What's next in Harambe investigation?
CINCINNATI — While the federal government and an accrediting agency will investigate safety at the Cincinnati Zoo in the wake of the death of a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla Saturday, Cincinnati police are looking into potential criminal charges in the incident.
On Saturday, a 3-year-old boy fell into the Gorilla World exhibit, causing zoo officials to fatally shoot the gorilla known as Harambe.
On Tuesday, Cincinnati police said in a statement that the department is “looking at the facts and circumstances” that led the boy to end up in a moat surrounding the exhibit, and will “review” the actions of the boy’s mother and others who were there.
If police suspect possible neglect, authorities said they are required by law to report it to the county child protection agency where the family lives.
Earlier reports indicated that the boy was 4 years old, but Cincinnati police said late Tuesday they had received "conflicting reports" on the boy's age. On Tuesday, police confirmed the boy was 3.
The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums both plan investigations of the incident, The Cincinnati Enquirer confirmed Tuesday. The zoo's dangerous animal response team ultimately shot and killed the primate.
The USDA has found 10 violations in the last three years during inspections at the zoo. But most were minor, and none were at Gorilla World.
The USDA is tasked with enforcing the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), a portion of which governs the humane care and treatment of animals that are exhibited to the public. Facilities that exhibit regulated animals must be licensed by the USDA.
The agency could not say when it might look into the incident, since inspections are not announced in advance, said Tanya Espinosa, public affairs specialist with the USDA-APHIS.
"We take all noncompliances seriously," she said via email Tuesday.
In general, enforcement is done through routine, unannounced inspections, conducted at least once a year by veterinarians or other animal care professionals. Facilities must give APHIS full access to animals, the areas where they are kept and records about them. When a facility is not meeting standards, inspectors issue citations and set a deadline by which the problems must be corrected.
When an incident occurs, the USDA conducts a "focused inspection," looking at just one area of a facility.
Cincinnati police report of incident
The first 911 call about a boy falling into the moat was made at 3:52 p.m. Saturday.
Less than 10 minutes later, a member of the zoo’s dangerous animal response team shot and killed the 450-pound gorilla, according to police dispatch records obtained by The Enquirer. Officials have said the 3-year-old boy was between the animal’s legs when the shot was fired.
Witnesses told police that the boy climbed over a 3-foot-tall fence and went through bushes that separate visitors from the moat. The boy fell down into the shallow water, about 15 feet below, according to a police report.
The boy then “proceeded to play in the water,” the report says.
Also, according to the report: The gorilla climbed down into the water and picked up the boy. As onlookers began screaming, the gorilla became “agitated and scared.”
The boy’s mother was among several people who called 911. She told a dispatcher the gorilla was “standing over (her) child,” according to the dispatch logs. Police have not yet released the actual 911 call recordings.
About a minute later, dispatchers reported that a witness said the “gorilla has (the) child and is dragging (him) around the pen.”
Videos posted on social media show the animal dragging the boy through the moat before disappearing from view.
“Gorilla holding child on top of the rocks — lots of yelling heard,” the dispatch log says. “Gorilla swinging child back and forth on top of rocks.”
The gorilla was shot and killed before police arrived.
The name of the boy and his mother are redacted from police reports as well as a report from the Cincinnati Fire Department. Officials have declined to release their names. A fire official cited the federal health information privacy law.
Safety violations can lead to penalties
In terms of the USDA investigation, facilities with repeat citations or serious incidents may face penalties. Those start with warning letters and escalate to fines, suspended or revoked licenses, even confiscations of animals.
In February 2014, the USDA ordered the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium to pay a $4,550 settlement stemming from the death of a 2-year-old boy, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The boy had died almost 15 months earlier, when, after his mother balanced him on a railing, he fell into the African dogs exhibit and was killed by the animals.
According to public records available on the USDA site, no noncompliant items were identified during the Cincinnati Zoo's most recent inspection, which took place April 6 and April 7.
A total of 10 noncompliance items were found at the zoo during the last three years, the period for which records are available in the online database.
The USDA looks at facilities individually and does not compare them, Espinosa said, so she could not comment on whether the number of citations at the Cincinnati Zoo was greater or lesser than those found at other zoos.
However, a search of USDA records for zoos in the region of somewhat similar size (the Cincinnati Zoo is 80 acres) shows that the 77-acre Pittsburgh Zoo and the 134-acre Louisville Zoo had five total citations during the three-year period. During the same time, the 64-acre Indianapolis Zoo showed one citation.
At the Cincinnati Zoo, the most recent citations date to March 17 and a so-called "focused investigation" of the zoo's polar bear exhibit. Polar bears "Little One" and "Berit" had escaped a primary containment area into a secondary, behind-the-scenes area through an open pen door the day before. A keeper who spotted one of the bears "initiated the facility emergency response plan by calling 'Code Houdini-Polar Bear' to security," the USDA report states.
The report notes that two doors left open "by keeper error" led to the breach. The USDA did not fine or punish the zoo.
In addition to the USDA, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums also will investigate the incident.
As part of association accreditation, all member facilities are required to conduct four safety drills per year, as well as have an emergency response plan in place for dangerous animals, said Rob Vernon, spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
"I think that preparation is what you saw happen in Cincinnati, where the zoo professionals were able to resolve the situation very quickly," said Vernon. "They have a top-notch staff there, and it showed during Saturday’s unfortunate incident."
Cincinnati Zoo officials declined to comment further on zoo safety Tuesday. During a news conference Monday, Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard said the zoo is safe.
Contributing: Cameron Knight, The Cincinnati Enquirer. Follow Shauna Steigerwald and Kevin Grasha on Twitter: @shaunaincincy and @kgrasha
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