Gorilla vs Gator

This is just my opinion. But with the gorilla, the boy had to actively seek out and get into the enclosure. The gorilla was in an enclosure. This wasn't an act of the mom and boy just standing there and the gorilla reached out and grabbed him and pulled him in. The boy even made it known he wanted to go in.

With the alligator incident, they were just there and an alligator came out of nowhere and snatched him. Now, had barriers been in place and the little boy said "I wanna swim the gators" and the mom wasn't paying attention and let him have an opportunity to climb over the fence and swim under the barriers, then I'd feel it was the same.

For starters, I believe aligators are no longer listed as endangered. There are now way too many of them, and they are often a nuisance. Gorillas, on the other hand, are still endangered and they are not native to this country. Therefore, I believe people think of them as being more rare, and majestic and need taking care of at all costs.

I also don't think the two are remotely the same.
I was very vocal about gorilla incident and I did and still do blame the mother. Gorillas are endangered and he died for nothing he did wrong.

In the alligator incident, I don't think the parents are to blame, they didn't have enough information to be able to predict that their child was in any danger of attack. They didn't deliberately leave him unattended where they knew/thought a wild animal would be. Sure there was a no swimming sign...but they weren't swimming. If the managers of the resort knew or had good reason to suspect that alligators were in the water, then they should have had better signage outlining that there was a risk from wild animals. In that case I do think the resort is to blame.
However if they can prove they didn't know, or had no reason to suspect or had taken steps to ensure there were no alligators in the water...and one got in anyway, then I think it does qualify has a horrible accident.
And even though it is still horrible to kill wild animals for no good reason, they aren't an endangered species either.

In the first scenario, I think the zoo staff made the right call, as heart breaking as it was, BUT the gorilla did nothing wrong, it was the mother's fault he ended up dead.
In the second scenario, the alligator DID do something wrong, even though it was only following it's natural prey drive and other alligators in that same situation would also be likely to do the same thing. It's a family resort and to the best of their ability they can't allow wild animals to live in the lake and to kill visitors.

At the zoo you know there will be wild animals there and you expect them to be safely contained in their enclosures...which they were. If people are dumb enough to get in there or parents don't supervise their kids, then that's the fault of the people...not the fault of the animals.
At a Disney resort with a "beach" if you are a visitor and don't know about alligators in the area, then it's not natural to assume that your child might be snatched by a wild animal off that beach is there aren't signs or other warnings present. The lack of warnings (if they knew) is the fault of the people who run the resort, but not the fault of the parents.
The gorilla was innocent, but the alligator was guilty. Sure I would have preferred they "relocate" rather than kill those animals, but from what I'm hearing they aren't exactly rare...and if there is no place to take them too, then what else could they do with them except "put them down" hopefully quickly and humanely and without causing them undue suffering.

I don't see any comparison either.

One took place in a clearly marked, Gorilla enclosure and the child was allowed to climb, with a lack of supervision, and make his way into the enclosure. The other took place in a magical theme park with a purpose made beach and man made lake with a "no swimming" sign where they regularly show outdoor evening movies to the public. Both parents were supervising a toddler, wadding along the edge with just his feet in the water.
When one is aware of a higher risk before hand the level of care and supervision differs greatly to what one would have if the risks were not obviously apparent as was the case with the gator.

As for killing the animals I was heartbroken when they took the decision to shoot the gorilla which was an endangers species. The gator?  I have no idea why they needed to kill 5 of them as I don't know enough about them to form an opinion. Was it to try and recover the child's body?  was it because if he ( the gator) had done it once he was more likely to do it again?  do the authorities usually kill the fully grown ones regularly for any reason?.....as I said I don't know enough of their habits to form an opinion.

Just my thoughts -

Society is so full of judges and self professed experts it drives me crazy! Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion but it is a tragedy for the Nebraska family and a horrific scare for the Ohio family.

Education at Disney regarding the caution of alligators is warranted and necessary, and secure enclosures at the zoo are a must. Common sense must prevail in both incidents.

I couldn't even imagine myself in either of their positions and I pray that I will never have to do so.

It's ok for kids to paddle at the beach, its not ok for kids to go into a zoo enclosure. One is open to the general public to use, the other has barriers.

 Other than both situations involving a small child and wild animal, there really isn't much else they have in common.
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Nevermind...I'm not going to argue with you about this...apparently, I'm not getting my point across.  

I'm seeing stuff on social media that people are calling this a racial thing. They are upset that more aren't blaming the parents of the child at Disney World for neglect or similar like they did the kid who fell at the zoo.


I don't blame either parent in either scenario, and I was appalled and upset at the threads here crucifying the mother whose kid got into the gorilla compound.

Accidents happen. I'm sick of everyone pointing fingers and ripping these poor traumatized parents apart.

Everyone including the mother and child knew the gorilla was there and that getting so close you could fall in was dangerous.

No one expects the 'happiest place on earth' to have an alligator come up from the water and snatch up their child. If you think about it, you are in Florida with lots of water and lots of alligators but you just don't think about it. Disney is a fantasy land where happy memories are made. That's the state I think are in when you are there. The biggest thing I've worried about at Disney was planning my day to avoid the longest lines.

This is what I think. Gorillas are much easier to ... like ... than an alligator. Alligators are scary with big teeth and give us all a primitive shiver of fear.  And we are used to alligators dying-we make shoes and purses out of them, we eat the meat from them and they aren't all warm and cuddly. 

I don't blame the parents in any way, shape or form. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if there had of been charges leveled at the parents, I would have written a letter to whomever made that decision and let them know in no uncertain terms that they had lost their damn mind.

Gorillas are human like, alligators are snake like. That is at least part of the outrage over killing a gorilla vs killing a gator.

i dont see it as the same. the one the kid had to climb and get into an enclosure. second one the alligator came up and snatched a boy where he was "suppose to be".

Alligators are still a protected species in Texas. I don't know about the laws in Florida.

A repercussion of the incident--a local lake in Fort Worth is now working to relocate an alligator that has been living in that lake for awhile. The alligator will be taken to a refuge that has other 'gators and hopefully it will live happily ever after.

I know how alligators are, but the sign that says "no swimming" does not indicate that any alligators are near.
IMO, Disneyworld is at fault for not clearly indicating where the alligators are hanging out and warning guests of the danger.
I probably would have let my child wade in that shallow water also.