legislators, telling them you support the U.S.
HARAMBE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLA HOW TO
Learn how to send even the smallest donation to reputable gorilla conservation organizations like the Ape Conservation Initiative (), a collective effort by accredited zoos to conserve wild ape populations. Simply by delaying your new cellphone purchase for a few months and recycling the old device, you can help reduce the demand for this ore and restore gorilla habitat. Did you know cellphones require an ore called coltan that is mined in the Congo? The quest for coltan has contributed to gorilla habitat loss. Volunteer at conservation organizations to get more directly involved. A portion of each ticket at Zoo Knoxville goes directly toward species conservation in the wild and the remainder supports the animals who live here and the staff who care for them. Accredited zoos participate in Species Survival Plans, like the Gorilla SSP, to ensure the vitality of our North American population across time spans of a hundred years and more, as a hedge against extinction. Visit your local zoo that is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums-to support a larger conservation initiative.
Instead, consider channeling your grief and outrage over Harambe's death into the conservation of gorillas and other endangered species. Harambe's death has caused outrage at the parents and at the zoo. Our community has fallen head over heels in love with our gorilla family and their story. Harambe was a year younger than Zoo Knoxville's Bantu, who sired the first two baby gorillas born in Knoxville, Obi and Ubuntu, with another infant due soon. He was one of less than 200,000 Western lowland gorillas left on the planet.
He had not yet had a breeding opportunity, but was part of a genetically managed zoo population of fewer than 400 animals. Harambe was 17 years old, with a long life ahead. They made the right call.Īnd that decision hurts. Cincinnati Zoo had to choose between the life of a child and the loss of an animal. A tranquilizer dart would have taken precious time for effect, if at all. When called to separate from the boy, two females cooperated, but Harambe chose to stay. The brief video shows only a few seconds of a 10-minute ordeal. There was screaming, shouting and confusion. We don't know whether he was protecting the child, protecting his gorilla family or simply using the boy as an object to amplify his species-characteristic dominance display. His behavior was appropriate for a gorilla. A good zoo experience depends on well-researched and tested architectural design, the vigilance of staff and the responsibility of guests.Īs a primatologist and chief safety officer for Zoo Knoxville, I support the gut-wrenching decision to put Harambe down. While we do our best to ensure the safety of animals, staff and visitors, no habitat is foolproof. Zoo professionals are about saving animals from extinction, not destroying a magnificent, sentient animal like Harambe. Realize that the people who made this decision are the last people on Earth who wanted it to happen. The zoo's split-second decision saved the boy's life. The recent Cincinnati Zoo accident, in which a child fell into the Western lowland gorilla habitat, resulted in the death of Harambe, a male silverback gorilla.
0 kommentar(er)
