Ten years ago, a 17-year-old western lowland silverback gorilla named Harambe became the center of one of the internet’s most emotionally charged viral moments following his 2016 demise.
Born on May 27, 1999, at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, Harambe was named by Dan Van Coppenolle, a local counselor who won a naming contest, after Rita Marley’s 1988 song, "Harambe (Working Together for Freedom)."
His mother, Kayla, brother, Makoko, and half-sister, Uzuri, passed away from accidental chlorine gas po*soning in 2002. In 2014, he was transferred to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, where he remained until his infamous passing.
On May 28, 2016, Isaiah Dickerson, a three-year-old boy visiting the zoo, climbed a fence, crawled through a hedge, and fell about 12ft inside the enclosure where Harambe and two other gorillas lived, dropping into a moat.
Zoo officials signaled the gorillas to return inside, and the other two — both females — did so. Harambe, however, climbed down the moat and picked Isaiah up from the water.
Videos filmed by onlookers showed the 450-pound gorilla carrying the child around the enclosure for the next 10 minutes, occasionally propping him up when he sat down and pushing him down when he stood. At one point, he carried Isaiah up a ladder out of the moat onto dry land.
Concerned for the child’s life, zoo officials decided to fatally harm Harambe using a rifle, firing straight at the gorilla’s head. The tragic incident happened a day after the silverback’s 17th birthday.
Image credits: WhiteHouse
Isaiah was immediately transported to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where he was given a trauma assessment and checked for injuries, which turned out to be non-life-threatening.
Following Harambe’s demise, animal rights group Stop Animal Exploitation Now filed a negligence complaint against the Cincinnati Zoo, seeking a maximum penalty of $10,000. Isaiah’s mother also became the target of online harassment and was investigated for any potential wrongdoing, but ultimately did not face any charges.
However, the choice of using a fatal weapon was defended by many, including the zoo’s director, Thane Maynard, who said, “The child was being dragged around... His head was banging on concrete. This was not a gentle thing. The child was at risk.”
Jane Goodall, legendary primatologist and anthropologist, also supported the decision.
“Harambe could have hurt the child even without intending to cause harm,” she told International Fund for Animal Welfare. “It certainly appeared at times that he was being gentle, but he was nervous and agitated by the unexpected arrival of the child and the shouting of the people watching.”
She added that non-fatal tranquilizers may not have been an effective solution, as they take time to work.
Donald Trump, who was the Republican presidential candidate at the time, said, “The way he held that child, it was almost like a mother holding a baby ... It was so beautiful to watch that powerful, almost 500-pound gorilla, the way he dealt with that little boy. But it just takes one second ... one little flick of his finger.”
Within weeks of the incident, Harambe became an internet sensation, with tributes pouring in from around the world. There were songs written, murals painted, and vigils held in his memory, but he also became the subject of memes, stand-up comedy sets, and conspiracy theories.
But more importantly, his demise sparked a broader debate about the safety measures followed by zoos around the world, to the point that many questioned whether it was acceptable to keep wild animals in such establishments, for the sake of both the animals and the people.
At one point in the last decade, people started jokingly claiming that “everything has gone wrong since Harambe passed away,” a meme that spiraled so far that it became part of mainstream pop culture.
Image credits: WhiteHouse
Now, netizens are soaking in the collective nostalgia of Harambe once again, celebrating the 10th anniversary of his passing as well as what would have been his 27th birthday.
The White House led the tributes, sharing a heartfelt message on social media.
“Today, we remember a legend,” it started. “On this day in history, Harambe would have celebrated another birthday. An icon that became part of internet history, American culture, and an entire generation’s timeline.”
“Tomorrow marks 10 years since we lost him. Ten years since the moment the world stopped scrolling and collectively mourned something bigger than a meme. He became a symbol of loyalty, strength, chaos, unity, and the strange beauty of the internet, bringing millions of people together for one cause: never forgetting Harambe.”
“Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news,” the post continued. “And somehow, a decade later, his legacy still lives on.”
“Gone, but never forgotten. Rest easy, a true patriot.”
True to the spirit of the discourse, many responded to the post with long-running Harambe memes and references, but others criticized the White House over it.
“I'm still convinced the de*th of Harambe set off a chain of events worldwide that led to the increasing downfall of the West,” one user said.
Another commented, “The White House really said maybe if we tweet like a millennial meme page, they won’t notice rent prices.”
