His remarks came as animal rights groups were expressing outrage over the killing of the 17-year-old gorilla.
The silverback gorilla, named Harambe, was “clearly agitated and clearly disoriented” and “acting erratically” Maynard said when the zoo’s dangerous-animal response team was called in to kill the primate.
Video of the incident shows the boy being dragged by Harambe. The boy was being dragged around and his head was hitting the concrete, Maynard said.