The 2016 death of Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo, sparked international debate about zoo safety and human responsibility. After a young boy fell into Harambe’s enclosure, zookeepers made the difficult decision to shoot the gorilla to protect the child.
Footage of the incident led some primatologists to suggest Harambe may have been acting protectively, not aggressively. The tragedy raised important questions about enclosure design, emergency protocols, and whether non-lethal options like tranquilizers could have been used
