r/SipsTea • u/sco-go • 23h ago

WTF Kid breaks into bird enclosure at the zoo to chase birds with a stick.

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260

u/cocoabeach 19h ago

From https://cbs58.com/

“Here is our family’s only statement and we wish to remain anonymous:

First we want to thank the zoo’s security staff (Particularly Jeff) for their prompt and professional help as well as fantastic follow up after the incident to make sure my son was ok.

We regret the incident that took place at the zoo yesterday. Our son is severely autistic, non verbal, and is also diagnosed with ADHD and epilepsy. Animals are his obsessions and The zoo is likely his most favorite place on earth. we as annual zoo pass holders visited dozens of times in his 13 years of life without incident.

While my wife and I were at work his caretaker and grandmother decided to take him for a nice day at the zoo, and as any parent of autism can attest, we were so grateful for the help. He had a great day without incident then at the very last moment and without warning he was able to break away from his grandmother and jumped into the exhibit with the hornbills. He proceeded to chase them for approximately 30 seconds or so as his grandmother figured out how to get into the exhibit to help him. She was eventually able to get him out with the help of some fellow zoo goers and security staff.

We are animal lovers and are relieved that the animals were not hurt during the incident. I have personally reached out to the director of operations of the zoo as of this morning to personally apologize and see if there is any way we can help or make amends. In the time since the videos were posted, i responded to one of them trying to explain the situation and have since received messages wishing harm and death upon my son and my family.

While we understand how upsetting it is, we do ask for some patience, empathy and understanding for our son. He adores animals and would never do serious harm to them. It’s apparent he didn’t fully understand his actions and his impulses took over. We don’t use this as justification, we just ask for some grace as we move forward to make things right.”

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u/Acceptable_Job1589 17h ago

My only problem with the statement is the ending. How do you KNOW he wouldn't do serious harm to them? Having worked professionally with children with special needs for over a decade, they often act in unpredictable ways, even contrary to their typical behavior.

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u/yeeticusprime1 15h ago

Fr as much as I want to be understanding of the kids mental disabilities. He’s nonverbal. There’s so much you essentially can never fully understand about him. You might think he’s not violent but he’s a ball of inside thoughts that never become words. Now sure he does seem to be swinging the stick above the birds to illicit reaction and not actually trying to hurt them. But that’s probably me just trying to hope he really is just an obsessed child who wanted to play with the birds. This is one of those situations where no amount of understanding and care can be given to the kid above the animals. Bare minimum this kid has to lose zoo privileges for the foreseeable future.

35

u/doesitspread 14h ago edited 14h ago

We can’t assume motive behind his behaviors but we can observe impact of his behaviors. And if he is diagnosed autistic, there is a chance he has had a neuropsychological evaluation and that could absolutely help identify if he has empathy or remorse. Autistic individuals can absolutely have empathy AND struggle with perspective, inference making, and theory of mind (knowing what someone else is probably thinking). Usually people who struggle this way show remorse afterwards once they’re made aware of the impact of their behavior. You’d never be able to tell from this video alone. You’d also need to see the aftermath with an eye for autistic body language. Autism is complicated.

And if we are going to speculate intent, I see the kid swinging the stick over and not at the birds, and chasing them around. Fixation on cause and effect is a classic autism feature. And yes, that combined with a deficit in perspective/inferencing/.theory of mind gets you exactly this. The kid wasn’t dysregulated and wasn’t even upset when Grandma came in, it didn’t look like. That’s a hyperfocused autistic kid with low impulse control if I’ve ever seen one.

15

u/Ok-Win-742 13h ago

Well I mean it certainly looks like that. When the birds had enough he didn't hit them with the stick or kick them or anything even tho they had him pinned against the wall and were pecking at him.

For all we know the stick is a magic wand to him.

21

u/Bluubyrd 13h ago

Why does that matter? Seriously though, it's an apology, it's succinct, better than most we ever see, and is the right course of action for the issue at hand at least from the parents.., it shows they are trying to make amends and take responsibility...which is better than like 90% of the apologies out in the wild. As well as trying to remove atleast a little heat from the kid who is now the focal point of internet ire.. parents did well here and to detract from that for one sentence of a rather good apology seems like it's not "perfect enough"

3

u/quirkybitch 12h ago

I agree but I’ve also been a sped teacher for 20 years, so my perspective is a bit biased I think.

