Direct your Harambe anger at the zoo's gorilla barrier
Federal regulators have determined that the Cincinnati Zoo enclosure that housed Harambe -- the gorilla that inspired countless memes -- was not up to their standards.
Harambe, an endangered gorilla, was shot and killed in May after a 3-year-old boy slipped inside the enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. A U.S. Agriculture Department inspection report released Thursday found that the gorilla exhibit barrier was not in compliance with enclosure standards, the Associated Press reported.
Inspectors said in the report that there was slack in the wire cables, which could be pulled apart 8 inches. The gorilla exhibit had bushes and other tall plants before a 15-foot drop into a moat.
The zoo's barrier had been considered in compliance during earlier inspections.
The report also stated that the zoo's response was appropriate in order to protect the child. The boy was not seriously injured in the incident.
The family of the boy said in a statement that the report findings don't change anything and that they remain thankful for their son's safety and the "quick actions" by zoo staff, and "mourn with (the zoo) the loss of Harambe."
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Harambe became famous after his death, even garnering thousands of presidential write-in votes. A social media movement expressing anger and mourning for the 17-year-old male western lowland gorilla spread and grew vicious toward the zoo. Many tributes came in meme form.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Social media attacks against the Cincinnati Zoo become so constant that it shut down its Twitter account in August. It didn't start tweeting again until mid-October.
Following Thursday's findings, a federal investigation will continue and could lead to fines or disciplinary action, the AP reported.
Topics Memes
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
