Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire So, the gorilla video

But I fail to see how parents that let their children run wild are not culpable when they run straight into the arms of trouble. At least partially.

The only "fallacy" I see is you thinking one can watch their kids every second of every day and nothing unexpected will ever happen.

Your ignorance is based on the fact you have absolutely no experience to go on.

You're just making up your fantasy version of how things "should be"

Some observations:

1 - a few years ago a child got into an enclosure with a female gorilla. She held the child and eventually walked it over to the paramedics and handed it to them. Clearly a maternal instinct and this here gorilla deserved the benefit of the doubt, at least initially, and he received that. By some reports, he too, was very nurturing to his brothers and sisters, but probably never nurtured one that was as small as this child. He just didn't know what to do. They had to save the child, but the gorilla did nothing wrong. A real shame.

2 - When some combat rifles were designed, they handed them to young teens, without any explanation of how to operate the weapon. "Here, make this fire." They did that to simulate an adult under stress of incoming rounds, etc. If a 14 year old can make the gun fire in XXX seconds, then the adult under stress can do it in XXX seconds. So, when designing these enclosures, does anyone look at it like a 4 year old? I've asked for advice on these forums and I write, "explain it to me like I'm a 4 year old." Slow it down, be specific. Same here. Design the enclosure like a 4 year old is trying to get in. Or out for that matter.

3 - Children - My wife and I took the children camping this weekend in Lancaster. We have good kids, but they argue sometimes, in public. They're old enough to know better, but still run and tease in the store. Youngest is 10. My wife observed how the Amish children don't carry on like that. We see it as kids being kids, but there's no nonsense with the young Amish children. They play, buy they aren't arguing, running around stores, etc. It's just not accepted in that culture.

I will also say this. Kids can get away from parents, but when you are in a zoo, or in a park, near water, highways, anywhere that a child can get into serious trouble quickly, the parent radar should be on high alert. These venues are not meant to be relaxing trips for the parents. We're going to Disney again - a total stress fest. Parents can vacation when the kids go to college. My wife can finally relax at the beach, because our youngest is 10. That's life.

I've been there three times, and no, I cannot understand any parent letting their kid fall into a gorilla enclosure unless a terrorist attack, massive earthquake, or meteor strike was in progress. Come to think of it, not then either.

For the most part, people just don't parent anymore. It's a dying art that progresses right along with the dying culture.

What keeps the gorillas in is the 15 foot vertical concrete wall.

What keeps (or should keep) people out is a different system altogether. That's the one that needs modification. In this instance it was a 3 foot fence and some bushes

I agree with that. But there are a hundred scenarios where this could have happened without the kid "running wild".

Sometimes crazy stuff happens. Only the very self-righteous, very ignorant or very sheltered deny that. (You're none of those, that's just for the benefit of folks reading this.)

Witnesses stated she just turned her back for a couple of seconds to deal with another child

[quote=Joseywales]Some observations:


You're aware that male gorillas commonly kill their own young to stimulate the females to breed again right?

Where were the parents?

donsm70

the one report I read about this it went like this:

- Mom and kid are holding hands
- Mom wants to take a picture, so kid now holds her pocket
- Mom takes picture and then realizes kid is gone
- Takes a few seconds to realize he went under the barrier and is crawling through bushes and goes over into the moat.

Yes, you can punch holes in this, but that, if it's true, is not bad parenting.

I read the child stated multiple times that he wanted to swim with the gorilla. that's a red flag for a parent to stop taking selfies, and watch the child more closely, or remove them from the area.

Actually, the silverback male is usually the primary caretaker of the young. The only time they kill is when another male has taken, or mated, with the mother. The father might then kill the child, so that the mother will go into "heat" and he can then mate with her, in order to reclaim her from the 2nd male. I do not recall a second male, or any female, being part of this incident.

My 18 month old wants to touch every gun I have in my hands...guess I should just get rid of them all huh?

Because it wasn't mentioned or seen on video meant one wasn't there?

Actually, the silverback male is usually the primary caretaker of the young. The only time they kill is when another male has taken, or mated, with the mother. The father might then kill the child, so that the mother will go into "heat" and he can then mate with her, in order to reclaim her from the 2nd male. I do not recall a second male, or any female, being part of this incident.

What do I have to understand to be able to observe a higher percentage of undisciplined children?