Video has emerged from fifteen years ago showing a young Harambe playing in a Texas zoo.
Dan Van Coppenolle uploaded the footage on Facebook with the caption: “Little clip of a Harambe sighting on a class field trip to Gladys Porter Zoo around 2000 or 2001. Kids could not wait to see him!”
Cincinnati Zoo’s special response team shot Harambe, a 17-year-old African western lowland gorilla, when he picked up a 4-year-old boy and dragged him around the enclosure.
There has been an online backlash with hundreds of thousands signing petitions against the zoo workers and blame being placed on the child’s parents.
The boy’s mother, Michelle Gregg, has defended herself against critics on Facebook saying: “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 but I am thankful that the right people were in the right place today.”
