Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


                   US Zoo Gorilla's Killing Remains Hot Topic

   by Wayne Lee

   The killing of a gorilla Saturday at the Cincinnati Zoo to save a
   four-year-old boy remains a widely reported story in a 24 hour news
   cycle that is increasingly driven by social media.

   The incident, which was captured on video, has sparked numerous online
   petitions and an outpouring of expressions on social media ranging from
   outrage over the killing to support of the zoo's decision.

   "Social media provides a way for people to make their voices heard,"
   Makana Chock, a Syracuse University social and media psychology expert,
   told VOA. "Sometimes, this can lead to social movements and societal
   change, such as protecting an endangered species of gorilla."

   Another communications expert believes conventional media outlets are
   trying to control the narrative by reporting the facts, but their
   ability to do so is slipping away.

   "Traditional media is somewhat almost limping into `Jurassic Park.'
   They're sort of chasing what seems to be trending," on social media,
   said Emerson College Department of Communications Studies Chairman
   Gregory Payne in an interview with VOA.

   ''Public outrage
   More than 334,000 people have signed a petition on [1]Change.org called
   "Justice for Harambe" calling for the boy's parents to be charged with
   negligence. A Facebook page also called "Justice for Harambe" had more
   than 120,000 "likes" as of Tuesday afternoon.

   Despite the growing presence of social media, much of the information
   people consume still comes from traditional news sources, said Chock. A
   recent study by Pew Research Center said most 62 percent of U.S. adults
   get their traditional news from social media.

   "Social media users have much greater power to set the agenda and to
   determine what stories get increased news coverage and which ones
   disappear due to lack of likes, shares, and comments."

   The incident has captured the attention of so many people that even
   Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump weighed in. When asked
   by a reporter Tuesday at a New York news conference if zoo officials
   made the right decision to put down the gorilla, Trump said "I don't
   think they had a choice, they probably had no choice."

   Zoo stands its ground
   The Cincinnati Zoo, meantime, is defending its controversial decision
   to kill the endangered male lowland gorilla after a the boy fell into
   his enclosure, putting himself in serious danger.

   It shows the gorilla named Harambe dragging the boy through a shallow
   moat filled with water. Several times, he looked to be gently touching
   the boy and stood him up on both feet as if he was trying to protect
   him.

   But just as suddenly, he pulled the boy through the moat to a different
   part of the pen with the boy's head hitting the concrete. Harambe had
   control of the boy for at least 10 minutes before the zoo's Dangerous
   Animal Response Team shot him to death.

   Unnecessary death
   Many animal lovers say killing the huge 17-year-old primate was
   unnecessary. But zoo director Thane Maynard on Monday said officials
   believed they had no choice. With his pen surrounded by screaming and
   excited people, Maynard said, the gorilla was clearly agitated,
   disoriented and acting erratically.

   Maynard called Harambe "unpredictable" and said tranquilizing the
   181-kilogram ape would have taken too long. He described lowland
   gorillas like Harambe as dangerously strong with arms as large as a
   man's leg and hands powerful enough to crush a coconut.

   Maynard said this is the first time this kind of thing has happened in
   the zoo's 143-year history. He said the barriers around Harambe's
   enclosure were adequate. It is still unclear how the child got past
   those barriers.

   The boy who tumbled into the gorilla pen was remarkably unhurt. He is
   back home after spending several hours in a hospital. His family
   thanked the zoo for its speedy reaction to the crisis and said they
   understand the zoo's grief at having to kill an endangered and beloved
   animal.

   Harambe was a western lowland gorilla. Such gorillas can be found in
   the dense rain forests of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the
   Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea. Their population
   has declined by more than 60 percent over the past 20 to 25 years
   because of poaching and disease, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/zoo-gorilla-killing-remains-hot-topic
   -in-us/3355816.html

References

   1. http://www.change.org/
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/zoo-gorilla-killing-remains-hot-topic-in-us/3355816.html