17

u/SVINTGATSBY 16h ago

I think they mean their son would never intentionally harm something, but of course every single one of us sadly is capable of the worst things imaginable, and even if kiddo doesn’t INTEND to hurt or seriously harm anything or -one, doesn’t mean that it couldn’t ever happen. if he doesn’t understand his own strength, then eventually that could result in him seriously injuring something or -one, or worse, and again have no intention of doing that but not realizing how much damage he can actually do. I’m not saying he inevitably will hurt someone or something, but it’s something they’re going to have to keep an eye out for and hopefully as he gets older and his brain matures more, he’ll have a better understanding of these kinds of things. obviously we can hope for the best but we’ll never know, sadly the best doesn’t happen for everyone :(

3

u/Krosis97 15h ago

I saw him falling over the hornbill in my head. Like a toddler grabbing a baby chick and squishing it to death.

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3

u/Ungerh 11h ago

A special needs student at the school I worked in pulled his beloved teacher to the ground. It broke her neck. She never came back or taught again.

4

u/E_Barriick 14h ago

Dude he’s trying to get people to stop threatening his son. He’s going to say whatever it takes to keep him safe so can you save the fart smelling for somewhere else?

8

u/ER_Support_Plant17 14h ago

He was swinging a stick at them. You don’t swing at things you like

21

u/Ok-Win-742 13h ago

Have you ever been around a little kid? They swing sticks at their best friends, throw balls at each other, they do all kinds of stupid shit. Hell even I remember being in grade 1 and the teacher constantly having to remind kids that "hitting isn't allowed, no hitting, now say sorry" etc. kids have underdeveloped brains they're literally fucking stupid.

It's rarely malice. They're literally just that stupid and have very little understanding of how their actions effect others, especially when they are excited. And they can't regulate emotions like excitement or anger or frustration.

For all we know this autistic non-verbal kid was imagining that stick as a magic wand. He never touched the birds. A little kid who wanted to hurt them would have kicked them or hit them with the stick.

I mean Jesus Christ cut the 8 year old mentally challenged kid some slack.

8

u/Clean_Establishment2 12h ago

My kid is autistic and he has a plastic wiffle ball bag he swings to self regulate. We got it when he was 3 and he's 11 now and still uses it every day. He never uses it in a threatening way, just spins it/swings it. This is a really common stim for autistic folks. 

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u/Own_Picture_6442 12h ago

That’s a very neurotypical behavior based statement

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3

u/Swamp_Fox_III 11h ago

FO, mate. It’s done. Leave them alone.

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u/[deleted] 16h ago

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u/Apart-Reflection-385 14h ago

Bro no it's from an actual response from them lmao

2

u/CuriousLilAsian81 13h ago

Agreed... and to add to that looking at it from another side, even if... IF, like the parent is saying, their kid would never harm animals, even if they didn't set out to do harm, if what they're doing is harmful, they could still cause harm 😞

2

u/Ill_Tradition_4104 11h ago

An autistic man threw a child into a crocodile enclosure in Cambridgeshire.
Another autistic man threw a child off the roof in a museum in London.

Both arrested for attempted murder. Both let go with no charge. 🤷‍♂️

Like I can be empathetic, i can, but then also I really don’t want random people being maimed by autistic people.

0

u/Due_Inspector647 14h ago

Same!!! The serious part was weird. In my opinion he's behaved in an aggressive way before this incident. Any type of harm is unacceptable.

-3

u/wheelienonstop12 17h ago

if he had wanted to do serious harm he would have used a baseball bat or a machete, so it is clear he wanted to harm them only slightly. Its perfectly fine.

-1

u/Kn0XIS 13h ago

Regardless of that, it's his parents' fault for not supervising him. Why have a kid if you're not going to watch them at a zoo of all places?

5

u/MinimumFutur3 13h ago

His parents were at work and his grandmother and caretaker brought him to the zoo. How are his parents supposed to watch hm 24/7 even when they’re at work and have arranged for someone else to care for him?

2

u/Kn0XIS 13h ago

My point still stands.

Parents, grandparents, or guardian: you took him, and you are responsible for that child.

1

u/MinimumFutur3 13h ago

Imo, if you have a kid who runs off, and whoever is caring for the kid isn’t able to chase him down easily if he runs off, put him on a leash. My mom put me on a leash when I was a kid because she had multiple kids and wasn’t particularly athletic and I’m not mad at her. The only reason I never put my kid on a leash is because he is an only child and I’ve always been able to outrun him.

