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Mother of boy who fell into gorilla enclosure speaks

<p>Fingers continue to be pointed in the wake of the frightening Cincinnati Zoo incident, which saw a four-year-old boy trapped in an enclosure with a 200kg gorilla.</p> <p>Animal lover and activists formed a Memorial Day vigil at Cincinnati Zoo for the 17-year-old gorilla Harambe, who had been shot as a precaution after the boy climbed over the railing, fell into the enclosure and was grabbed by the animal.</p> <p>Cincinnati Zoo director Than Maynard defended the decision to shoot the rare animal, adding the gorilla was “confused”, “disoriented” and strong enough to crush a coconut in its hand.</p> <p>“The child’s life was in danger; you can’t take a risk with a silverback gorilla,” Maynard said at a press conference. “Everybody at the zoo feels the loss. We are very glad the little boy is okay.”</p> <p>Animal lovers have questioned the zoo’s decision to kill Harambe with some arguing he was merely protecting the boy. More than 160,000 people have signed an online petition at Change.org calling for the boy’s parents to be “held accountable for their actions of not supervising their child.”</p> <p>The boy’s mother, Michelle Gregg, broke her silence on Sunday in a Facebook post saying, “I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers today. What started off as a wonderful day turned into a scary one. For those of you that have seen the news or been on social media that was my son that fell in the gorilla exhibit at the zoo.”</p> <p>“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. 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.”</p> <p>So who do you think was in the wrong here? Was the Cincinnati Zoo right to shoot such a rare animal? Should the boy’s parents be held accountable?</p> <p>Please let us know in the comments below. </p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2016/04/cat-meets-dogs-at-dog-show/" target="_blank">Watch this friendly cat meet 50 dogs at a dog show</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2016/04/prince-george-president-barack-obama-photos/" target="_blank">The story behind Prince George’s presidential photos</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2016/04/lifeguard-helps-wheelchair-bound-veteran-surf/" target="_blank">Lifeguard helps make wheelchair-bound army vet's dream come true</a></strong></em></span></p>

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