When many people hear the name Harambe, they think of the internet star, the gorilla that they must dedicate their daily actions to. They think of Harambe as the gorilla that was killed for “no reason,” but little do they know the actual story and what happened on May 28, 2016.

   Harambe, born on May 27, 1999, at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, was a member of the endangered Silverback lowland gorilla family.  Harambe was described as a “character” and “just a neat little guy to be around,” by Jerry Stones, his former zoo keeper at the Gladys Porter Zoo.  Harambe was abandoned by his mother when he was just 21 days old, which forced Jerry to take care of Harambe when he was a baby.  Stones said in an interview with People that “He was never aggressive or mean to people.”  Gorillas enjoy rough play and when they get to a certain weight, it is very dangerous for humans to enter their enclosures.

   In April of 2015, Harambe was sent to the Cincinnati Zoo to learn the behaviors of becoming a leader.  Harambe was placed in a social group with two female gorillas to help him accomplish those goals.  Over a year after Harambe moved to Ohio from Texas, a four year old boy dropped 15 feet into the gorilla enclosure.  When the gorillas were signaled to retreat to the inside enclosure, Harambe did not listen to instructions and went over to the child.  When Harambe discovered the boy in his enclosure, he dragged the boy around and for the boys safety, zoo officials shot Harambe.  Harambe was killed instantly and the boy was rescued.

   This incident has caused a lot of controversy. “I think it was a little unnecessary to kill him,” said Regan R. ‘20.  Regan feels that the internet blew the whole situation out of proportion. When asked about what a simple solution to the Harambe incident could have been, Regan replied, “The zookeepers could of just tranquilized Harambe instead of killing him.  Then the child could be saved, Harambe would still be living, and the internet would not be filled with news only on Harambe.”