After the boy slipped into the enclosure May 28, he had a 10-minute encounter with Harambe, a 450-pound gorilla. A witness told CNN the boy's mother was temporarily distracted by other children when the boy fell into the exhibit.
Harambe pulled the boy across a moat and was fatally shot by zoo personnel.
Deters said the zoo lost "a beautiful animal" that was beloved in the community, "but it's still an animal. It does not equate human life.