Killing of Harambe

Harambe redirects here. For the Kenyan tradition, see occasionally propping him up when he sat, or pushing
Harambee. For other uses, see Harambe (disambigua- him down when he stood.[8] Harambe exhibited struttion).
ting behaviorwalking around with legs and arms stiy
extended to appear biggera blung move, though one
with inherent danger should he throw or drag the boy
On May 28, 2016, a three-year-old boy climbed into a go[9]
rilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gar- around too roughly. Harambe then carried the boy up
den and was grabbed and dragged by Harambe, a 17- a ladder out of the moat onto dry land. Afraid for the
year-old Western lowland gorilla. Fearing for the boys boys life, zoo ocials made the decision to kill the golife, a zoo worker shot and killed Harambe. The incident rilla, doing so with a single gunshot. Cincinnati reghtwas between Harambes legs when the
was recorded on video and received broad international ers said the boy
[6]
Harambe was killed one day after his
shot
was
red.
coverage and commentary, including controversy over
[8]
17th
birthday.
the choice to kill Harambe. A number of primatologists
and conservationists wrote later that the zoo had no other
choice under the circumstances, and that it highlighted
the danger of zoo animals in close proximity to humans
and the need for better standards of care.

3 Reactions
The shooting was controversial,[10] with some observers
stating that it was unclear whether Harambe was likely
to harm the child.[11][12] Others called for the boys parents or the zoo to be held accountable for the gorillas
death.[13] Director Thane Maynard stated, The child
was being dragged around ... His head was banging on
concrete. This was not a gentle thing. The child was
at risk.[14][15][16] Police investigated possible criminal
charges against the parents, while the parents defended
the zoos actions.[17][18] The boys mother also became the
target of harassment on the Internet and social media.[19]
On June 6, 2016, Ohio prosecutor Joe Deters said that
the mother would not face any charges of wrongdoing.[20]
The zoo was being investigated by the Association of
Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which sets the standards for
zoos, and the USDA.[21]

Harambe

Harambe (/hrmbe/ h-RAHM-bay) was born at the

Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, on May 27,
1999. He was named by Dan Van Coppenolle after the
1988 Shanachie song Harambe (Working Together for
Freedom)" by Rita Marley. Harambee is a Swahili term
for communal labor.[1][2]
On September 18, 2014, Harambe was transferred to the
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden to learn adult gorilla behavior and join a new social group.[3][4]

Incident

The incident was recorded by a bystander and uploaded to

YouTube, where the video went viral and received global
publicity.[22] The incident received criticism from several
high-prole celebrities, including Ricky Gervais, Brian
May, and Piers Morgan.[23] The then Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said that it was too bad
there wasn't another way.[24]

On May 28, 2016, a three-year-old[5] boy visiting the

Cincinnati Zoo fell into the moat at the Gorilla World
habitat.[6] Witnesses said they heard the child say he
wanted to go into the gorilla enclosure.[7] The boy then
climbed a 3-foot-tall (0.91 m) fence, crawled through 4
feet (1.2 m) of bushes, and then fell 15 feet (4.6 m) into
a moat of shallow water. Zoo ocials immediately signaled for the three gorillas in the habitat to return inside, and two females did so. However, the third gorilla, the inquisitive 440-pound (200 kg) male silverback,
Harambe, climbed down into the moat to investigate the
child splashing in the water.[6]

The incident sparked debate among biologists and primatologists on whether gorillas and other primates should be
held in captivity at all.[9] Primatologist Jane Goodall said
that according to the video it seemed Harambe was trying to protect the child.[25] Goodall later issued a longer
explanation in an interview with the president of the
International Fund for Animal Welfare, concluding that
Over the next 10 minutes, Harambe became increas- the zoo had no choice but to kill Harambe.[26] She wrote,
ingly agitated and disoriented by the screams of It was awful for the child, the parents, Harambe, the zoo,
onlookers.[8][9] He dragged the child through the water, the keepers and the public. But when people come into
1

contact with wild animals, life and death decisions sometimes have to be made.[21] Goodall said that as long as
humans and wild animals are kept in close proximity in
zoos, there is no way to prevent accidents from happening, but she believed that zoos with the highest standards
of care could play an important role.[21] Zookeeper Jack
Hanna strongly defended the zoos actions as the correct decision, noting that a tranquilizer dart might have
taken ve or ten minutes to take eect and could have
aggravated Harambe further.[27] Primatologist Frans de
Waal said he saw few options for the zoo: A gorilla is so
immensely strong that even with the best of intentions
and we are not sure that Harambe had thosethe childs
death was a probable outcome.[28]

