After seeing the barrier the kid got through at the zoo, I change my mind. The barrier is inadequate

[Quixote1818]

I was arguing on the other side of this issue on one thread until saw the actual barrier or lack there of. It appears to be two flimsy wires that any kid could slip through or over in seconds. Also, the vegetation covers the giant fall so a kid could go under and into the dense vegetation and not realize he/she was about to fall 15 feet.

You can stop the video at the 27 second mark to see the barrier. I don't have major strong feelings about this because there are a lot of dangerous opportunities for kids like busy streets that don't have fences etc. and I think these kind of barriers are pretty common in zoos because they assume people are going to fear the giant drop off, but I see no harm in putting in a slightly higher fence that is chain link that would make it much harder for a rambunctious child to get through and prevent something like this in the future. Kids have wild imaginations and they often think the animals are friendly as this kid did suggesting he wanted be with them. It's possible this kid recently saw "The Jungle Book" and so he imagines all animals to be like those in the movie. Ready to be a kids best friend.


This is a video showing a walk through of the Gorilla exhibit:

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

1. Expect the mother to bring a lawsuit against the zoo

claiming emotional distress, among other things. And the sad thing is that she'll probably get a good sized settlement out of it.

I can hear the patter of lawyers' feet...

[CincyDem]

7. Don't hold your breath for it...

...aside from the fact that her son Issac is alive and well because of the swift action of zoo employees against their own best interest (keeping a valuable mating primate alive), my recollection is that every zoo ticket comes with a waiver for just this purpose.

It's like when you to to a baseball game and get hit with a foul ball or a get hit with an errant puck at a hockey game. Attend at your own risk. You might get a freebie game out of it and couple autographs (speaking from baseball experience) but don't hope for any "settlement".

Not gonna happen.

[ciaobaby]

2. Completely inadequate.

It is all so tragic.
Parents not watching their small toddler, Zoo's not providing a safe environment, Animals in zoos !!!! TRAGIC
Does anyone know why the gorilla was not shot with a tranquilizer.
Will the parents be charged with child endangerment ? Don't people hold their children's hands anymore ?
Maybe the little ones should be required to wear those toddler leashes if allowed to explore in a zoo unattended.
So sad.

[laundry_queen]

4. I can answer that one question

on TV the zoo said the gorilla was not shot with a tranquilizer because he was close to the child and a tranquilizer can take a few seconds to take effect. Also, when an animal is agitated it can take a bit longer to take effect, and there is no way of knowing just how much longer. Also, the dart hurts. So, you take an agitated gorilla who is holding on to a little boy and shoot him with something that causes him pain and agitates him further, and leads to some disorientation rather quickly, that rush of adrenaline in the animal could've made it even more dangerous for the child. They did wait for the gorilla to distance himself from the child to see if they could get a tranquilizer in, but the gorilla stayed right with the child the entire time. It was too risky they said.

As for the rest - even attentive parents can lose a determined child. My parents lost my brother a few times before they decided to not take him anywhere until he got older. They were pretty attentive parents, but I (The older sister) was a very compliant child who never ran away, and was not very determined to do anything, lol, so my brother's personality was polar opposite and unexpected. He'd promise to stay put and then sneak off. A couple of malls had to close the doors because my brother would take off. I remember vividly my mom running around the mall in tears looking for my brother. My mom was the type of parent if you weren't RIGHT by her side, she'd start calling for you. She'd hang on to your hand usually. But sometimes as a parent you have to let go to pay for stuff, or grab a tissue out of your purse or whatever. Some kids will take full advantage before you know what the heck just happened.

My oldest was like my brother, but she was my oldest so she had my undivided attention and she never took off (But she just about pulled off her arm trying to get away). My other 3 kids were like little ducklings and I never, ever had to worry about them wandering. A place like the zoo that is built for kids needs to be certain they are built for the most determined, non-compliant child. Even the most attentive parents have their slip ups, and pair that with a child driven towards something and a subpar enclosure, and you have a recipe for disaster. It's really a no brainer. I fault the zoo here. They put their animals at risk for assuming a crappy few wires would keep out all children always.

[DVRacer]

3. It's probably a good thing a dart was not used!

If you have ever had anesthetic you know it doesn't work immediately. If shot with a tranquilizer dart the very large primate would have reacted to it violently and thought the new thing in its area aka the child was the reason for the pain. Shooting it cleanly like they did with one shot was the safest for the kid.

[pugetres]

8. Today (during a volunteer shift)

Last edited Tue May 31, 2016, 03:00 AM - Edit history (1)

at a facility that offers wildlife rehab, the lead rehabber for the day and group of us volunteers were talking about this. This particular rehabber had worked with the gorilla (at the Chicago Zoo?) who had saved a little boy that fell into the enclosure. She said that the female gorilla was aggressive but she had was good mother and it was not unusual that she protected the little boy from the silverbacks in the enclosure.

Another volunteer asked her about what she thought about the killing of the gorilla rather than tranquilizing it and she said it was the best thing to do in the circumstance. The child could have been killed in an instant it and every second counted.

[One_Life_To_Give]

5. Hard to tell if something is hidden in the hedge

My first thought was it does not meet the requirement for a deck 30 inches off the ground, never mind 10 ft above a moat. Atleast doesn't look like a 34in rail to me.

[dilby]

6. Seriously that is all that is keeping the zoo from being a petting zoo?

Wow, I figured the little tyke broke in via a storm drain or something elaborate, I didn't think he just hopped a small barrier.

[msongs]

9. adults failed to supervise child properly. ever hear of holding kids' hands? int