After seeing the barrier the kid got through at the zoo, I change my mind. The barrier is inadequate [View all]
I was arguing on the other side of this issue on one thread until saw the actual barrier or lack there of. It appears to be two flimsy wires that any kid could slip through or over in seconds. Also, the vegetation covers the giant fall so a kid could go under and into the dense vegetation and not realize he/she was about to fall 15 feet.
You can stop the video at the 27 second mark to see the barrier. I don't have major strong feelings about this because there are a lot of dangerous opportunities for kids like busy streets that don't have fences etc. and I think these kind of barriers are pretty common in zoos because they assume people are going to fear the giant drop off, but I see no harm in putting in a slightly higher fence that is chain link that would make it much harder for a rambunctious child to get through and prevent something like this in the future. Kids have wild imaginations and they often think the animals are friendly as this kid did suggesting he wanted be with them. It's possible this kid recently saw "The Jungle Book" and so he imagines all animals to be like those in the movie. Ready to be a kids best friend.
This is a video showing a walk through of the Gorilla exhibit:
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