Avatar feed
Responses: 11
SGT Infantryman (Airborne)
1
1
0
Sgt Kelli Mays, My opinion is the ape had to be put down. I listened to two wild animal experts who said they had to act quick or the boy could be killed. The difference between this ape and the one that saved a child's life, is that the other ape was holding the child in her arms and she was not acting wild. This one, you know, was dragging the boy through the water and pulling him up roughly by his arm.
The zoo and the parents are at fault. The boundary was easy for this child to get through. There were only some bushes at the end of the boundary, then, there was another step up to the edge of the cage. This is what the kid slipped on and fell 15 feet. The zoo needs to fix that problem and the parents were negligent for not watching the kid closer.
(1)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small
Maj John Bell
1
1
0
Before I had kids, I was horrified when I saw a parent with a harness and leash on their small child. Then I had kids. When my second child, a son was four, he was too old for a stroller. He absolutely would not tolerate being in one. He was also pretty mobile and had the attention span of a butterfly.

We went on vacation in Spain. On the first day, I lost track of him for about nine times in an hour and a half. I couldn't stand it anymore. We found the Spanish version of ACE hardware. I bought a package of clothesline, cut off 6 feet and tied one end to my belt loop and one end to his belt loop. and honestly any time a didn't feel tension on the line I was sure he was going to strip his pants off and make another break for it. When the vacation was over, I was almost positive I had the same kid I started out with.
(1)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small
LTC Stephen F.
1
1
0
To be honest I do not think it makes sense to assign blame in this case Sgt Kelli Mays.
A three foot high fence seems to have been sufficient for 30 years or so; but, anybody who has raised young children knows they are curious and can be very well behaved until something captures their at tension. Without knowing the facts I would not blame the mother. I used to shock people in the few restaurants we went out to eat in when my sons were small. I stood up and took off my web belt and then strapped my youngest one into his seat since restaurants don't have seat bets for children too big to fit into high chair.
The zoo probably did the most reasonable thing they could do when they designed the enclosure with a 3-foot high fence. Now they are rethinking that design and will come up with something more resistant to young children climbing over.
After watching the video of the gorilla dragging the young boy like a rag doll through the moat I think the zoo did the correct thing to kill the gorilla.
(1)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small

Join nearly 2 million former and current members of the US military, just like you.

close