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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think it's unfair to blame the mother of child hurt by gorilla?

497 replies

pinkladyapple · 30/05/2016 22:02

Yes if she was holding his hand maybe he wouldn't have ended up in the enclosure. But he could have gone over/through the fence in a split second. And the zoo should have fencing which makes this impossible, surely?

The parents aren't being prosecuted for negligence and yet the Internet seem angry at the mother.

But then the people who think that also seem to think a tranquilliser works instantly, and the gorilla wouldn't react to the pain or impact of the dart.

It's sad and terrible though. For everyone.

OP posts:
Medusacascade · 30/05/2016 23:10

Is this the fence? I watched a YouTube walk through of the zoo's Gorilla World. I wouldn't describe it as robust.

To think it's unfair to blame the mother of child hurt by gorilla?
Fairuza · 30/05/2016 23:11

Puzzled - I've read twice today on here about children getting through fences at zoos, so obviously it does happen!

ToxicBits · 30/05/2016 23:11

I guess the keepers thought the immense drop would be enough of an incentive not to climb the fence....

DixieNormas · 30/05/2016 23:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DancingDinosaur · 30/05/2016 23:12

I don't think a child would consider that risk toxic at age 4. And the risk shouldn't have been there.

ToxicBits · 30/05/2016 23:13

No. I think they shouldn't have prioritised the boys life over the gorilla. Different.

DixieNormas · 30/05/2016 23:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Chillyegg · 30/05/2016 23:14

No one is going to let a child die over a gorilla. That's such a fucking extreme and weird thing to say.
Also can I just add what's all this natural order shit about?
And this is why I hate fucking zoo's animals stolen from their natural habitat ,(which is declining because we humans like to destroy the earth), bread in captivity andput in situations they should never be In. Gorillas should be in the Jungle happy in a tree. Not in a cage .
Doesn't matter how big.

Samcro · 30/05/2016 23:14

A 4 year old shoul not be alone for that reason, they cant see danger, thats the parents job

ToxicBits · 30/05/2016 23:14

No. Just a different view point to yours.

Nataleejah · 30/05/2016 23:15

Zoos are fairly safe but if you are determined to enter then you could.
Exactly

DancingDinosaur · 30/05/2016 23:15

Well, I think they should have, sad as the whole situation is. Which they did.
But you certainly live up to your user name don't you.

ToxicBits · 30/05/2016 23:15

samcro and we come back to the point of parental negligence again...

MrsBungle · 30/05/2016 23:15

Sorry but natural consequences should have played out here and only when it was safe should they have gone in to get him. Gorillas are too precious.

That is genuinely the worst thing I've ever read on here.

monkeywithacowface · 30/05/2016 23:16

Zoo's have had their day IMO. I suspect one day we will look back and be ashamed at the idea of animals in captivity (conservation my arse!). So if I'm going to blame those parents for anything it's for supporting the practice of caging these magnificent creatures.

ToxicBits · 30/05/2016 23:16

No. I just feel a species that's close to extinction due to human actions shouldn't be driven closer to extinction due to human negligence. Humans, I hasten to add, being a species that is not only abundant but ever increasing in number.

LaBelleOtero · 30/05/2016 23:17

Even on a parenting forum primarily used by women, and after it had been mentioned more than once that both parents were there, people still revert to only blaming his mother...

Couldn't a keeper who knew the gorilla just have gone and got him?? Those keepers will never have been within grabbing distance of him, and for very good reason. They are incredibly strong, and don't adhere to the same rules of social niceties that we do. They can rip off human limbs easily.

(That said, according to the boys mother luckily he only had concussion and a few scrapes. No serious injuries.)

DailyFaily · 30/05/2016 23:17

If my 4 year said he wanted to play with the gorillas then I personally wouldn't take that as a warning because I wouldn't, for one minute, assume that he would actually be able to realise that dream! There should be no way that a child (or adult) can get into the enclosure of a wild and potentially dangerous animal.

Clearly it's awful that the gorilla was killed but, presumably the zoo has a policy to follow and I can't see what else they could have done at that point - you can't watch a child be mauled to death on account of his parent's not watching him closely enough. I can't imagine how horrific it must have been for the parents to watch him fall and then be approached by the gorilla, horrific all round but I can't see the point in finger pointing or raising petitions. I'm damn sure those parents will not be visiting the zoo again anytime soon, and presumably the zoo will review its security arrangements to reflect the fact that the animals are as at much risk of harm from humans entering their living environment as humans are of the animals getting out.

Maybe83 · 30/05/2016 23:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

monkeywithacowface · 30/05/2016 23:19

Well done on spectacularly missing the point ollie Hmm off you pop back to your little bubble where nothing bad could possibly happen because you're amazing.

AngieBolen · 30/05/2016 23:20

From that pic it seems like the gorillas couldn't get out, but a person could get in.

I think the should should have fences adequate to stop people getting in, especially small children, so such incidents are avoided. Zoos should protect their animals from people, as well as protecting people from the animals.

ToxicBits · 30/05/2016 23:21

Ok. Look at it this way.

Take out the "omg it's a human child!" element and say it was another animal, another ape, or a dog, or whatever that had got in there and the same thing happened. Would you be having the same reactions? Is the only reason you're defending the parents and child and the killing of the gorilla because it was a human child as opposed to one of another species?

Genuine question

LaBelleOtero · 30/05/2016 23:21

No. I just feel a species that's close to extinction due to human actions shouldn't be driven closer to extinction due to human negligence. Humans, I hasten to add, being a species that is not only abundant but ever increasing in number.

Would you still feel that way if your child was in that position? Setting aside the issue of whether it would or wouldn't ever happen.

Would you want him/her rescued, or would you inform everyone that you were going to let nature take its course?

Rainuntilseptember · 30/05/2016 23:21

Night wanderer - snakes I've seen have always been behind glass. Tigers have been behind very serious and enormous fences. Rhinos, wild dogs ditto. No I had never heard of a child dying in a zoo. And adults - well I'd assume they had set out with deliberate intent and the skill of a grown up. Will seriously reconsider the zoo I was going to visit next month as I haven't been there before and don't know what approach they'll take.

PurpleDaisies · 30/05/2016 23:23

Is the only reason you're defending the parents and child and the killing of the gorilla because it was a human child as opposed to one of another species?
Absolutely. If someone's pet dog had got in it world be sad but a risky different question.

I can't believe anybody would actually question that the life of a person is more valuable than that of an animal. I say this as a huge animal lover.