On Sunday, Nov. 4, a 2-year-old boy visiting the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium with his mother fell 11 feet into an African Painted Dogs exhibit and was immediately attacked and killed by 11 of the wild animals. According to police, 2-year-old Maddox Derkosh’s mother picked him up and placed him on a wooden railing so that he could get a better view of the animals, despite posted signs warning visitors to stay off of the railings. He lost his balance and initially fell into a safety net but then into the exhibit. Zookeepers and police responded immediately and shot darts at the dogs, trying to chase them away. Autopsy results indicated that Derkosh died from blood loss from the mauling by the dogs, not from the fall. The Pittsburgh Zoo has never had a visitor death in its 114-year history, and the zoo just successfully completed its 5-year review in September, meeting or exceeding all safety standards.
When I first heard about this tragedy, my heart sank. As a resident of the greater Pittsburgh area, I have visited the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium several times, most recently this past June when I took my 3-year-old and 6-year-old nieces. I have a hard time recalling the exact setup of the African painted dog exhibit, but I know the 4-foot wooden railings that surround many of the exhibits. I can also easily picture many parents picking up their small children to give them a better view of the animals. The backlash that Derkosh’s mother has received is almost as heartbreaking as the fatal incident itself.
As with all controversial incidents nowadays, users of social media voiced their passionate, sometimes hateful, opinions about what Derkosh’s mother did wrong. They painted out what she should have done and even called her an unfit mother. In reality, she is a mother who was caught up in the thrill of the moment and wanted her son to get the most out of his exciting zoo experience.
I believe that Derkosh’s mother merely wanted her son to have a better view of the African painted dogs, (he was said to have poor eyesight). What mother does not make decisions every single day with her child’s life in her hands? What mother has not unintentionally done something, no matter how minor or major, that has hurt her child? Every time a mother picks up her child, there is a chance of accidental injury. Some would say that this case is different since wild animals were involved, but I do not think it is. Derkosh’s mother, who cared for him and held him and kept him safe everyday for his short two years of life, was confident that she could do that while helping her son see a little bit better. Unfortunately, that tragic mistake cost him his life.
Some people may wonder why Derkosh’s mother ignored posted safety signs. Let me be the first to admit that I have missed several crucial signs throughout my life. When one of my nieces was about the same age as Derkosh, my sister, my mother, and I brought her to a local state park to relax by the river. The water was moving fairly quickly, but we did not think anything of it until a park ranger came up to us and asked us if we saw the sign that said to stay away from the river’s edge. All three of us had missed the sign. We were in new surroundings and had simply not seen the sign. Derkosh’s trip to the zoo may very well have been his mother’s first time taking him, and she could have easily just not noticed a warning sign. This has not created an opportunity for the public to criticize a mother’s lapse in judgment but instead, a reminder to be aware of one’s surroundings in order to remain out of harm’s way.
Derkosh’s mother certainly was not the first mother to pick up a small child to help him or her see something better, and even after this horrific incident, she will not be the last. As I stated before, I have seen it done a dozen times at the zoo and at practically any other gathering involving children. Almost all child caretakers are guilty of it. We want to keep our children safe, but we also want them to be happy and to experience the maximum amount of enjoyment possible, which were probably Derkosh’s mother’s intentions. In any case, this grieving parent does not need any backlash from her community and society saying that she is an unfit mother and that she should shoulder all of the blame. As cliché as it is, we are all humans, and we all make mistakes, so we should all be thankful that most of our mistakes have not taken the life of a child. The last thing that this mother needs is criticism, especially after police reported that Derkosh’s parents were both taken to a local hospital for emotional trauma treatment. She will live with her mistake looming over her head for the rest of her life, but I sincerely hope that comfort, support, and understanding from the public will aid in her and the rest of the family’s recovery.
Carol Fritz is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be reached at CF716022@wcupa.edu.