3.1

Fall-out and Internet memes

Following the killing, Harambe became subject of multiple viral memes.[29] Vox wrote in November that
Harambe has an undeniable status as 2016s meme of
the year.[30] As People magazine wrote: Harambe continues to live on in the collective mind of the internet, entering into a rareed state of venerated meme
status.[31] One of the most widespread memes was noted
by The Washington Post and New York magazine who
observed a proliferation of over-the-top and fake tributes to Harambe. The idea is, the more intense and
more sincere-seeming the expression of mourning is,
the funnier the joke.[29][32] For example, the Dicks
out for Harambe meme can be seen as a fake tribute to an incident that would normally engender sincere
mourning.[32][33] As Aja Romano of Vox wrote, If you
were a progressive, the Harambe meme gave you a chance
to mock what you viewed as the hypocritical haranguing
of the mainstream while avoiding real issues of social justice; and if you were a conservative, the Harambe meme
gave you a chance to mock liberal hysteria.[32][33] One
meme is a play on conspiracy theories, such as Bush did
Harambe, a reference to the 9/11 conspiracy theories.[34]
In Australia, people joked about supporting Harambes
corpse as a write-in candidate on the ballot for the federal
election.[35] Public Policy Polling included Harambe in
their polling for the U.S. presidential election. The dead
gorilla had 5% support in late July 2016 (ahead of Green
Party nominee Jill Stein) and 2% in August 2016 (tied
with Stein).[36][37]
Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard reacted negatively: We are not amused by the memes, petitions and
signs about Harambe. Our zoo family is still healing, and
the constant mention of Harambe makes moving forward
more dicult for us. We are honoring Harambe by redoubling our gorilla conservation eorts and encouraging
others to join us.[38] In late August, the zoo deleted its
Twitter account after being daily targeted by trolls mentioning Harambe.[39] However, as of late October, they
had resumed their account.[40]

REFERENCES

3.2 Popular culture

A self-described underground culture collective known
as Otaku Gang released a computer parody ghting game
known as Harambe vs. Capcom, with Harambe being able to ght characters from Capcom's Street Fighter
franchise.[41][42][43]
American rappers Young Thug and Dumbfoundead each
released songs entitled Harambe. The former did so
on his album Jeery, each track of which is named after
one of his idols, although the song does not reference
the gorilla;[44][45] the latter likens the fate of the ape to
gang violence and police brutality.[46] Canadian dubstep
producer Excision included a song titled Harambe on
his 2016 album Virus.[47]

4 See also
Binti Jua
Jambo
Tatiana the Tiger
Topsy

5 References
[1] Coppenolle, Dan Van. The real lesson of Harambe.
[2] Bigfoot Journeys (27 January 2014). Announcing the
name of a baby lowland gorilla, Harambe"" via
YouTube.
[3] Sta, WCPO (14 April 2015). Cincinnati Zoo gets silverback gorilla Harambe for 'spring training'".
[4] New Rookie Silverback in Gorilla World for Spring
Training - The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. 14
April 2015.
[5] Gorilla killing: 3-year-old boys mother won't be
charged. CNN. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
[6] Cameron Knight (June 1, 2016). How boy got into gorilla
enclosure. USA Today. Cincinnati.com. Retrieved June
20, 2016. a 3-year-old boy dropped into the Gorilla World
exhibit
[7] John Shammas (May 30, 2016). Mum of boy who fell
into gorilla zoo enclosure blasts critics saying 'accidents
happen'". Mirror. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
[8] Carla Hall (May 31, 2016). Lesson of the Cincinnati gorilla killing: The zoo is not a playground. Los Angeles
Times. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
[9] Natalie Angier (June 6, 2016). Do Gorillas Even Belong
in Zoos? Harambes Death Spurs Debate. The New York
Times. Retrieved June 20, 2016.

[10] Zoo faces backlash over decision to shoot gorilla dead after boy, 4, fell into enclosure. London Evening Standard.
May 29, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.