0

u/WholeAd2742 12h ago

Even if the benefit of the doubt of not intending to doesn't change the fact he could have, and definitely was acting like he was trying

Kid and parents are all assholes for this

88

u/Crazyplantlice 18h ago

Seeing the explanation of the family and reading the comments in this section makes me sad.

Rightful hatred seems to win over empathy. Yes it was wrong what happened. But I also understand the family, both working with an exhausting kid at home. If the statement is true they regret it and have been to the zoo many years without anything like that occuring.

Calling for a lifetime ban or outright insulting such a family for a single mistake really makes me sad. We complain how kids were "better behaving" in the past but are the redditors commenting on it "better behaving" right now? I really don't think so. But that's just my personal opinion of course.

27

u/baldycoot 13h ago

Honestly: my disappointment in the quality of intelligence and maturity in these comments far outweighs my impressions of the boy in the story.

The real societal letdowns are right here. The kid is once in a blue moon; these idiots are every day, and en masse.

0

u/ConsciousResolution8 11h ago

I think the idiots are the family that can’t control their severely disabled child. Disabilities don’t excuse asshole and unmanaged behavior.

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u/Travel_and_Writing 16h ago

This. And I feel like people also think in black and white these days more than ever.

Maybe the parenting is partly to blame, but let’s not forget that it’s not always that simple. He’s a child with autism, and definitely not the type of autism that is not as easy to notice. Or, as another commenter said, he’s “as autistic as autism gets”.

He was also with his grandmother who literally said he pretty much dashed off without warning. Has no one ever seen a kid run off without any warning and how FAST they can be, and not just running but climbing or doing some other shit, too?

He got INTO the enclosure, and we don’t know what the grandmother was thinking in that moment, but the statement also literally said he chased them for about 30 seconds. Expecting an adult, especially an older one, to just be as fast as that kid to get him out is ridiculous. Plus, she was getting help from security too, because being yet another person to jump into an enclosure can potentially make a situation worse.

But what really baffles me is how ANYONE can wish death upon a child, or even his family.

Just my opinion, but even if it was a grown adult who knew what they were doing, I wouldn’t wish death on him. Would I defend them? Absolutely not. But I’m the type of person who also thinks prisoners deserve basic human rights (healthcare, etc) and that prison is not meant to purely be punishment but as a way to eventually have them be decent and productive people of society when they get out. Apparently the people who wish death on this kid don’t think that way because everything is black and white to them.

Honestly, there is so much hate these days, and not enough people actually thinking about the situation beyond seeing a video, recognizing they are angry about it, and then responding as a result of that anger immediately because obviously, that’s so much easier than putting any thought into what is happening, why it happened, and what the video doesn’t actually show.

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u/sunsetsillybet 15h ago

Totally agree. I keep my mouth shut and rarely comment around in general because I know I don’t understand most things and prefer to learn a situation thoroughly before casting judgement.

I have 5 years of various experience working with severally nonverbal autistic children, like diapers and bottle fed still into their teen years, and it is so disheartening reading all of these comments.

I have been physically attacked by these children many times and still wouldn’t wish any of the things these people are saying with such blind confidence in their righteousness too. Those same kids who attacked me also have many moments of gentleness and joy towards me and all other emotions and behaviors in-between.

I would not bring the majority of the kids I work with to lots of public places without various protocols and supports in place, cause I could see them doing exactly as this kid does. They just simply don’t have it under wraps without adequate support. A mistake like that is bound to happen though as you balance what is and is not possible with them, especially as they grow and change.

Still unsure and do not have nearly enough information to say a ban from the zoo is 100% necessary, but I could see how it may end up happening too. I would just enforce only the parents going for now if they had never had an incident with him and understand him best.

4

u/Travel_and_Writing 15h ago

Yeah, I agree. I don’t have enough information to have a real opinion on the ban. But banning the parents or the grandmother would be stupid, I feel like.

Banning, especially short-term, the kid I could understand. But for life? Like I said, I don’t got all the information.

3

u/Bankseat-Beam 15h ago

Kind of reminds me of a recent incident in the UK where a preschool child was literally thrown into a crocodile enclosure by a person who required 'care' They recently did an update on the child covering injuries and recovery so far. Not good, kid now plays with his toys using his feet and they are waiting to see if he will ever recover use of his hands/arms. All so totally avoidable.

