Gorilla exhibit to reopen Tuesday with improved barrier
The Cincinnati Zoo’s Gorilla World exhibit will reopen Tuesday with modifications to the barrier separating humans from animals in place, zoo officials announced Thursday.
Gorilla World has been closed since the death of 17-year-old western lowland gorilla Harambe after a 3-year-old boy went over the barrier and dropped 15 feet into the exhibit’s moat. The zoo's dangerous animal response team shot the gorilla, Harambe, after he began dragging the boy around the exhibit.
When the exhibit reopens Tuesday, a new barrier railing will be in place. It is 42 inches high, with solid wood beams at the top and on the bottom, as well as knotted rope netting.
The previous barrier had passed multiple inspections by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the accrediting agency for zoos, Cincinnati Zoo officials said.
"It takes hard work and a sustained commitment to excellence to meet AZA accreditation standards,” Thane Maynard, director of the Cincinnati Zoo, said in a press release. “Our exhibit goes above and beyond standard safety requirements, but in light of what happened, we have modified the outer public barrier to make entry even more difficult.”