[28] Harambes Behavior May Have Been Normal Gorilla

Play, Michael Greshko. National Geographic, May 31,
2016

[11] Killed Gorilla Seemed to Protect Child Who Fell in Enclosure: Witness. NBC News. Retrieved May 30, 2016.

[29] Abby Ohlheiser (July 27, 2016). The Internet won't let
Harambe rest in peace. The Washington Post. Retrieved
August 18, 2016.

[12] Gorilla shot dead in zoo: Killing unnecessary, primate

expert says - Video. NewsComAu. May 30, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
[13] Grinberg, Emanuella (2016-05-29). Critics blame parents, Cincinnati Zoo for gorillas death. CNN. Retrieved
2016-05-31.
[14] McPhate, Kate (May 30, 2016). Zoos Killing of Gorilla
Holding a Boy Prompts Outrage. The New York Times.
Retrieved May 31, 2016.
[15] Ralph, Ellis; Rose, Rashard (May 29, 2016). Gorilla shot
to save child at Cincinnati zoo. CNN. Retrieved May 30,
2016.
[16] Gorilla Killed After Child Enters Enclosure at Cincinnati
Zoo. The New York Times. May 30, 2016. Retrieved
May 30, 2016.
[17] Gorilla killing at Cincinnati zoo sparks probe into possible criminal charges. Reuters.
[18] John Shammas (1 June 2016). Astonishing new footage
shows gorilla 'PROTECTING' boy and holding his hand
before being shot dead. Daily Mirror.
[19] Chai, Carmen. Harambes death: Is the parent-shaming
over gorillas death going overboard?".
[20] CNN, Madison Park and Holly Yan. Gorilla killing: 3year-old boys mother won't be charged.
[21] Jane Goodall (June 19, 2016). Jane Goodall, Azzedine Downes together oer thoughts on tragic Harambe
killing. International Fund for Animal Welfare. Retrieved June 20, 2016.

[30] Romano, Aja (9 November 2016). Those claims that

Harambe won 20,000 votes are based on nothing.
[31] Heigl, Alex (15 August 2016). Harambe the Gorillas
Bizarre Eternal Life as an Internet Meme. People.
[32] Brian Feldman (July 27, 2016). The Dark Internet Humor of Harambe Jokes. New York. Retrieved August 18,
2016.
[33] Romano, Aja (17 August 2016). The Harambe meme is
still going strong. And its about a lot more than a dead
gorilla.. Vox.
[34] Reigstad, Leif (17 August 2016). George W. Bush Didn't
Kill Harambe, The Internet Is Just Weird. Texas Monthly.
[35] Elle Hunt (July 2, 2016). Vote for Harambe: Australian
election gives second life to Cincinnati zoo gorilla. The
Guardian. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
[36] Firozi, Paulina (17 August 2016). Poll: Jill Stein tied
with Harambe, trailing Deez Nutz in Texas. The Hill.
[37] Silverstein, Jason (31 July 2016). Harambe the dead gorilla would fare well as independent presidential candidate, poll says. Daily News. New York.
[38] Grin, Andrew (22 August 2016). Harambe: Stop making memes of our dead gorilla, Cincinnati Zoo pleads.
The Independent.
[39] Mark Molloy (August 23, 2016). Cincinnati Zoo deletes
Twitter account over abuse and memes of dead gorilla
Harambe. The Daily Telegraph. Associated Press. Retrieved August 23, 2016.

[22] Cincinnati zoo kills gorilla to save boy who fell into enclosure on YouTube

[40] Cincinnati Zoo rejoins Twitter following Harambe controversy. Fox News. Associated Press. October 21,
2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.

[23] Chris Graham (May 31, 2016). Celebrities joins backlash over shooting of Harambe the gorilla - but Ohio zoo
defends decision. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May
31, 2016.

[41] Hernandez, Patricia. Someone Put Harambe In Street

Fighter, Because Why Not. Kotaku. Retrieved 2016-0917.

[24] Eliana Dockterman (May 31, 2016). Donald Trump Defends Cincinnati Zoos Shooting of Harambe the Gorilla.
Time. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
[25] Goodall, Jane. Memo RE: Shooting of Harambe at
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens (PDF). janegoodall.org. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
[26] Melissa Chan (June 20, 2016). Jane Goodall Says Zoo
Was Right to Kill Harambe the Gorilla. Time. Yahoo!
News. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
[27] Jack Hanna defends Cincinnati Zoos decision to kill gorilla. USA Today. Retrieved 3 August 2016.

