Guys, your Harambe memes are making the Cincinnati Zoo sad

Sophie Hirsh
Updated
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Normally it would be nice for people to still be honoring a gorilla three months after his death.

However, most of the Harambe tributes are coming via meme. The internet is still consistently flooded with petitions and tweets (mostly sarcastic) protesting the gorilla's death. 

Well, The Cincinnati Zoo's director has had enough. He commented on the Harambe memes this morning, and he is urging people to stop.

SEE ALSO: Paul Ryan tweeted about Harambe's presidential polling numbers

"We are not amused by the memes, petitions and signs about Harambe," Thane Maynard, Cincinnati Zoo director, wrote to the Associated Press. "Our zoo family is still healing, and the constant mention of Harambe makes moving forward more difficult for us."

Maynard is no doubt also referring to the comments the zoo's Twitter posts typically receive. For example, their recent tweet about a Zebra was met with endless replies about Harambe:

For some further context, here are some Harambe memes, still going strong three months after his death:

Unfortunately for the zoo employees who are still upset by the Harambe craze, telling meme makers to stop only makes a meme grow stronger.

While Maynard is distressed by the memes and the comments that are being directed at the zoo, other animal rights activists have mixed feelings.

"For the most part, I'm very happy with it. It shows people are remembering what a wonderful being he was," Animal rights activist Anthony Seta told the Associated Press. "The ones that are mocking and making light of the death of this being, I find incredibly offensive."

Ashley Byrne, an associate director at PETA also sees the positivity in the internet's reactions. 

"This tragic incident really did start a new conversation," she said to the Associated Press. "Most people who saw the video came away with a great degree of empathy for animals forced to live in captivity."

Maynard encourages people who want to honor Harambe's controversial death to lighten up on the memes and instead donate to the Mbeli Bai Study.

RIP Harambe and RIP to any chance of the Harambe meme ever ending.