Cincinnati Zoo Not Amused By Harambe Memes Online

First Posted: Aug 24, 2016 05:58 AM EDT

Earlier this year, Harambe, the rare 17-year-old western lowland gorilla was killed to save a 3-year-old boy who fell into his enclosure. The death of the rare gorilla immediately resulted to a lot of online backlash and several petitions, but more than that, memes have been gaining attention - something that the Cincinnati Zoo was not too happy about.

Cincinnati Zoo wants you to stop sharing memes about Harambe https://t.co/HIybUzyQkI pic.twitter.com/xDPSzLmd4I

— The Independent (@Independent) August 24, 2016

According to Time, zoo director Thane Maynard said that the surfacing memes are making the healing of their staff members more difficult, as constant mentions of the animal has been making it difficult for them to move forward. "We are not amused by the memes, petitions and signs about Harambe." Maynard said in a statement to the Associated Press. "Our zoo family is still healing, and the constant mention of Harambe makes moving forward more difficult for us. We are honoring Harambe by redoubling our gorilla conservation efforts and encouraging others to join us."

However, telling the internet to cool down their Harambe memes is like throwing gasoline to a fire. Within 24 hours after the statement, the zoo had to close their social media accounts because the cyber community has drowned them in a deluge of Harambe memes and jokes.

Deleting their accounts may seem extreme but under the circumstances, Forbes believes that it is their best course of action. Just a few days ago, Maynard's personal Twitter account had been hacked by someone going by the moniker "Prom," who used the account to tweet hashtags like #JusticeForHarambe. This hijacking was suspected to be the final straw that compelled the zoo director to issue and official statement regarding the Harambe memes.

Unfortunately, the zoo had to learn about media trolling the hard way - the words "we are not amused" prompted hooligans to start the deluge of Harambe memes, petitions calling an end of all Harambe petition included.