Charging gorilla killed by police after hurting 4

[TexasStooge]

Hundreds flee zoo after 300-pound primate escapes

By KATIE MENZER, JASON TRAHAN and GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - A 3-year-old boy and his mother were recovering Friday after a rampaging 300-pound gorilla attacked them at the Dallas Zoo and threw them against a wall.

Rivers Noah, 3, was in fair condition at Children's Medical Center with multiple bites to his head and chest. Keisha Heard, 26, was bitten on the legs and was in good condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Jabari, a 13-year-old western lowland gorilla, escaped from his 2-acre enclosure on Thursday evening and attacked several people before charging at police officers, who fired three shots.

Two others were also injured during the gorilla's terrifying 40-minute romp through the forested jungles of the Wilds of Africa exhibit before police marksmen or zoo workers armed with tranquilizer guns could gain a clear shot, zoo officials said.

"We had a huge gorilla running through" the zoo, said Deputy Police Chief Daniel Garcia. "It tried to charge two of our officers, so we had to shoot it. You can imagine the pandemonium we had out here when he got loose.

"We felt terrible we had to put this animal down."

The zoo, at 650 South R.L. Thornton Freeway, near South Ewing Street, has been in financial straits and the nonprofit Dallas Zoological Society recently proposed a county takeover.

Zoo officials said their funding troubles were not a factor in Thursday's events. But they do not know how Jabari escaped from the award-winning gorilla-conservation area surrounded by a 16-foot concave wall.

"He had to have scaled the wall," zoo director Rich Buickerood said. But "this habitat is among the best in the country. This blows our minds."

One woman said she sheltered a group of children against a wall after she watched the gorilla break out of his enclosure.

"He was banging on the door and broke it down, then he jumped out," Diana Gonzalez told WFAA-TV (Channel 8). "He was growling and yelling."

Ms. Gonzalez said she and several children were able to exit the building without injury, but they saw the gorilla jump on top of another woman.

Hundreds of zoo-goers fled the compound and others hid inside the zoo restaurant and the monorail surrounding the Wilds of Africa exhibit while authorities tried to subdue the animal.

Jabari darted in and out of the thick bamboo and trees before he emerged on the Nature Trail about 5:30 p.m. and charged the two officers, police said.

"In a dense forested situation, any type of shooting is dangerous," said Mr. Buickerood. "Finding the animal was a problem, and immobilization weapons are powerful enough to kill a person. We worried about a missed shot."

He said he did not know why employees, armed with pepper spray, did not use it on the gorilla.

Cheryl Reichert of Mesquite apparently shielded several children from the gorilla before it snatched her in the aviary exhibit, according to one of the children she was chaperoning.

Her husband, Dennis Reichert, said zoo officials called him at work to tell him about the attack on his wife and said his three young children were upset but safe.

"At least it wasn't a lion," Mr. Reichert said while standing outside the zoo Thursday evening.

Ms. Reichert was treated at Methodist Dallas Hospital.

Although authorities characterized all the physical injuries as "minor," many patrons said they felt terrorized by Jabari's escape.

"It was petrifying. We were about a hundred feet away from the gorilla. He was moving in and out of the trees, we had nowhere to go," said Beatrice Vallejo, who was trapped with nine children enjoying a day off from school during spring break.

Police said about 300 people were at the zoo when the gorilla escaped. Zoo officials sounded the code red alert signifying an escaped animal at 4:48 p.m. Dozens of officers were ordered to the zoo, including tactical units.

Zoo weapons teams ran for tranquilizer guns in two locked administrative offices while other employees evacuated screaming patrons from the grounds, zoo officials said.

It wasn't the first time that an escaped gorilla had injured someone at the zoo.

A 25-year-old zookeeper was mauled by a gorilla at the Dallas Zoo in November 1998 after the door to the animal's cage was left open, zoo officials said at the time.

Hercules, a 340-pound male silverback gorilla, was tranquilized with a dart gun after the woman escaped. The attack lasted more than a half-hour, leaving her with more than 30 puncture wounds. In that attack, zoo guests were not in jeopardy.

Zoo officials have for several years said their facility is underfinanced.

The nonprofit Dallas Zoological Society is trying to persuade Dallas County commissioners to take over the 114-year-old zoo. The society has proposed that the county ask voters to approve a property tax of up to 3 cents per $100 valuation to finance the zoo's operations.

