RIP HERAMBE, Gorilla was 'trying to PROTECT' four year old boy at zoo before it was shot dead

Animal rights campaigners have slammed Cincinnati Zoo for shooting the 17-year-old gorilla dead.

An eyewitness who saw a child fall into an animal enclosure before seeing zoo workers shoot an endangered gorilla dead has claimed the animal was NOT hurting the child... and was in fact trying to protect it.