The mother of a 4-year-old boy who entered the gorilla enclosure in the Cincinnati Zoo has taken to Facebook to defend herself. There has been a heavy backlash over the fact that staff at the zoo had to kill a 17-year-old gorilla to save the boy's life. The incident took place on Saturday, May 28.

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The mother of the 4-year-old child has been identified as Michelle Gregg. She has been accused of neglecting her child and is said to have been the main cause of the incident.

In her Facebook message, Gregg thanked everyone for their thoughts and prayers after her son was dragged by the gorilla and was tossed into the air.

"What started off as a wonderful day turned into a scary one. For those of you that have seen the news or been on social media that was my son that fell into the gorilla exhibit at the zoo. God protected my child until the authorities were able to get to him. My son is safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes... no broken bones or internal injuries," she wrote.

Gregg said that people have been quick to judge how a parent could have taken their eyes off of their child and let the toddler wander off into such danger. She pointed out that anyone who knows her knows that she keeps a tight watch over her children. She added that accidents happen, but she is thankful that the right people were in the right place. The post has since been deleted.

The gorilla, named Harambe, celebrated his 17^th birthday last week. The shooting of the gorilla has sparked outrage as many believed that a tranquilizer could have been used instead of live bullets. However, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden explained that a tranquilizer would not have taken effect quickly and it could have further endangered the toddler.

Another video has surfaced showing Harambe and the boy holding hands at one point. Many have said it is possible that the gorilla was trying to protect the child that is why he dragged the toddler away from the screaming crowd.

A petition has been started online calling for justice over the death of Harambe. It has gathered more than 144,000 signatures since it was started on Change.org. The petition is calling the parents of the boy to be held accountable for the death of the rare gorilla.

It remains unclear if the parents of the boy or the zoo will be facing any charges. 

TagsCincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, four-year-old boy, fell into enclosure, Gorilla exhibit, Harambe, shooting of 17-year-old silverback gorilla, mother of boy, Facebook post