Chapter 1: What happened to Harambe on May 28, 2016?
Hello. Hello. And welcome to Shorthand. Aren't you lucky? You are. Here we are. And there you are. Listening. Wherever you are. We're going to, like everybody else is recently, drag you back to 2016. Actually, you wouldn't have to drag me back to 2016. Actually... No, yeah, you would. I was a fucking receptionist.
Do I have to go back to 2016 knowing everything I know now?
No, you're always asked that. Or am I? You're not allowed to take the knowledge. I'm just back in 2016. Yeah, you just have to do it again. Nah, fuck that. Onwards and upwards. It was a rough year in a lot of ways, particularly for celebrity deaths.
Over the course of those 12 months, we lost such legends as David Bowie, Prince, Carrie Fisher, George Michael, Alan Rickman, Muhammad Ali, Harper Lee and Sir Terry Wogan. Big hitters. But the death that occupied the world's media attention, perhaps more than any of those, was no film star. He was no musician. Not even a sportsman or a writer. He'd never even been invited to the Met Gala. Ugh.
What a loser. In fact, before his passing on the 28th of May 2016, only a handful of people knew his name. He was a 17-year-old Western lowland gorilla called Harambe. And on that day, in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Biological Gardens, he was shot by a keeper after a three-year-old boy fell through the guardrail. The incident caused outrage across the world.
In the aftermath, questions came thick and fast. How did the boy get into the enclosure in the first place? Was it the zoo's fault or the boy's mother's fault? Did Harambe really need to die? Was he trying to rescue the boy or was the child actually in serious danger? The fallout, public backlash and eventual memification of Harambe has made him one of the most famous animals on the planet.
Like Adele, Elvis and Beyonce. He's a celebrity that only needs a first name.
Also, it doesn't need to be followed by the quality of what he is. You know, like Coco the Gorilla. He just is. Just Harambe.
Is this like the anniversary? Yes, it's a 10-year anniversary. Of course it is. It's 2016. Keep up.
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Chapter 2: What led to the public outrage after Harambe's death?
On Saturday the 28th of May, 2016, just one day after his 17th birthday, Harambe and the tourists watching him heard a splash. Everyone looked down into the 15-foot chasm that separated the gorillas from the public, which contained a small, water-filled moat at the bottom. On the public side, there was a three-foot railing and about four feet of bushes between them and this gap.
On the gorillas' side, there was nothing. At the bottom of the chasm was a three-year-old boy. He had climbed through the railings and run through the bushes. Not seeing the drop, he had fallen down into the shallow water below.
Seeing the commotion unfolding, the keeper signalled for Harambe and the two female gorillas he shared his enclosure with to come inside. The two females returned inside, but Harambe paused and then walked over to the moat that the boy had fallen into. Then he began climbing down to the child.
And we're sure you've all seen the video but for those of you who haven't or need a little reminder, we're going to describe what happened next. After lowering himself down into the moat, Harambe made his way over to the little boy who had made his way into the corner and was clearly upset and in pain.
At first Harambe appeared to inspect the child inquisitively and remarkably gently, but as the screaming got louder from the growing crowd, Harambe became agitated and probably protective.
It's important to point out that while gorillas are remarkably similar to humans in a lot of ways, they are a lot more durable than we are, and that includes baby gorillas. A quick Google search will bring up videos that show A. gorillas are very protective of their young and B. they fling their kids around like rag dolls.
If a male or female gorilla feels like their kid is in danger, they will not hesitate to grab that kid by the arm or leg and sprint to safety, violently dragging their kid behind them. If their kid is being annoying, they also don't hesitate to smack them round the back of the head. Hard.
Harambe did not hit the boy who had fallen into the enclosure, but he did panic and drag him from one end of the moat to the other by his leg in a way that must have been absolutely horrifying to watch.
A few times during the ten minutes that Harambe and the child were in the enclosure, Harambe violently dragged the boy around the moat, clearly trying to find a quieter and less intense spot where there were fewer people screaming at him.
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Chapter 3: What were the circumstances surrounding Harambe's birth and early life?
Make it child safe. Yeah. There's children at the zoo. It's mainly for them. It's for children. This went down like a lead balloon with the public. Yet more petitions received countless signatures asking for the zoo to be investigated, shut down or prosecuted.
Eventually, when the dust settled, neither the mother nor the zoo were formally prosecuted for Harambe's death or the three-year-old boy's safety. However, the zoo was forced to erect a better and less penetrable fence around the gorilla enclosure. Which, like, I'm looking at pictures of and I'm like, are you fucking for real? Looking at the old barrier. It is a significantly better barrier.
The new barrier is like... Even the smallest child isn't getting through that. Yeah, like, it's like, it's not even as good as the barrier my parents have put up around our garden to stop our dog escaping. Like, are you for real? Just some fucking chicken wire would have done it. And then, of course, came the memes.
As with all things on the internet, what started off as a heartfelt outpouring of grief was quickly replaced with irony. Millions of memes saying RIP Harambe, justice for Harambe, and yes, even dicks out for Harambe were shared across social media. Shirts were made saying George Bush killed Harambe and Jetfield can't melt Harambe in a shitposty crossover with 9-11 conspiracies. Why not?
What is the internet? If not, but for this.
As of 2023, it is estimated the iconic image of Harambe taken on his first day at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2014 has been shared over 25 billion times.
Wow.
The image was sold as an NFT, remember them, by the original photographer who's called Jeffy McCurry, and he described Harambe as a true friend. He sold it for $5 million. That is a true friend.
Mm-hmm.
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