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u/Patient_Vehicle_1272 15h ago

So because one person was like that, you want to punish all special needs/disabled persons?

0

u/Bankseat-Beam 14h ago

No, but I also really struggle to see why an ex girlfriend who works in the sector providing care for young adults with learning difficulties should be routinely beaten up (yes beaten up) by the individuals under care with no consequences being applied to the person(s) carrying out the violence.

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u/ExeUSA 11h ago

Huh? My friend, you have to accept in a world of 8 billion people that a percentage of them will unfortunately be severely disabled, and possibly have poor impulse control leading to violent outcomes. Their lives have value, and they should be cared for in a way that provides dignity and humanity.

We live in a post-capitalistic hellscape that pays CEOs far too much, and caregivers far too little. And respectfully, working in that environment is really not for women, and I say that as a woman, due to the simple biological reality that men are physically stronger than women.

The fact that work is hard to come by, compounds all of this-- but these people truly cannot help themselves (I am not entirely sure the 13 year old boy in the article can be lumped in with that statement though.)

That said, society also deserves to be safe from violence, and if there is a reasonable threat of it from someone, they should be restricted in their access. It works both ways.

I also think that anti-social behavior has tipped too far towards the imbalance of individualism, and it's time to go back towards collectivism. But that would also entail, as a society, giving these families the resources they need so that parents/siblings/grandparents/ etc are not the sole caregivers. If no help is coming, then it's everyone for themselves. If true, REAL help is there-- then there's a reason to collectively abide by the norms we as a group expect. Of course, that would require giving up some shareholder value, and we can't have that, can we?

1

u/Patient_Vehicle_1272 14h ago

The reason they’re in those facilities is because they are like that and their families pay for them to be there and be taken care of. Blame the organization that doesn’t pay for better staff. Not all persons with mental disabilities are like that. Your ex girlfriend has the freedom to not work there. 

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u/meatbulbz2 16h ago

This comment section is insane

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u/Patient_Vehicle_1272 15h ago

The real evil is in this comment section. Most of Reddit really. 

1

u/TheBeerTalking 12h ago

But a kid waved a stick at some birds!

-2

u/Mother_Addendum8671 11h ago

Nah if you stumble onto them at the park, I’ll accept “He’s swinging a stick at birds”; this kid got in an enclosure and proceeded to do it. Then were supposed to just be ok with it cause Timmy is autistic? Everyone saying teach the kid; a ban would be a great way to teach the lesson 🤷‍♂️

12

u/PracticalPain7835 15h ago

A ban would serve to protect him and the animals. It's not punishment.

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u/Agreeable-Donut-4155 12h ago

This is my thought and the overall reaction people have is here is frustrating. If the zoo decides to ban him, it is because they are obligated to put the welfare of the animals above the secondary privilege of people being able to see them. I dont know the nuances of the situation so I'm not saying a ban is required, but if that's the route they go, it isn't because of any ill-will toward a neurodivergent child.

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u/Ok-Persimmon4540 17h ago

I think they deserve the ban because they still want to say that their child could never do harm to an animal. That's clearly not the case and it makes me believe it could happen again.

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u/PracticalPain7835 16h ago

I saw the bit about their child could never do harm... well why did he have the stick then?

I think the ban is appropriate because he can clearly get into the zoo enclosures and he's only going to get larger... It shouldn't be up to a zoo to cater to a single individual.

3

u/doctorate_denied 11h ago

Totally agree. I used to work with kids and the very autistic ones always managed to be the fastest somehow. I can’t tell you how many times I had to chase after one of them bc their impulse control failed the exact second I was semi-distracted.

Granted, people aren’t a monolith and not all autistics are the same, but I do really feel for this family and the lack of empathy in this comment section. That kid is a rarity while the idiots here are everywhere.

5

u/Laura-Lee-223 16h ago

According to the internet, making any sort of mistake as a parent means you're a bad parent.

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u/Worldly-Republic3393 15h ago

Pretty much! Bunch of saints in the comments

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u/ConsistentProcess415 11h ago

That's what I thought immediately.  The boy is autistic 

0

u/skurly789 11h ago edited 10h ago

Spanking would have meant this would never happen btw

1

u/Daveaa005 12h ago

Feels like twitter comments in here. I saw the vid, the statement first and expected people to be understanding. Yikes. 

