Police investigate parents of boy who fell into gorilla enclosure at zoo

Police officers are deciding whether to charge the parents of a boy who fell into a gorilla's zoo enclosure with child neglect.Animal lovers are outraged after the endangered animal had to be shot dead by zoo staff to protect the youngster.More than 70,000 petitioners have signed up to a campaign on Change.org calling for the parents to be investigated after the child fell up to 12 feet into the enclosure.And fury at Cincinnati Zoo continues to mount as animal lovers demand an explanation as to why the 17-year-old gorilla named Herambe was not tranquilised.

Eyewitnesses have even claimed that the animal was NOT hurting the child... and was in fact trying to protect it but was panicked by the screams of onlookers.

The petition reads: "This beautiful gorilla lost his life because the boy's parents did not keep a closer watch on the child. We the undersigned believe that the child would not have been able to enter the enclosure under proper parental supervision.

"Witnesses claim that they heard the child state that he wished to go into the enclosure and was actively trying to breach the barriers.
"This should have prompted the parents to immediately remove the child from the vicinity. It is believed that the situation was caused by parental negligence and the zoo is not responsible for the child's injuries and possible trauma.

"We the undersigned want the parents to be held accountable for the lack of supervision and negligence that caused Harambe to lose his life.
"We the undersigned feel the child's safety is paramount in this situation. We believe that this negligence may be reflective of the child's home situation.

"We the undersigned actively encourage an investigation of the child's home environment in the interests of protecting the child and his siblings from further incidents of parental negligence that may result in serious bodily harm or even death.

"Please sign this petition to encourage the Cincinnati Zoo, Hamilton County Child Protection Services, and Cincinnati Police Department hold the parents responsible."
 And police in Ohio have said that charges could be brought against the parents as their investigation continues.

The child was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre and is said to have sustained no serious injuries.