San Francisco Zoo

San Francisco Zoo Fined for Crushing Death of Baby Gorilla

Kabibe was the fifth gorilla to be born at the zoo.

The United States Department of Agriculture slapped a fine on the San Francisco Zoo for the death of Kabibe, a 16-month-old gorilla who was crushed by an electric door in her enclosure.

The $1,750 fine is angering some animal rights activists, who claim the amount is far too low for the brutal November death of the young Western Lowlands Gorilla.

“I am horrified that a young gorilla named Kabibe, a member of a highly endangered species living at the San Francisco Zoo, was killed in this preventable incident,” said Shirley McGreal, the director of the International Primate Protection League in a statement to SFGate.

Kabibe was crushed when a hydraulic door – controlled by a zoo employee – closed on her body. At the time, the zoo’s executive director, Tanya Peterson, blamed it on human error and said the zookeeper failed to keep a hand on the gate’s emergency stop button when Kabibe unexpectedly darted under the door.

The doors that crushed the young gorilla were inspected earlier in the investigation and no malfunctions were found.

Kabibe was the fifth gorilla born at the San Francisco Zoo and was raised by her grandmother after her mother abandoned her.

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