CINCINNATI (AP) - The Cincinnati Zoo plans to reopen its gorilla exhibit with a higher, reinforced barrier installed after a boy got into the exhibit and was dragged by a 400-pound gorilla, which was then shot and killed.
The exhibit's reopening Tuesday comes a day after a prosecutor said the boy's mother would not be charged and that the 3-year-old had "scampered off" as children sometimes do.
The boy apparently climbed over the exhibit's outer barrier May 28 before falling about 15 feet into a shallow moat. A special response team shot and killed the 17-year-old western lowland gorilla to protect the boy.
The gorilla's death set off a torrent of criticism online. Some commenters vilified the zoo for shooting the animal. Others said the boy's mother should have watched him more closely.
