harambe was a gorilla at the cincinnati zoo and botanical garden. on may 28, 2016, a three-year-old boy climbed into a gorilla enclosure at the zoo and was grabbed and dragged by harambe, a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla. fearing for the boy's life, a zoo worker shot and killed harambe. it was recorded on video and was shown on news services around the world. there was a lot of argument about the decision to kill harambe. a number of primatologists and conservationists said that the zoo had no other choice under the circumstances, and that they did the right thing. lots of internet memes were made, and the director encouraged people to stop.