On May 27, 1999, Harambe the gorilla was born in Brownsville, Texas at Gladys Porter Zoo.
On May 28, 2016, just one day after his 17th birthday, the 440-pound male silverback gorilla was shot by zoo staff in the Cincinnati Zoo, after a child fell into his enclosure.
Almost four months later, Harambe has become the subject of countless viral internet memes, and more recently, the central figure of vigils held throughout Ontario. Most, according to university students leading the vigils, hope to keep the memory of Harambe alive.
The Harambe candlelight vigil at Queen’s University took place on the Kingston Pier on Sept. 16, with over 300 attendees, according to organizer Zane Feder.
“Once the sun went down, people showed up. I invited people to read poetry . . . we had music, some sad music and some happy,” Feder said. “Finally the bagpipes came to play Amazing Grace and the military funeral song. After that, the bagpipes walked everyone out.”
“It was really nice,” he added.
On Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, “CandlesOutForHarambe 2k16” is slated to take place Sept. 23. One of the Facebook group’s organizers confirmed there will be a bagpipe player at the event.
“Harambe took a shot for all of us, and now it’s time to give him the respect he deserves,” is written as the group’s description.
At the time of publication, 2,600 people are interested in event, with 1,900 RSVPs.
Robert Ellis, one of the event’s organizers and a first-year student at the University of Ottawa, said he expects about 1,000 people to show up to the event.
While Feder said he sees the vigils as a mix of a more serious perspective and a joke, Ellis, however, said vigils for Harambe are a serious matter.
“I’m not organizing this event in terms of comedy purposes. I actually feel sympathy for the gorilla,” Ellis said. “Harambe’s death basically symbolizes the future of animal cruelty. It goes to show how people handle situations, like when a child goes into a gorilla [enclosure].”
“It goes to show that humans take the easy way out . . . instead of choosing to tranquilize him or finding a different method,” Ellis said.
Wilfrid Laurier University is also scheduled to host a vigil on Sept. 28. Students will meet at the university in “the Quad to join hands, light our candles, and sing songs for our beloved Harambe,” to commemorate the four month anniversary of the gorilla’s passing, according to the official Facebook event.
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