15 Times People Have Fallen Into Zoo Exhibits

13. Previous Child Gorilla Pit Victim Backs the Shooting of Harambe

10 years before Binti Jua mothered the little boy (so 30 years before the Harambe incident), a similar incident occurred with a little boy at the Jersey Zoo in the United Kingdom. Little Levan Merritt was five years old when he fell into a gorilla pit and lost consciousness. He was bleeding, and a male silverback gorilla named Jambo protected him against the other gorillas in the enclosure. Acting as his protector, Jambo stayed with him until Levan regained consciousness and began to cry. Then, Jambo ran away, at which point responders jumped into the pit to rescue the boy. Now 35, Levan says he backs the decision of the Cincinnati Zoo to shoot Harambe. His story was in the news again when Harambe the gorilla was killed in 2016 after a little boy fell into his area. What is it about little boys and gorilla pits?

12. Man Shouts About Jesus As He Leaps Into Lion Pit

At a zoo in Taipei, Taiwan in 2004, another victim of “hearing voices” jumped into a dangerous zoo enclosure. Local resident Chen Chung-ho shouted, “Jesus will save you!” after jumping into a pit of lions. The lion ripped his jacket off and jumped at him when he fell down. Then he bit him and clawed at him before retreating. Chen stood back up, outstretched his arms toward the big cats, then picked up his jacket, and climbed out of the pit himself. The lions, meanwhile, were being driven away by the guards with water hoses and tranquilizer darts. A doctor from the hospital the man was admitted to said that Chen, 46, had psychological problems. “He took this dangerous action today because he imagined he heard voices.”

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