In all likelihood a western lowland Silverback was killed for bushmeat in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today. But let’s take at face value his argument that we can only learn from animals “in a state of nature” and see what lessons the critically endangered western lowland gorillas in the wild have for us. The zoos that existed in Mencken’s time had about as much in common with modern zoos as his newsroom at the Baltimore Sun had in common with that of the Sun today.
Mencken – quoted extensively - said so approximately 100 years ago.īut if you look beyond its anachronistic references, or the bizarre attempt to characterize zookeepers as gun-toting desperados overlook the (demonstrably incorrect) suggestion that research taking place in zoos has no in-the-field applications, you’ll find that at its root, this article - and the public reaction to Harambe’s death - actually makes a case for zoos. Notwithstanding the promise in its title, it would appear that the lessons Harambe’s death (and this article) tries to impart are pretty simple: zoos are bad, and it’s true because H.L. National Post columnist Colby Cosh was the latest to jump into the fray with a piece titled “Hey man, nice shot – what Harambe, the martyred gorilla died to teach us’.
The death earlier this year of Harambe, the Cincinnati Zoo’s western lowland Silverback gorilla continues to enflame online passions, spur the creation of viral memes, and provide fodder for anti-zoo commentary. The following was published in the National Post on Thursday, September 1, 2016.
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