Any parent knows that watching after a toddler is a full-time job but they need that constant supervision to keep them out of trouble, which is why everyone was outraged when a rare gorilla was shot because a ‘neglectful’ mom didn’t keep a close enough eye on her child.
During a family trip to the Cincinnati Zoo, Michelle Gregg failed to keep a close enough watch on her 4-year-old son, who managed to climb past a rail and wires before falling about 10 feet into the gorilla exhibit without mom ever noticing.
In a video of the incident, which has gone viral, the 17-year-old, 400-pound gorilla named Harambe seemed to be protecting the child, but was becoming agitated with everyone crowding around and shouting. Ultimately, the zoo staff was forced to kill the male Western lowland silverback in order to ensure the child’s safety as a tranquilizer would have taken too long.
“The zoo’s in the business of taking care of endangered animals, and we don’t want to be in the situation in which they have to be killed,” zoo director Thayne Maynard said. “But all sorts of things could happen in a situation like that.”
Most people understood the zoo’s decision, but were quick to judge Gregg, and held her responsible for her own child being put in danger as well as Harambe’s death. Soon after the incident, however, Gregg posted to Facebook to thank God for protecting her toddler and defend her parenting skills, which only angered people more since the zoo’s staff were the only ones keeping her son safe that day.
“God protected my child until the authorities were able to get to him. My son is safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes… no broken bones or internal injuries,” Gregg wrote.
“As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids. Accidents happen but I am thankful that the right people were in the right place today. Thank you to everyone that helped me and my son today and most importantly God for being the awesome God that He is,” Gregg said.
Do you think this mom is to blame or was it purely an accident? Let us know what you think in the comments below, and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
[Featured image credit: ViralHog]
Zookeepers Shoot Rare Gorilla To Protect ‘Neglectful’ Mom’s Son is an article from: LifeDaily