• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Police phone call shows distressing moment child fell into Harambe's enclosure that saw gorilla killed

Home> News> US News

Published 19:03 20 Dec 2024 GMT

Police phone call shows distressing moment child fell into Harambe's enclosure that saw gorilla killed

The three-year-old fell 15 foot into Harambe's enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio

Lucy Devine

Lucy Devine

Audio of a 911 call reveals the distressing moment that a three-year-old boy fell into a gorilla's enclosure at a zoo in the US.

Back in 2016, a 17-year-old Western lowland gorilla named Harambe, was shot and killed by Cincinnati Zoo staff in Ohio.

Moments earlier, a three-year-old boy had fallen into his enclosure through a barrier, before dropping approximately 15 feet.

After falling into Harambe's enclosure, the gorilla approached the child and began to interact with him.

Advert

But onlookers and zoo officials became increasingly concerned when Harambe started to drag the boy from one side of the enclosure to the other.

In the end, Harambe was shot and killed in order to save the boy, a decision which has always remained controversial by those who argue there was no need to kill the animal.

The little boy was rescued without any significant injuries and a documentary into what happened, titled Harambe was released last year.

The boy fell into Harambe's enclosure (Harambemovie.com)
The boy fell into Harambe's enclosure (Harambemovie.com)

In audio footage of the haunting 911 call, the boy's mother can be heard describing the moment as she begged for authorities to help save her child.

Advert

"My son fell in the zoo exhibit at the gorillas. There is a male gorilla standing over him," she desperately explains.

"I need someone to contact the zoo please... He's dragging my son, I can't watch this. I can't. I can't watch."

Meanwhile, in another 911 call, a woman visiting the zoo tells the emergency services: "He's dragging him from one end to the other."

Harambe was seen dragging the child (Harambemovie.com)
Harambe was seen dragging the child (Harambemovie.com)

Since the incident, many people have wondered why Harambe was not sedated, rather than immediately killed.

Advert

Filmmaker Erik Crown has since explained why the zoo made that decision.

"Actually it's very important that they did not use a tranquilliser because tranquillisers don't work the way people think of in movies," he told UnchainedTV.

"You don't fire tranquilliser dart and somebody goes down.

"It actually puts a system into overdrive which then shuts the system down it could take up to 20, 25 minutes to become active inside especially inside of a large gorilla.

"So that may have agitated Harambe and may have led to a different outcome, or a very dangerous outcome for the boy.

Advert

"So as much as we would have like to have seen a non-lethal ending to it, I don't believe the zookeepers necessarily had a choice with the way their program runs.

"And that is exactly why we feel we should not have endangered animals in captivity anymore."

Featured Image Credit: Harambe Documentary

Topics: Animals, Harambe, Documentaries

Lucy Devine
Lucy Devine

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Mum of child who fell into Harambe's enclosure spoke out after incident that saw gorilla killed
  • New Harambe documentary shows unreleased photos and videos of the gorilla before he was killed
  • Family of boy who fell into Harambe’s enclosure had to ‘go into hiding’ after backlash
  • Police still believe that Nicola Bulley fell into river and is a missing person

Choose your content:

3 mins ago
17 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • 3 mins ago

    Five conditions to be eligible for £100,000,000 Mastercard payout as Martin Lewis MSE issues update

    Martin Lewis, you've done it again, you sweet prince

    News
  • 17 mins ago

    Dad left with broken neck on Benidorm holiday after complete stranger's 'joke' goes horribly wrong

    Martin Bullen was at a pool party in Benidorm when disaster struck

    News
  • an hour ago

    Men speak out on experience of 'Ozempic penis' as urologist explains true reality of the side effect

    People have revealed if 'Ozempic penis' is real or not, following advice from health experts

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Brit thrown in Turkish jail after 'biggest mistake of her life' celebrating boyfriend's Turkey teeth

    British mum Georgia Harrison was arrested alongside her partner in Turkey on 7 May

    News