But the zoo seeks out donations to continue operations.īurchfield said the zoo is aware of the new AZA standards. The grounds and utilities are owned by the City of Brownsville. The Gladys Porter Zoo is a non-profit organization. ![]() The band of gorillas near the front entrance of the zoo is a main attraction. That includes animals like Mbunde, a silverback gorilla. "If you lose accreditation, they're required to remove their animals from your zoo." "Almost all the animals we work with are endangered," said Burchfield. Zoos that do not pass AZA accreditation cannot keep loaned endangered animals, he said. Some endangered animals are on loan from other zoos. It also puts endangered species loan agreements at risk.Įndangered species are managed by participating zoos under species recovery plans, he explained. Losing accreditation makes it more challenging to secure import and export permits from federal agencies, said Burchfield. Those improvements would cost millions, he said. "Small world, our petting area, is a little antiquated. "We've got to, for example, re-home and build a new lion exhibit if we're going to continue to have lions in the future," said Burchfield. It will be a challenge to upgrade some legacy exhibits. The zoo is constrained by its budget and landlocked property in downtown Brownsville. Standards tend to rise, in line with new research and best practices, said Burchfield. The AZA does accreditation inspections every five years. "It is an in-depth, very difficult process," said Dr. It will be challenging, especially at the zoo's older exhibits. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums is expected to inspect the zoo this December, and standards are higher than before. But some endangered animals on loan may have to go back if the inspection isn't passed. Click here for more about Harambe's impact on popular culture in the last seven years.A new accreditation inspection is coming at the Gladys Porter Zoo. Of course, every year Harambe trends on Twitter on the anniversary of his death. A science-fiction stage play named after the iconic gorilla even debuted at the 2021 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Later that year, two mysterious statues of Harambe surrounded by 10,000 bananas appeared near Wall Street in New York City and outside of Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California. We've seen him immortalized on baseball jerseys, honored on former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer's cleats and celebrated on an Elon Musk music track. The memory of Harambe will continue to live on. There are about 765 gorillas in zoos worldwide. They are a critically endangered species in the wild, with their numbers estimated at fewer than 175,000, the zoo reported in 2019. Harambe was one of 10 western lowland gorillas at the Cincinnati Zoo. He was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, on May 27, 1999, and came to Cincinnati in September 2014. Harambe was a 450-pound silverback western lowland gorilla. ![]() The 3-year-old child who fell into Harambe's enclosure was hospitalized for a short period of time but escaped from the incident relatively unscathed. "At the instant he would be hit, he would have a dramatic response." What happened to the child who fell into Harambe's enclosure? "In an agitated situation, it may take quite a while for the tranquilizer to take effect," he said. He said though Harambe didn't attack the child, the animal's size and strength posed a great danger. Maynard said the zoo's response team shot and killed Harambe out of fear for the child's life. "We've never had a situation like this at the Cincinnati Zoo where a dangerous animal needed to be dispatched in an emergency situation." Why was Harambe killed? "The choice was made to put down, or shoot, Harambe, so he's gone," Maynard added. The child was with the gorilla for about 10 minutes before the zoo's Dangerous Animal Response Team deemed the situation "life-threatening," Maynard told The Enquirer in 2021. Harambe grabbed the boy and dragged him around. The gorilla was shot and killed after a 3-year-old boy fell into Gorilla World at the Cincinnati Zoo.Īccording to Zoo President Thane Maynard, the child crawled through a barrier and fell approximately 10 to 12 feet into the moat surrounding the habitat.Ī look back: Harambe's strange, surprising second life
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