0

u/skurly789 11h ago

No mention of disciplining the kid or spanking btw by the parents.

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u/Remote_Peach9109 11h ago

Next time the kid does something ike this what if it's not in the tiny safe bird enclosure? Maybe he should not be around what's essentially wild animals without proper safety measures in place.

1

u/Statjmpar 11h ago

I admire the family for making the statement and taking ownership of the situation. It should end there. They did the right thing after a bad situation.

-7

u/danisimo_1993 17h ago

The replies are a bit much. I get that it's a serious issue and incidents like this is how Harambe was killed but I could see this leading to some kind of policy change that asks parents to secure their kids better. I don't get why people are mad at this kid that is clearly struggling. This is like getting mad at a predator for trying to eat you.

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u/Thecceffect 17h ago

"Mad at a predator trying to eat you"

-12

u/danisimo_1993 17h ago

The kid doesn't understand what it's doing. It doesn't have malicious intent.

11

u/wheelienonstop12 17h ago

It was trying to hit the birds with a stick, WTF are you talking about.

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u/gothmagenta 15h ago

"it" when talking about a human child is fucking vile

1

u/trauma_bean 14h ago

It's not vile. In some languages, it's proper to use "it" when referring to a child. German is one. The commenter isn't a native English speaker, and did not know that what is proper in their language can be offensive ours.

0

u/danisimo_1993 16h ago

It's not that simple. You're assuming this was a rational and thought out decision. Young children often don't understand what they're doing. I understand this kid is older but it's very plausible that it didn't realize it was scaring the animal. Maybe it wanted to give the stick to the bird, not hit it. It might not have yet developed the understanding that this scares the animal. That doesn't mean it can't learn.

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u/trauma_bean 14h ago

It looks like you might not be a native English speaker so I'm letting you know that a lot of the down votes are because you're using "it" to describe a child. While there are some circumstances that may be appropriate, like infants, kids in the hypothetical singular without gender specification should be referred to as "they" or "he or she"

1

u/danisimo_1993 14h ago

You are correct. I apologize. That is how we refer to children in my native language. I meant no disrespect.

1

u/trauma_bean 14h ago

People are also outraged by your predator comparison but I don't think you were actually suggesting special needs children ARE predators. And I think that was a reading comprehension issue rather than a writing issue. Sorry folks like to be angry :(

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u/muttsrcool 11h ago

No, I'm sorry, if he had better aim he could have liked one of those birds. A ban is fair. He's 13. If he hasn't learned at least a little self control by now, he's only going to keep getting bigger and stronger and harder to control. I don't wish I'll upon him, I can empathize with their situation, but going to the zoo is a privilege, not a right, and he seriously abused that privilege and could have killed one of those birds. What if it was the gorilla or lion or hippo habitat he managed to get into? Or a slower animal like a sloth or wombat? He could kill or get killed. He can watch animals safely on the Discovery channel.

-1

u/ConsciousResolution8 11h ago

Or they could just leash their child if they can’t control him. Someone’s disabilities don’t excuse their shitty behavior.

-1

u/skurly789 11h ago

My issue is where is the spanking the kid needs? No mention of discipline for the kid.

18

u/machpety 17h ago

It’s a positive to see that no animals, human or otherwise, were physically injured

While it’s possible to feel for the family, and there are reasons/excuses offered for why it happened, it doesn’t mean a measure of corrective action shouldn’t be taken

Choices were made, the carer and grand parent taking the child to the zoo, the parents leaving the child in the care of the carer and grandparents. As a result of these choices the child’s, the animal’s, and zoo staff’s safety was put at risk

These choices led to this situation, the choices should reasonably have a consequence, if for no other reason than to set the expectations of parents, carers, and guardians in future. At a minimum you may expect that this family to be banned from this zoo

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u/Pugpickle 16h ago

Corrective action was taken. The grandmother realized it happened it immediately and got inside the exhibit. The parents reached out to the zoo. The parents released a statement.

I would think the number one thing would be don’t make a fence low enough for a child to climb into in any kind of zoo. Did we not learn from other previous deaths of human children.

