Rare Gorilla Shot Dead At Cincinnati Zoo To Save Child's Life

A gorilla was shot at a Cincinnati Zoo when a boy climbed through a barrier and fell into a moat - and was then grabbed and dragged by a 400-pound gorilla.

According to BBC News, the zoo said that they took action as the situation was deemed to be "life-threatening." After the incident, the zoo temporarily shut its gorilla exhibit.

Killing of gorilla to save boy at Ohio zoo sparks outrage https://t.co/llOpA76Zha pic.twitter.com/kRDRKuRzBQ

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The video of the incident showed that the boy fell about 10 feet into the moat and the gorilla then dragged him through the shallow part of the exhibit. He then stopped, with the child looking up at him.

This was not the end of the boy's troubles, however, as he was then dragged by the 17-year-old western lowland gorilla named Harambe for about 10 minutes.

After he was recovered, the child was taken to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, reported CNN.

Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard said at the press briefing, that the boy went under the rail, through the wires, and over the moat wall to get to the gorilla.

Maynard said, "The child was not under attack but all sorts of things could happen. He certainly was at risk."

Deciding to kill the gorilla was a hard decision, but zoo officials decided against shooting the massive mammal with a tranquilizer because the drug's effect is too slow. "You don't hit him and he falls over," Maynard shared. "It takes a few minutes."

The security team's quick response may have been able to save the boy's life, but everyone else on staff is devastated at losing such rare species.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the western lowland gorilla is a critically endangered species. In the wild, they can only be found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea.

Harambe only celebrated his birthday on Friday. He was born at the Glady's Porter Zoo in Texas, and was supposed to eventually father other gorillas in hopes of recovering the population of the species.