Harambe McHarambeface

Every since the gorilla Harambe was justifiably killed to protect a child murdered at the Cincinnati Zoo, he’s become a martyr of sorts online. The memory of Harambe will live on forever (or until we all find a new meme to latch on to), and an online poll to name a new baby gorilla at a Chinese zoo will ensure Harambe’s memory won’t fade.

According to a report from the Mirror, a poll started by China’s Jinhua Zoo to name a new baby gorilla resulted in a flood of votes to honor Harambe while also calling back to a popular “name this thing” meme – Harambe McHarambeface.

Pranksters hijacked the contest and the winning name – with 93% of online votes – turned out to be a mash-up of Harambe and Boaty McBoatface.

Jinhua Zoo said it would honour the will of the public and use Harambe McHarambeface as the male gorilla’s English name, but his Chinese name will be Heijin as Harambe McHarambeface is impossible to translate.

Zoo officials were stunned when the contest received a rush of votes after the link was shared on social media in the US.

Boaty McBoatface was the winning entry in a British poll intended to name a polar research vessel, but the poll was ignored and instead, the “RRS Sir David Attenborough” was chosen to name the vessel.

At least the Chinese zoo will be giving in to the public’s demands – that’s one way to get some press online.

Hopefully, Noah Syndergaard will be making a trip to the zoo soon.

[Mirror]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.