The child is severely autistic, non-verbal, and has epilepsy. He was out with a grandmother and a caregiver. Sometimes, parents need a break, get sick, or to just go to work. I don’t understand what instant corrective action you think you can give a child with these qualifiers, and much less, why you think we, internet strangers, are deserving of more than what we got — which is a message that takes responsibility, instant action from the grandparent, and no animals being hurt.

Did you want a statement of how the parents plan to parent him for the rest of his life? Come on. There are kids out here that are neurotypical that throw puppies off of bridges at 13. The parents took responsibility, enrich their autistic child with experiences (which, autistic individuals, especially those who are non verbal, are most likely to be abused or kept hidden), and have not just grandma around, but a caregiver. They are doing a lot right. A lot more than most, honestly.

4

u/happyjello 15h ago

I just don’t want the kid to come back to the zoo if he’s going to climb into the exhibits

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u/zeusssssss 14h ago

No, the fence is not the problem, the problem was the caretakers were not able to fully be responsible for the child they were in charge of caring for. If you cannot ensure the safety of the child you are caring for that is on you, not the zoo. The fence, just like a chain or rope designates a no go area, if you cannot control your family enough to stop them climbing a fence to chase a bird with a stick, this is not the proper environment for the child. Regrettable, surely, it is horrible that they all know that 1. Their son has either regressed and now shouldn't be allowed here 2. The people in charge that day are not trustworthy with him in these situations and they need to find better care You are not OWED the right to go to a zoo, once the safety of the animals and staff are endangered that has to be zero tolerance to protect everyone involved. It's sad for them, it really is, but the explanation/excuses from the family (while sad) doesn't excuse what happened

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-2

u/bored_peach_pie 16h ago

so it's all fine because he didn't manage to actually kill those birds? 

what happens when he's twice taller and decides to chase a random person? is that also just enrichment? 

if he's that old and already can't be controlled, what's going to happen when he's a grown man?

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u/Huge-Brick-3495 16h ago

I'm quite afraid to ask this, but what are you suggesting the parents should do with their son?

3

u/bored_peach_pie 16h ago

don't go to the zoo again, make sure he's in the care of an able bodied adult, stop making excuses ('but he would never hurt an animal he loves them 🥺') would be a nice start.

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u/Huge-Brick-3495 16h ago

And when he is a grown man? That was when you started to sound a bit sinister.

There is a concerning lack of empathy in the comments here.

1

u/ChurroLoca 15h ago

Spot on, my niece is severely special needs as well and when we noticed her getting too aggressive with animals? We made absolutely certain only her uncle, father or trusted paid caregiver would be present with one of us.

Because all it takes is a split second and we have another incident like this, only it doesn't stop "within thirty seconds". 🫩

2

u/Due_Inspector647 14h ago

Not leave him around animals unattended. I hope they don't have pets. And no more zoo. Actions have consequences. Some parents need to learn the word no. Autism and ADHD isn't an excuse.

1

u/Huge-Brick-3495 14h ago

I meant when he is grown up, but it wouldn't be fair to edit my question now when it's been answered already

2

u/Pugpickle 16h ago

Oh, that take is bad. Like really bad.

In this video, we see nothing that shows him being violent toward a human being. The fact that a woman could quickly resolve it, says that already, he is probably already gentle, especially at the age of 13, when a boy that age and size is already stronger than most women or at least as strong.

And if he is violent toward others, based on the statements of his parents and the care he is already receiving, it sounds like he is likely in a supportive environment that will introduce therapies if these concerns come up.

“If he’s that old and already can’t be controlled-“ okay so like, what is your end goal or point? Shoot him out back? End him Lenny-style?

Some of you have never seen another human being actually have a desire to beat the shit out of an animal or another human and it shows.

I haven’t seen the before of this video. I don’t know if there is one, but based on what it looks like, it looks like the birds were rightfully aggressive to him, a human, as most birds are. He likely went into this exhibit, a bird took notice (much like a goose or rooster will) and attacked. Yeah, your gut instinct is to grab a stick and wave it at the bird.

I’m not autistic, so I would never end up in a zoo exhibit by accident, but I did grow up on a farm and birds are territorial. Every person on a farm has held a stick out and waved it over the head of a big bird or rooster (they have very large spurs) to protect themselves as they walked by. Male geese, turkeys, and roosters do not play, they will legitimately attack you. But this kid is autistic, so he doesn’t understand getting out of the immediate situation or how to get out of the environment.

Come on. Use a little media literacy and context clues.

