It’s been almost nine years since Harambe, the 17-year-old Western lowland gorilla, was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo, but one lingering question has continued to haunt the public: Why wasn’t he tranquilized instead of shot?
The incident, which took place on May 28, 2016, sparked global outrage and internet infamy after a three-year-old boy climbed into the Gorilla World enclosure.
Harambe, weighing in at 450 lbs., began dragging and throwing the child, prompting frantic screams from onlookers and a rush of zoo staff to the scene.
According to the zoo's statement at the time, the child had climbed through a "public barrier and dropped fifteen feet into the moat".
The two female gorillas in the enclosure complied when signaled to return indoors, but Harambe stayed behind, fixated on the child splashing in the water.
Harambe alternated between propping the boy up and pushing him down, visibly agitated as the crowd grew more panicked.
As the boy was caught between the gorilla's legs on dry land, the zoo’s Dangerous Animal Response Team made the call: one fatal shot to Harambe’s head.
“We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made,” Zoo Director Thane Maynard said at the time. “Tranquilizing the gorilla was not an option.”
Maynard explained that a tranquilizer dart could take minutes to become effective, and in that time, “the child would have been in imminent danger.” He added: “On top of that, the impact from the dart could agitate the animal and cause the situation to get much worse.”
The documentary Harambe, directed by Erik Crown, reaffirms this, clarifying that tranquilizers don’t work like they do in movies.
“You don't fire a tranquilizer dart and somebody goes down,” Crown explained to UnchainedTV. “It actually puts the system into overdrive which then shuts the system down."
Crown believes that attempting to tranquilize Harambe might have escalated the danger.
“That may have agitated Harambe, may have led to a different outcome or a very dangerous outcome for the boy,” he said. “As much as we would have liked to have seen a non-lethal ending to it, I don't believe the zookeepers necessarily had a choice.”
Zoo officials and Harambe’s former caretaker, Jerry Stones, expressed deep grief over the loss. Stones, who helped raise Harambe at a Texas zoo before he was transferred to Cincinnati in 2014 to breed, said the news hit him like losing a family member. “It tore me up, I was very close to him,” he said, per PEOPLE.
Though the child survived with only a concussion and a few scrapes, his mother faced intense criticism.
“My son is safe and was able to walk away… no broken bones or internal injuries,” Michelle Gregg said in a since-deleted Facebook post. “As a society, we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child, and if anyone knows me, I keep a tight watch on my kids. Accidents happen."
A Change.org petition calling for Gregg to be held responsible drew over half a million signatures before it was eventually closed. However, no charges were filed.
Despite the tragedy, Harambe achieved an afterlife of internet fame, with countless memes turning him into a bizarre pop culture icon. But the zoo wasn't amused.
“We are not amused by the memes, petitions, and signs about Harambe,” Maynard said in 2016. “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."
Yet Harambe’s name has endured, as in 2021, a seven-foot statue of the gorilla was erected on Wall Street, later relocated to Facebook HQ. In 2023, a bridge in South Carolina was temporarily dubbed the “Harambe Memorial Bridge” on Google Maps before being renamed.
While debate around that day still simmers in corners of the internet, the documentary provides the most comprehensive explanation yet: tranquilizing wasn’t a safe or immediate option. And in that chaotic moment, zoo staff chose the only course they believed would protect the child.