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Some insight from a person who has handled these animals. I am going to try to clear up a few things that have been weighing on me about Harambe and the Cinci Zoo since I read the news this afternoon. I have worked with Gorillas as a zookeeper while in my twenties (before children) and they are my favorite animal (out of dozens) that I have ever worked closely with. I am gonna go ahead and list a few facts, thoughts and opinions for those of you that aren't familiar with the species itself, or how a zoo operates in emergency situations. Now Gorillas are considered 'gentle giants' at least when compared with their more aggressive cousins the chimpanzee, but a 400+ pound male in his prime is as strong as roughly 10 adult humans. What can you bench press? OK, now multiply that number by ten. An adult male silverback gorilla has one job, to protect his group. He does this by bluffing or intimidating anything that he feels threatened by. Gorillas are considered a Class 1 mammal, the most dangerous class of mammals in the animal kingdom, again, merely due to their size and strength. They are grouped in with other apes, tigers, lions, bears, etc. While working in an AZA accredited zoo with Apes, keepers DO NOT work in contact with them. Meaning they do NOT go in with these animals. There is always a welded mesh barrier between the animal and the humans. In more recent decades, zoos have begun to redesign enclosures, removing all obvious caging and attempting to create a seamless view of the animals for the visitor to enjoy watching animals in a more natural looking habitat. *this is great until little children begin falling into exhibits* which of course can happen to anyone, especially in a crowded zoo-like setting. I have watched this video over again, and with the silverback's postering, and tight lips, it's pretty much the stuff of any keeper's nightmares, and I have had MANY while working with them. This job is not for the complacent. Gorillas are kind, curious, and sometimes silly, but they are also very large, very strong animals. I always brought my OCD to work with me. checking and rechecking locks to make sure my animals and I remained separated before entering to clean. I keep hearing that the Gorilla was trying to protect the boy. I do not find this to be true. Harambe reaches for the boys hands and arms, but only to position the child better for his own displaying purposes. Males do very elaborate displays when highly agitated, slamming and dragging things about. Typically they would drag large branches, barrels and heavy weighted balls around to make as much noise as possible. Not in an effort to hurt anyone or anything (usually) but just to intimidate. It was clear to me that he was reacting to the screams coming from the gathering crowd. Harambe was most likely not going to separate himself from that child without seriously hurting him first (again due to mere size and strength, not malicious intent) Why didn't they use treats? well, they attempted to call them off exhibit (which animals hate), the females in the group came in, but Harambe did not. What better treat for a captive animal than a real live kid! They didn't use Tranquilizers for a few reasons, A. Harambe would've taken too long to become immobilized, and could have really injured the child in the process as the drugs used may not work quickly enough depending on the stress of the situation and the dose B. Harambe would've have drowned in the moat if immobilized in the water, and possibly fallen on the boy trapping him and drowning him as well. Many zoos have the protocol to call on their expertly trained dart team in the event of an animal escape or in the event that a human is trapped with a dangerous animal. They will evaluate the scene as quickly and as safely as possible, and will make the most informed decision as how they will handle the animal. I can't point fingers at anyone in this situation, but we need to really evaluate the safety of the animal enclosures from the visitor side. Not impeding that view is a tough one, but their should be no way that someone can find themselves inside of an animal's exhibit. I know one thing for sure, those keepers lost a beautiful, and I mean gorgeous silverback and friend. I feel their loss with them this week. As educators and conservators of endangered species, all we can do is shine a light on the beauty and majesty of these animals in hopes to spark a love and a need to keep them from vanishing from our planet. Child killers, they are not. It's unfortunate for the conservation of the species, and the loss of revenue a beautiful zoo such as Cinci will lose. tragedy all around.

I lead a busy and fulfilling life.

Yep. I think whether he calls it like it is or calls it as most perceive it to be, he's hitting home for a lot of people who are just sick of the gross pandering. I find it funny that libs hate him and his followers so much without bothering to wonder why. The liberal "intellectuals". Both candidates will divide this country even more. Trump will bring it to the breaking point. And honestly, that's not such a bad thing either. It's gonna get worse before it gets better....band aids and lies aren't what we need anymore. Hell, I may even let fly and throw myself into a gaggle of lib-tards! It's fucking go time! Woo hoo!!! Wait, I know that's not right. Is it called a "gaggle"?

Shit, him and I used to go round and round quite a bit way back when I was a Doo guy and he was Cat (you can imagine ). Neither of us took it too seriously. Just some good ball bustin'. He was pretty proficient with that ban hammer though. We keep it in a sealed box now. It's just too unstable. We get along great now. Bought my clutching from him. He's a good guy and knows his shit.

He's a LIAR and a CUNT , no doubt, but his antics also don't work on me, I laugh at him.

Not by me

As long as you made me bacon and eggs on that skillet......and don't burn the bacon.

You were an instigator if I recall correctly....

Holy chit..she should run for prez!

Tina Weymouth's (bass player from the Talking Head) family had a summer home in the town I grew up in. She would visit the area quite often

Moemoe=Momo. Case closed.

CKF, Sent the kid into Wegmans again tonight after scouts to get another 4 pack of that Stewerts Orange..all they had was the diet version ....but hey,it's just as good and like 10 calories for 12 oz's..I think the reg is like 200 cal's per bottle!

Would have liked to see them live back in the day. Another group from my youth

Holy fuck. Nice

Rib eye stk potatoes and salad

How am I being a dick....you seem to be here talking smack not me...relax. If you're looking for Snow Rider to act any different than he has in the past I'm pretty sure you're wasting your time.

Close to as simple as it can get.

You can debate the legality of what she did, but if you can't see the impropriety and unethical nature of it then you are just being obtuse. Otherwise the FBI wouldn't be invloved, no?

The song in the music thread got me wondering were everyone was on September 11, 2001 when the first plane hit the tower? I was at an outdoor retailer show in Manchester, NH. Everyone ran to the lobby to watch the live news on the TV's. Very strange later that day to see no air traffic in the sky.

Man I need a drink ..fawking Hillary gets off...corksucker. The gov..fbi..cia ..all them fawkers can suckthesnotoutofmyfuckstick!

Okay, that worked, thank you.

2002 Arctic Cat Z570 ESR

Do the world a favor and pull a plastic bag over your head and then tightly wrap it around your neck and keep it there till the perp walk happens

1972 polaris TX 340 free air. went like hell, rode like shit. I got the sled in a basket, put it all back together and painted it all up. It looked pretty goood

Oh good grief....you again? I thought I heard something.

Best guess? India. Now go away. Oh, and it's "took".

2010 1100 Turbo. Other than trees jumping out in front of me have performed flawlessly lol

Hacksaw Jim Duggan FTW!

"This 85°F weather is a tightly coiled pile of dogshit! I'm going to hide out under this trailer until it is gone."

My reputation precedes me!

haha, okay! Her body structure reminds me of my dogs, more so the one that was an American bulldog/bull mastiff with the same brindle colours...her head is what I could not figure out.

Building Automation. Temperature control with a computer

Slab stone (counter top material) for floors, walls, fireplace facings, the odd countertop. Second generation with tile and stone (floors, walls). Third generation with wood floors (install and sand and finish).

13 Years old now and going def Snowball. I'll talk to her now she looks at me like WTF are you saying. Great kind dog and mite I say very manly also.