Right or Wrong? Gorilla Shot Dead In Zoo When Boy Fell Into His Area. An animal behaviour expert believes Harambe the gorilla, who was shot dead when a four-year-old boy fell into his zoo enclosure, was 'investigating, not attacking' the child, which it understood was 'defenceless'. The 180kg, critically endangered western lowland gorilla, was killed by officials at Cincinnati Zoo in the U.S. just one day after his 17th birthday after the boy climbed through barriers and fell 4.5 metres into the enclosure on Saturday. *. Cincinatti Zoo staff shot Harambe after he dragged the boy through the water, but many say he was simply trying to protect the child. Footage taken from another visitor shows the gorilla grabbing on to the boy's shirt. Many are placing the blame squarely on the parents of a four-year-old boy, who investigators believe crawled through a railing barrier. Watch the video below....... University of New England animal behaviour expert Pro...