Gorilla Exhibit at Cincinnati Zoo to Reopen With Modified Barrier

The gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo will re-open next week, with a taller barrier to prevent accidental entry into the enclosure. 

A gorilla was shot by zookeepers last week after a 4-year old boy had fallen into the exhibit. 

“Our exhibit goes above and beyond standard safety requirements, but in light of what happened, we have modified the outer public barrier to make entry even more difficult,” Thane Maynard, the director of the Cincinnati Zoo, said in a statement, ABC News reports. 

New barrier at Cincinnati Zoo Gorilla World is 42 in. high with wood beams top and bottom and knotted rope netting. pic.twitter.com/5WnA6XgDWl

— WCPO (@WCPO) June 2, 2016

The shooting of the gorilla was followed by a public outcry, and many considered the zoo irresponsible for killing the gorilla. Others blamed the boy’s parents. 

An investigation by the Cincinnati Police Department had been launched and was concluded this week, “regarding the actions of the parents/family that led up to the incident and not related to the operation or safety of the Cincinnati Zoo.”

[morearticles]2082343[/morearticles]

Other zookeepers have supported the Cincinnati Zoo’s decision to kill the 450-pound gorilla, which they say could’ve easily caused the child’s death. 

The enclosure has had a previous track record of keeping out visitors, and the incident earlier this month was the only time in the gorilla exhibit’s 38-year history that a human had fallen into it.