Harambe

• Tia-Deshe Quagliata, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2018

The morning was better than ever.
Blue skies, beautiful sun, and not a cloud in sight.
Harambe lounged in his pool, without care in the world. His home was pristine and surrounded by trees. The sounds of the bustling crowd calmed Harambe. He had grown to like the noises of the chattering bird-like people outside his home. But he missed the real birds that sang to him back at his old place.
Everything was perfect. Until Harambe heard a yelp. A small figure tumbled down the hill which bordered his home, Harambe rushed out of the pool and over to the figure.
It was a boy, he looked only three years of age.
Harambe nudged him but the boy’s eyes remained closed. Harambe decided he needed to protect the child, nurse him back to health.
Harambe carried the small boy back to the safety of his home.
Harambe heard screaming coming from nearby, he looked across his yard and standing on the top of the hill stood a man and a woman. The noises of the crowd had stopped.
They saw Harambe and the child. "He's got the kid!" Yelled the man, he sounded distressed and out of breath. The woman spotted the boy and began to cry, "My son!" She sobbed “What have you done to him?"
Harambe was confused. Was the woman talking to him? What had Harambe done? He hadn't hurt the child. In fact, he had saved him!
Harambe thought that this must be a set-up, these people were trying to kidnap the poor boy! They were trying to confuse Harambe into giving them the child.
No. Harambe would not do that. He could never forgive himself if something happened to the small, innocent boy.
He cradled the boy tighter in his arms and screamed "Get out of my home! Leave!" He yelled "Leave us alone!"
The man reluctantly pulled out a firearm that Harambe hadn't spotted before. "No!" The woman screamed. "No! You'll shoot my boy!" The man took aim. Right at Harambe's forehead.
Harambe hugged the boy tighter and closed his eyes.
"He was just doing what any nurturing animal would do" stated a witness of Harambe, a 17 year old silver-back gorilla's death.
On the 28th Of May 2016 an unsupervised young boy climbed over the fence surrounding Harambe's habitat and fell into the water below. Harambe then dragged the boy onto dry land before protectively standing over him.
A protocol had already been put into play that, if a human was endangered by any animal, that animal would be shot.
Many argue that Harambe was acting violently and "using" the boy to threaten bystanders. But many more strongly believe Harambe was protecting the boy by dragging him out of the water and protecting him from, what were in Harambe's mind, dangers to the boy.
Low-land gorillas have been scientifically proven to be affectionate and protective towards their group. There are currently less than 790 gorillas left in the wild and none survive in captivity.