child and his siblings from further incidents of parental negligence that may result in serious bodily harm or even death. Please sign this petition to encourage the Cincinnati Zoo, Hamilton County Child Protection Services, and Cincinnati Police Department hold the parents responsible.”

A heated debate about the Harambe situation is happening on social media.

[Photo by AP Photo/John Minchillo]