Under the proposal, the county would take over ownership of the zoo from the city, with a zoo board to govern operations.

A county property tax, when combined with other revenue, could allow the zoo a $22 million operating budget and create $18 million a year to complete an ambitious, long-range master plan.

Mr. Buickerood said last month that a shortage of money had led to a decline in the number of workers at the zoo and had prompted maintenance to be postponed. A January audit by the city warned that a lack of employees "may lead to decreased productivity and increased employee turnover."

"We're stagnating," he said then. "It's getting harder to maintain and operate on the money we've got."

Mr. Reichert, whose wife, Cheryl, was attacked by the gorilla, said the family purchased a season pass to the zoo a few weeks ago and probably would not abandon it even after Thursday's events.

"The zoo is a good thing. It's unfortunate what happened," he said.

But "she probably won't go by the gorillas again," he added, referring to his wife.

Destiney Diaz, 8, was with Ms. Reichert when she was attacked, said she was never going back to the zoo again.

"I was really scared," she said.

Zoo officials said it was a sad day for them, not least because replacing the gorilla could be "impossible."

"It's obviously a black eye, and what I fear is the impact it might have on attendance," said Richard Geiger, a member of the zoo board's executive committee. He said the Wilds of Africa rates among the top 10 nationwide in zoo exhibits.

"It's a marvelous program, and we've got a wonderful habitat there."

Dallas Morning News staff writer Michael Grabell, WFAA-TV and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Stephanie]

I saw in another report that there were kids that were taunting him before this happened. What a shame!!! I'm glad that noone was seriously injured or killed.

[Suzi Q]

I saw in another report that there were kids that were taunting him before this happened. What a shame!!! I'm glad that noone was seriously injured or killed.

Except the guerilla.....

(Yes, I know ya'll are gonna slam me on this remark)

[Stephanie]

I saw in another report that there were kids that were taunting him before this happened. What a shame!!! I'm glad that noone was seriously injured or killed.

Except the guerilla.....

(Yes, I know ya'll are gonna slam me on this remark)

I meant for the gorilla as well. Something obviously upset him. He wouldn't have done something like that for no reason. He felt threatened.

[Miss Mary]

I saw in another report that there were kids that were taunting him before this happened. What a shame!!! I'm glad that noone was seriously injured or killed.

Except the guerilla.....

(Yes, I know ya'll are gonna slam me on this remark)

Suzi - I'm not going to slam you. Far from it, your post is what I was thinking earlier today. Haven't been to a Zoo without tearing up in years. I find no enjoyment in viewing animals behind bars and in cages. IMHO, they belong in their natural habitat, left alone. Period. The only gray area for me are zoo's keeping an endangered species from dying out. Now if you all think my ideas are extreme, all I ask of you is this: go to your local zoo. Go to the cat house. And look deep into the eye of a tiger in a 6 foot by 6 foot (I'm estimating) cage pacing back and forth. Now is that entertaining for you?

I'm done.

Mary

[Suzi Q]

Although I feel horrible for the families involved in this, I feel EQUALLY as horrible for the poor guerilla.

Just thought some of you would think I valued animal life over human life, which is a hard call for me. It broke my heart when I found out they had shot and killed him, senseless really. He was after all a WILD ANIMAL. I am an animal freak and although I get a huge thrill over being close to one or touching one, the thought that are are WILD ANIMALS NEVER leaves my mind. Heck the silly dachsund I rescued yesterday cost me two broken fingers and two broken bones in my hand and he was domesticated for pete's sake. Thank's ya'll for letting me know that I'm not the only one who felt a loss over this poor creature.

[Stephanie]

Although I feel horrible for the families involved in this, I feel EQUALLY as horrible for the poor guerilla.

Just thought some of you would think I valued animal life over human life, which is a hard call for me. It broke my heart when I found out they had shot and killed him, senseless really. He was after all a WILD ANIMAL. I am an animal freak and although I get a huge thrill over being close to one or touching one, the thought that are are WILD ANIMALS NEVER leaves my mind. Heck the silly dachsund I rescued yesterday cost me two broken fingers and two broken bones in my hand and he was domesticated for pete's sake. Thank's ya'll for letting me know that I'm not the only one who felt a loss over this poor creature.

[[[HUGS]]] for feeling the way you do for the gorilla and [[[HUGS]]] for rescuing that dachsund! I'm an animal feak myself, and my first thought was of the gorilla as well.