[42] Good, Owen. Dear God, someone has made Harambe

vs. Capcom. Polygon. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
[43] Lemon, Marshall. Harambe Vs Capcom turns tragic
story into a parody game. VG247. Retrieved 2016-0917.
[44] Young Thugs New No, My Name Is JEFFERY Mixtape
Has Songs for Harambe and Rihanna, and an Incredible
Cover: Listen. Pitchfork Media. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
[45] Young Thug writes a song for Harambe, forgets
Harambe. The Verge. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 30
August 2016.

[46] Braboy, Mark (August 19, 2016). Dumbfoundead Addresses These Turbulent Times In Harambe"". Retrieved
September 11, 2016.
[47] Meadow, Matthew (2016-10-25). Excision releases his
third studio album Virus"". Your EDM. Retrieved 201611-01.

External links
Photos of Harambe at Gladys Porter Zoo

EXTERNAL LINKS

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1

Text

Killing of Harambe Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Harambe?oldid=757329667 Contributors: Skysmith, WhisperToMe, Furrykef, DocWatson42, Bkonrad, Brianhe, Sir Joseph, Fourthords, Harej, BDD, Zzyzx11, Joe Roe, MarnetteD, Fragglet, SVTCobra, Splamo, Red Slash, Cryptic, Aeusoes1, Apokryltaros, Aoa8212, NeilN, Skudrafan1, McGeddon, C.Fred, TomStike, Yamaguchi ,
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Nicholas0, Luckz, Run4fun, Brandt Luke Zorn, Connor Behan, Keith D, Zivlok, Tokyogirl79, TiredTendencies, WWGB, Mike Cline,
Meters, Joseph A. Spadaro, Brianga, Topher385, PokeHomsar, ERK, Beliefmask, Percivl, Mayamussa, LuK3, Yobot, AnomieBOT, DemocraticLuntz, Jim1138, Clarinetguy097, Danno uk, Cheeserawkz101, Anonymous from the 21st century, Sergecross73, Bijx, Green Cardamom, Salvidrim!, Electricmaster, Lucius Winslow, Axxter99, ZeniMartineau, Ljfa-ag, The Blade of the Northern Lights, AvicBot,
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Yoshiman6464, Maxman186, Jonny2126, FallingGravity, EvergreenFir, Ibrahim Husain Meraj, Renamed user 156yagz5r48a5f1a1f,
Timbo303, Lilacroller, MagicatthemovieS, Lewis Hulbert, Esmost, AKS.9955, Kingtut806, GuardGoose, SquaredSpekz, 3primetime3,
Ljk3000, Brozan, Tkizzle05, DawnGuardWolf, Reggiebauer, Nohomersryan, Mas0701, Hassantariq133, E.M.Gregory, 3-k-fee, Cheeseman9999, Sheldon.andre, Cran32, Tybomb124, Smazza111, GeneralizationsAreBad, Eric0928, Denniscabrams, MB298, MusikBot, Kiwist, HakanIST, Jayeko, Siracha Man, Protectprowrestling, BU Rob13, Franknuch17, Generic hipster, Proud User, Grandpa12345,
Empr1ze, Trisha Gaurav, Hic hc hoc, Maczkopeti, *Treker, Atlantic306, SushiGod, PugLover126, Volvlogia, GSS-1987, Thejavis86,
MBGraham, DatGuy, Parsley Man, Debbiesw, Valentina Cardoso, Nonchalant77, Gatzbees Saloon, JJBers, DBZFan30, Genealogizer,
Omni Flames, Fitindia, Dj 17, Fouett rond de jambe en tournant, Music1201, DynaGirl, Wumbolo, Harlotquinn, Shiftyrye27, AntiVenom2150, Lique catha419, Ian TGW, RainFall, Lakakaja, MikeTheRedmond, Miranite, Wasabi,the,one, Holy Goo, TheEmeraldMiner1, Morganaticity, COOLQUINN17, Andertonian, Apollo The Logician, Lasyone, Izudrunkizuhadenough, Darth Tacker, Timothy
Robinson12345, SpaceGuy623 and Anonymous: 46

7.2

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7.3

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