Jane Goodall, has entered into the conversation about slain zoo gorilla, Harambe.
Penning an email to Cincinnati Zoo, the primatologist expressed her sympathies towards Thane Maynard, the zoo’s director, over the backlash he and his team had received after the decision to shoot the western lowland gorilla, Harambe, earlier this week.
“I tried to see exactly what was happening—it looked as though the gorilla was putting an arm round the child—like the female who rescued and returned the child from the Chicago exhibit,” she wrote, according to a statement released by the Jane Goodall Institute.
Harambe, who was shot dead by zoo officials, was 17 years old.
The precautions were taken after a four-year-old child fell into the gorilla enclosure on Saturday, an environment Harambe shared with two other female gorillas.
“Anyway, whatever, it is a devastating loss to the zoo, and to the gorillas,” Goodall wrote.
Goodall also expressed her concern for the remaining female gorillas, asking how they were dealing after the death of Harambe: “Are they allowed to see, and express grief, which seems to be so important?” she wrote.
“I feel sorry for you, having to try to defend something which you may well disapprove of,” she added.
Police are now investigating possible criminal charges against Cincinnati Zoo.