Seven years after his passing, the global community still grieves for Harambe, the gorilla.
The beloved animal icon, Harambe the gorilla, was killed at the Cincinnati Botanical Garden & Zoo in an emergency response to protect a 3-year-old boy who fell into his exhibit. Harambe’s death quickly became a meme and sparked controversy on social media.
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Here’s a glimpse into the events that unfolded concerning the beloved local figure seven years in the past.
Harambe passed away on May 28, 2016. He was 17 years of age, and had commemorated his birthday the day prior.
What was the cause of Harambe’s death?
The ape was shot and killed after a 3-year-old boy fell into the Gorilla World at the Cincinnati Zoo.
According to Thane Maynard, the Zoo President, the youngster maneuvered past a barricade and descended around 10 to 12 feet into the trench encircling the enclosure.
Reflecting on the past: Harambe’s peculiar, unexpected second existence.
In 2021, Maynard informed The Enquirer that the zoo’s Hazardous Animal Response Team classified the scenario as “potentially lethal.” The youngster spent approximately 10 minutes in the company of the gorilla before Harambe seized the boy and pulled him around.
Maynard stated, “The choice to shoot Harambe down was made when the Zoo Cincinnati had never encountered a situation like this, where a dangerous animal needed to be dispatched in an emergency situation.”
What was the reason behind Harambe’s death?
Maynard stated that the zoo’s emergency team fatally shot Harambe due to concerns for the safety of the child.
He stated that despite Harambe not assaulting the child, the creature’s magnitude and power presented a significant risk.
More: Who was Harambe?
He stated, “Upon impact, he would exhibit a striking reaction.” “During a tense scenario, it might require a significant amount of time for the sedative to become effective.”
What occurred to the child who tumbled into Harambe’s enclosure?
The 3-year-old child, who fell into Harambe’s enclosure, emerged mostly unharmed and managed to escape from the incident. However, the child was admitted to the hospital for a brief duration.
Which gorilla species did Harambe belong to?
Harambe, a 450-pound western lowland silverback gorilla, was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas on May 27, 1999 and came to Cincinnati in September 2014.
In 2019, the zoo disclosed that their population was calculated to be less than 175,000, a species in the wild that is at a highly endangered status. Harambe, one of the ten western lowland gorillas at the Cincinnati Zoo, is part of this group.
There are approximately 765 gorillas in zoos around the globe.
Departed, yet remembered
The legacy of Harambe will continue to endure. The internet has ensured that.
Outside the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California, two mysterious statues of Harambe surrounded by 10,000 bananas appeared later that year. The iconic gorilla was even honored after the debut of a science-fiction stage play named after him at the 2021 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Elon Musk’s music track celebrated him, and Trevor Bauer, former Cincinnati Reds pitcher, was honored on cleats, and we’ve seen him immortalized on baseball jerseys.
Twitter annually features Harambe as a trending topic on the anniversary of his demise, undoubtedly. Further information regarding Harambe’s influence on mainstream culture over the past seven years can be discovered here.