How did Harambe die? Remembering the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla 7 years after his death 🦍

Cincinnati Enquirer

Harambe was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo to protect a young child who had fallen into the gorilla enclosure.

Seven years after his death, the world continues to mourn Harambe the gorilla.

The beloved animal icon was killed at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden by an emergency response team protecting a 3-year-old boy who fell into his exhibit. Harambe's death sparked controversy, and the gorilla quickly became a social media and meme icon.

'Tales from Gorilla Girl':Former Cincinnati zookeeper looks back on 53-year career

Viral videos:Orangutan at Kentucky zoo asks to see 3-month-old visitor. Watch what happens next

Here's a look at what happened to the local legend seven years ago.

When did Harambe die?

Harambe died on May 28, 2016. He was 17 years old, and had celebrated his birthday the day before.

A vigil was held in 2016, near the front entrance of the Cincinnati Zoo, to honor the memory of the 17-year-old lowland gorilla, Harambe, who was shot and killed by Cincinnati Zoo personnel after a child fell into the gorilla exhibit.

How did Harambe die?

The gorilla was shot and killed after a 3-year-old boy fell into Gorilla World at the Cincinnati Zoo.

According to Zoo President Thane Maynard, the child crawled through a barrier and fell approximately 10 to 12 feet into the moat surrounding the habitat.

A look back:Harambe's strange, surprising second life

Harambe grabbed the boy and dragged him around. The child was with the gorilla for about 10 minutes before the zoo's Dangerous Animal Response Team deemed the situation "life-threatening," Maynard told The Enquirer in 2021.

"The choice was made to put down, or shoot, Harambe, so he's gone," Maynard added. "We've never had a situation like this at the Cincinnati Zoo where a dangerous animal needed to be dispatched in an emergency situation."

Why was Harambe killed?

Maynard said the zoo's response team shot and killed Harambe out of fear for the child's life.

He said though Harambe didn't attack the child, the animal's size and strength posed a great danger.

More:Who was Harambe?

"In an agitated situation, it may take quite a while for the tranquilizer to take effect," he said. "At the instant he would be hit, he would have a dramatic response."

What happened to the child who fell into Harambe's enclosure?

The 3-year-old child who fell into Harambe's enclosure was hospitalized for a short period of time but escaped from the incident relatively unscathed.

A makeshift memorial for Harambe, the lowland gorilla killed at the Cincinnati Zoo, sits outside the gorilla exhibit.

What species of gorilla was Harambe?

Harambe was a 450-pound silverback western lowland gorilla. He was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, on May 27, 1999, and came to Cincinnati in September 2014.

Harambe was one of 10 western lowland gorillas at the Cincinnati Zoo. They are a critically endangered species in the wild, with their numbers estimated at fewer than 175,000, the zoo reported in 2019.

There are about 765 gorillas in zoos worldwide.

Gone, but not forgotten

The memory of Harambe will continue to live on. The internet has made sure of that.

We've seen him immortalized on baseball jerseys, honored on former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer's cleats and celebrated on an Elon Musk music track. A science-fiction stage play named after the iconic gorilla even debuted at the 2021 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Later that year, two mysterious statues of Harambe surrounded by 10,000 bananas appeared near Wall Street in New York City and outside of Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

Of course, every year Harambe trends on Twitter on the anniversary of his death. Click here for more about Harambe's impact on popular culture in the last seven years.

View Comments