‘I wouldn’t have shot him’: Brit zookeeper who rescued kid from gorilla in 1980s says he would have tried to stun Harambe
Primate expert Richard Johnstone-Scott was the keeper of Jambo who cared for boy when he toppled into his enclosure
A ZOOKEEPER who watched his gorilla protect an unconscious boy when he toppled into his enclosure believes Cincinnati Zoo ape Harambe should not have been killed.
The 400lb western lowland gorilla was blasted to death after dragging around a four-year-old boy who had toppled into his enclosure on Saturday.
Richard Johnstone-Scott cared for ape Jambo at Jersey Zoo and was faced with an almost identical situation in 1986.
But retired primate expert Richard, 70, of Jersey, insists Harambe’s life could have been saved – just like Jambo’s was.
He said: “If it had been me I would have made the call to dart the gorilla and have it covered with the gun.
“I don’t think that gorilla ever posed a serious threat to that child but I didn’t see everything that happened.
Explaining how Harambe appeared to be dragging the boy away from terrified onlookers who screamed at the unfolding drama, he added: “It almost as if he was dragging the child by the leg away from danger.
“They do the same with offspring to pull them away from danger. And although it looked rough, it wasn’t.”
Richard was a primate keeper at Jersey’s Durrell Wildlife Park in 1986 when five-year-old Levan Merritt fell into the gorilla pit.
Jambo – whose name meant ‘Hello’ in Swahili – stroked and cared for the little boy, protecting him from more aggressive gorillas in the same enclosure.
Keepers were able to pluck badly-injured Levan to safety, but Richard says shooting Jambo would have been a last resort.
He added: “We had a dart gun but it was never really considered because of how he was behaving – he was no threat to the boy.
“Jambo was called the gentle giant and a gun wasn’t considered necessary.”
Levan today told The Sun today that zoo keepers had made the correct decision to shoot Harambe.
And Richard also has some sympathy for zoo staff who faced an awful dilemma.
He continued: “I sympathise with the zookeepers. The gorilla could have hurt the boy without meaning to be aggressive.
“I don’t want to be unfairly critical because I don’t know the full story.”
The shooting of 17-year-old Harambe was met with revulsion around the world after images emerged of the giant ape appearing to tenderly hold the hand of the child.
Four-year-old Isaiah Gregg had climbed through a barrier and fallen into a moat surrounding the pen.
Yesterday his mum Michelle – who has come under fire for not watching over the boy – claimed in a Facebook post: “Accidents happen.”
Zookeepers at the Ohio zoo claimed a tranquiliser dart would not have affected Harambe quickly enough and could have led to a volatile reaction.
Director Thane Maynard said: "[The officials] made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy's life. It could have been very bad."
But Richard believes a dart could have worked.
He said: “It was a highly-charged situation and I don’t think a dart into his ample rump would have affected him adversely.
“Although I would have had a rifle handy in case it did.”
An online petition at Change.org calling for action against Isaiah’s parents had last night reached 150,000 supporters.
Western lowland gorillas are native to the forests of central Africa and are considered critically endangered by the World Wildlife Fund.
There are estimated to be 100,000 individuals remaining in the wild.
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