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Parents Of Four-Year-Old Boy Who Fell Into Gorilla Enclosure Pictured For First Time

The parents whose son fell into the gorilla enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo this weekend have been pictured for the first time.

Michelle Gregg, 32, and Deonne Dickerson, 37, have been accused of neglect after their four-year-old dropped 15ft into the animal’s pen.

Staff at the zoo were forced to shoot dead Harambe, a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla, after it picked up the boy.

In a statement, the family confirmed that their son was “doing just fine”.

“We are so thankful to the Lord that our child is safe. We extend our heartfelt thanks for the quick action by the Cincinnati Zoo staff,” they added.

“We know that this was a very difficult decision for them, and that they are grieving the loss of their gorilla. We hope that you will respect our privacy at this time.”

Both the zoo and the parents have been strongly criticised.

In a Facebook post, the boy’s mother wrote: “As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids,” she wrote.

“Accidents happen but I am thankful that the right people were in the right place today.“

Answering claims that the gorilla should have been shot with a tranquilizer, rather than live ammunition, the zoo’s director Thane Maynard said it would have taken too long to take effect – and may have agitated the gorilla more.

At a press conference, he added that: “Looking back we would make the same decision [again]”

In an earlier statement, he said: “The Zoo security team’s quick response saved the child’s life.

“We are all devastated that this tragic accident resulted in the death of a critically-endangered gorilla. This is a huge loss for the zoo family and the gorilla population worldwide.”

Harambe, a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla, was shot dead (Facebook/Gladys Porter Zoo)

A Facebook group, called Justice for Harambe, has been set up, and already has more than 100,000 likes.

Furthermore, 115,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for the mother and father to be “held accountable for their actions of not supervising their child”.

The Facebook group’s admin wrote: “If the mother would have been responsible with her child – the zoo wouldn’t have to be placed in the position of having to destroy this endangered gorilla to begin with!”

However, one user wrote: “Am I the only one grateful the child is alive and understanding that the professionals did what they felt had to be done?! Does anyone know how deadly gorillas can actually be?”

Ian Redmond, the chairman of the Gorilla Organization, told CNN : “When gorilla or other apes have things they shouldn’t have, keepers will negotiate with them, bring food, their favourite treats, pineapple or some kind of fruit that they don’t know and negotiate with them.”

Primatologist Julia Gallucci said: “The gorilla enclosure should have been surrounded by a secondary barrier between the humans and the animals to prevent exactly this type of incident.”

(Credit: Facebook)