What incident brought attention to the safety of people and zoo animals and also resulted in a gorilla being nominated for Speaker of the House?
Killing of Harambe On May 28, 2016, a three-year-old boy climbed into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden and was grabbed and dragged by Harambe, a 17-year-old Western lowland gorilla. Fearing for the boy's life, a zoo worker shot and killed Harambe. The incident was recorded on video and received broad international coverage and commentary, including controversy over the choice to kill Harambe. A number of primatologists and conservationists wrote later that the zoo had no other choice under the circumstances, and that it highlighted the danger of zoo animals in close proximity to humans and the need for better standards of care.
Augustin Kambale Augustin Kambale is the head of the Bukima ranger patrol post, in the Mikeno sector of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His patrol group has gained notoriety in recent years due to the importance of Virunga to conservationists, as it serves as the refuge for 100 of the world's 700 remaining silverback gorillas. It has also been subjected to numerous bloody attacks from rebels camped or residing outside of the park boundaries; since 1996, over 120 Virunga rangers have been murdered by rebels such as the Mai Mai and the forces of General Laurent Nkunda. However, Nkunda signed a ceasefire in February 2007 with the government in Kinshasa, thus allowing for the rangers at Virunga to focus more on their jobs as conservationists.