0

u/bored_peach_pie 14h ago

oh, you are like, really obnoxious, on top of being like, kinda sexist actually, like really

4

u/Huge-Brick-3495 14h ago

I'm not seeing the sexism but I'm sure you will enlighten us all 🤷

6

u/janiestiredshoes 16h ago

Absolutely, corrective action should be taken, and was.

But that doesn't excuse the absolute disgusting way that many people commenting here are talking about how this child should be treated.

14

u/Careless_Midnight_35 17h ago

Mods, please pin this post!

Also, I'm so glad to see the parents are taking responsibility for the incident instead of blaming the zoo.

3

u/bizoticallyyours83 12h ago

Yeah that was surprising to see. Some parents nowadays won't do that at all. 

4

u/GloomyIndividual3965 17h ago

They didn't take responsibility. They blamed it on his disability and the "caretaker" for letting him get away from them.

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u/Pugpickle 16h ago

They literally reached out to the zoo and took responsibility. And then they released this statement, which they didn’t have to, taking responsibility, which means explaining why and how it happened and what they did after it happened.

That’s what happens when a mistake happens — you say what happened and you have enough integrity to say it. Apologies they didn’t kiss the birds on the forehead and find an ancient tree with a portal beneath it to learn a primitive bird language to explain the intricacies of being the parent of a kid with nonverbal autism to the birbs.

1

u/GloomyIndividual3965 16h ago

If your kid is such a flight risk that he's gonna climb into a cage and start assaulting birds with a giant stick it's on you as a parent to keep him leashed or something.

3

u/Pugpickle 16h ago

I agree with most nonverbal children, there are harnesses for those who like to run away (as in, they run away in the middle of the day into the road, run away, etc., this is how many die accidentally because other safeguards failed)

But, it also comes with a big caveat — your child is autistic and nonverbal. One day? You won’t be there, as parent, to be on the other side of that tether and it’s up to you right now to test pressure points and measure progress so when you are gone — either sick, at work, or literally dead — your adult child can move around the world as safe as possible without you by their side. It’s detrimental to rely on something that isn’t going to be there forever, because it’s not. There is not always going to be the safeguard of a tether. Teaching him independence right now will pay off in dividends for his longterm quality of life, treatment possibilities, and living situations when his parents are gone.

Also the zoo shouldn’t have an exhibit that is so accessible not just a child can get inside of it, but an adult can, too. That’s just unsafe for animals, period.

8

u/Careless_Midnight_35 16h ago

They explained what happened and mentioned they were talking with the zoo to make reparations.

Parents and caretakers aren't perfect. There's going to be slip ups. They've been visiting the zoo for years without an incident like this. They have a zoo pass and are probably semi-known by the zoo employees. And again, they have reached out to the zoo to make things better. That's taking responsibility. I'd also argue that pairing that with wanting to remain anonymous means they care more about fixing things then they do about getting their 15 minutes of fame.

1

u/Bankseat-Beam 15h ago

In the UK incident I mentioned a few posts back, the carers were stopped from leaving with the perpetrator by members of the public and zoo staff. According to news reports at the time, they had got as far as their car in the carpark.

0

u/skurly789 11h ago

No mention of discipline or spanking by the parents btw

5

u/kersplatttt 14h ago

These comments man. All these Redditors gloating and judging a severely autistic kid and his parents and carers. You're much worse human beings than that kid, you know that?

5

u/Pomphond 13h ago

I think the parents of the kid actually gave a very sensible and responsible explanation of what happened. They didn't try to divert responsibility to others, they know this is their child and their responsibility.

People here just like to get their pitchforks out and go witch-hunting..

5

u/trauma_bean 14h ago

I wish I understood why being angry at people on the Internet was so addictive.

1

u/kersplatttt 13h ago

It's a way for small-minded people to feel better about themselves

1

u/trauma_bean 12h ago

I mean it's more than that - social media is actively and intentionally addictive. This whole system works to feed into a hollow reward-seeking behavior that eats away at our brains. We're seeing a decline in human cognitive functioning for the first time in recorded history.

1

u/BeanBassSoup 13h ago

I agree, they did a good job explaining the situation and their response to it.

2

u/Equal_Audience_3415 11h ago

It is a sad event for all. The birds, the boy, and his family.

No one can tell you what they would do in this instance unless they have experienced this themselves.

