Harambe’s Ghost Haunts Cincinnati Zoo as Social Media Claims ‘They’re Hiding the Real Cause of His Death’
CINCINNATI — Eight years after the world watched a silverback gorilla named Harambe fatally shot at the Cincinnati Zoo, a new wave of viral conspiracy theorists is demanding answers to a question no one asked until now: Who really profited from his death? Skeptical observers are pointing to a since-deleted social media post from a former zoo employee alleging that the tranquilizer darts used on Harambe—which failed before the lethal shot—were tampered with. “Harambe was no accident,” the anonymous poster claims. “He was a sacrificial pawn in a game of media distraction and zoo funding battles.” The hashtag #JusticeForHarambe has surged again, with users digging up old SEC filings showing the zoo’s parent company reportedly received a $1.2 million federal grant just weeks after the incident, earmarked for “primate habitat upgrades.” Meanwhile, mainstream outlets gloss over the new claims, calling them “baseless.” But as one Reddit sleuth put it: “Follow the money. Harambe didn’t just die for a meme—he died so someone could cash in.” The zoo has declined to comment, but the internet is already demanding a new investigation.