I Don't Have Enough Words
I don't have enough words to describe how many completely ridiculous/ironic things I've read about last week's mayhem at the Dallas Zoo. I've posted my favorite excerpts on the incident below. They were pulled from a newspaper in Toronto, Canada and one in Australia. Enjoy.
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A 300 pound gorilla escaped from its cage at a Dallas Zoo and savagely attacked three people including a three-year-old boy. The 13-year old gorilla, called Jabari, was shot dead by police marksmen.
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The 3-year-old boy suffered a series of bites and a collapsed lung in the attack.
"One of the first things he said was, 'A gorilla tried to eat my head,'" said the boy's father.
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His mother said, "It just came out of nowhere."
Witnesses reported some visitors had been tormenting Jabari before he escaped his 4000sq m enclosure.
Cheryl R, 39, said a zoo worker was with her in the aviary exhibit area when the gorilla approached the group. She said the worker fled without trying to help her family.
"I started throwing the kids over the fence where the birds were," Reichert said. Her neighbour's girl, Destiny Diaz, 8, was trapped when her shoe caught in the fence. She freed herself just as the animal approached.
The gorilla chased Ms Reichert and four children down a stairwell. She said she pushed the children out the door at the bottom of the stairs and tried to shut it behind her, but the gorilla overpowered her. The gorilla pushed the door so hard it knocked her against the wall.
"He tossed me around like a rag doll," she said. "I knew they were incredibly powerful. All I could think about was those kids getting out of there." She said the children escaped while she tried to pacify the gorilla.
"We watch a lot of Discovery Channel," Ms Reichert said. "I didn't look him in the eye. I didn't fight back. I just yelled for help."
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"We don't know why they (police) didn't use a tranquilizer to take him down. It's definitely a real shame that they didn't," said Robin H, director of site services for the Toronto Zoo [where Jabari was born and lived until he was sent to Dallas at the age of 3].
"He really was a very sweet and non-aggressive gorilla."
Officials said that, once outside the enclosure, Jabari roared at the crowd of children who had gathered to get a look at the animal, a 300-pound western lowland silverback gorilla.
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"He was basically a teenager. Gorillas become reproductive at around age 13, so displays from other gorillas or humans would have got him worked up," Ken explained. "His hormones were just as active as any teenager."
Ken said Jabari was kept in a secure enclosure with surrounding walls up to almost 5 metres high.
Kaemmerer said zoo officials and local police frequently help each other with training programs. Police get educated on proper procedures dealing with wild animals, and the zoo learns how to properly use firearms.
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Toronto Zoo staff said Jabari was sent to Texas as part of a breeding survival program.
In September, 1990, Markham resident Ryan Kellar, then 7, won first prize in a contest to name the then baby gorilla. He said he chose Jabari because it incorporated the letter "J" in homage to the animal's mother, Josephine, and the rest just "had a nice sound."
Posted by Amanda at April 03, 2004 12:11 PM