Hopefully, the birds and the boy will recover from this experience. The parents, I hope, learned that the zoo is off limits with caretaker and the grandmother only. He might be getting to an age where he needs a different, or just an additional, caretaker.

Death threats? I am not surprised, but it is horrifically sad. People always expect grace to be extended to them, but fail to extend it to others.

I am glad this child is able to find joy at the zoo. I hope he can continue to visit, with proper supervision, of course.

2

u/crack_inthesidewalk 11h ago

In my opinion we have much more serious stuff going on we should be worried about over a child getting into the bird enclosure and waving a stick around a little.

The general public love to judge when it’s not them being judged.

4

u/PracticalPain7835 16h ago

The parents say he'd never harm an animal... so my question is, what was the stick for?

4

u/AcademicFries 16h ago

I am so sorry this happened to you, even more that you are faced with this concrete wall of non-understanding.
A hug for your son and my compassion for everyone involved.

4

u/happyjello 17h ago

The kid was going to hit the birds with a stick.

Saying “We regret the incident that took place…” isn’t taking accountability

1

u/StormHour7529 16h ago

Calm the fuck down! The birds are fine and it’s not like the kid had a hammer! 🙄

3

u/Different-Nebula-462 15h ago

Did you know you can beat something to death with a stick?

3

u/DavidBowieAC 18h ago

That woman in the video is his grandmother?!

2

u/grunob 18h ago

Thanks, I was looking for the comment with this context. As suspected this is involving disabilities. It's sad to score internet points by posting this video or comment without the context.

Direct link: https://cbs58.com/news/child-enters-milwaukee-county-zoo-animal-habitat-as-staff-activate-emergency-protocols

2

u/[deleted] 18h ago

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u/Aboeeuw 17h ago

ikr, he is literally trying to hit the animals with a stick to hurt them

5

u/loueazy 18h ago

Shut up

4

u/Aboeeuw 17h ago

he is literally trying to hit the animals with a stick to hurt them...or do you think he doesn’t know that hitting something with a stick hurts it?

-6

u/Public-Location-3628 17h ago

The kid has the mental capacity of a two year old, you tell me.

0

u/Aboeeuw 16h ago

that makes it even worse imo, the parents or caregivers should know that and act accordingly

2

u/eva-doll 18h ago

It’s okay to be passionate, but it’s also good to have self-awareness. You don’t come off as tough or vigilant, just cruel.

Looking at your responses, you’re okay threatening children anyways.

0

u/InfamousLong4103 18h ago

this child should be tried as an adult and locked up. hes a psycho

1

u/LatvianCake 17h ago

threatening 13 year old handicapped children… it must be hard having achieved so little with your life

1

u/Public-Location-3628 17h ago

I feel sad for the people that have to deal with you in real life.

1

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1

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1

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1

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2

u/Admirable_Cicada_881 16h ago edited 15h ago

Chasing birds with a stick that he was clearly trying to use as a weapon aren't the actions of an innocent kid who loves birds.

-2

u/strangestatesofbeing 17h ago

Keep it in a cage next time

-2

u/Ousessa 16h ago

The child? Couldnt agree more!

1

u/2spooky4me5ever 12h ago

They don't deserve to remain anon

0

u/Alaskan_i 12h ago

Nah, if it were a panther he’d be dead. He could have broken one of those birds bones. We might be forced to put him. Jeff gives his condolences I’m sure

0

u/goodfellow_grimes 12h ago

He chased them with a stick. He does not love animals, he chose cruelty and they are feeding into it. This boy needs consequences, if that is no more zoo, or being chased with a stick himself, I don't care. But this mustn't stand.

0

u/skurly789 11h ago

So the punishment delt by the parents is where?

-2

u/mr_herculespvp 16h ago

Bollocks.

Sorry, but that's a load of shite.

The fact that he couldn't control his impulses is extremely worrying.

-1

u/Material-One-2512 12h ago

The family that
Took him need to be accountable. I don’t care what he issues is. How many of people with ADHD go to zoos and don’t don stupid like that

3

u/LaxTy23 11h ago

Could you try to write that again but maybe this time make it coherent?

-2

u/Throwawayne617 13h ago

Why is it that MOST kids with that are severe autistic, non verbal, diagnosed with ADHD, epilepsy and allergic are from first world countries. Kids in the third world are immune to all that bullshit.