Harambe shooting: Jane Goodall's response

Goodall in 2015    (Public Domain)

As the world continues to wonder whether shooting zoo- gorilla Harambe was in order, she who knows primates as much as is humanly possible tersely weighed in on the matter.

Here's a recent e-mail from Jane Goodall to Thane Maynard, Director of the Cincinnati Zoo.  It has been her only publicly- known response throughout this ordeal:

Dear Thane,

I feel so sorry for you, having to try to defend something which you may well disapprove of.  I tried to see exactly what was happening – it looked as though the gorilla was putting an arm

round the child – like the female who rescued and returned the child from the Chicago exhibit.

Anyway, whatever, it is a devastating loss to the zoo, and to the gorillas.  How did the others react? Are they allowed to see, and express grief, which seems to be so important.

Feeling for you,

Jane

Without pointing fingers, Goodall seems to be empathizing where applicable.  Sometimes it’s just so hard to separate right from wrong.  The best one can do in such murky situations is to embrace those rays of hope which clearly shine through.

Resources

http://www.janegoodall.org/wp-content/uploads/2796_001.pdf

Copyright June 3, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved