CINCINNATI — A mournful community is ready to move on.

The embattled Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden didn’t know what to expect Tuesday when it opened its Gorilla World exhibit for the first time since shooting its beloved male silverback, Harambe, on May 28.

The temporary closure came after a 3-year-old boy crossed a barrier and ended up 15 feet below in a watery moat with the 450-pound primate.

About 100 people went straight to Gorilla World when the zoo opened at 10 a.m., walking in and around a gaggle of 50-some camera-toting journalists from across the country.

But about two hours after Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard finished what he hopes will be his final news conference for a while, most news crews had left and the scene regained a sense of normalcy.

PHOTO GALLERY: Cincinnati Zoo Gorilla World reopens

About 200 people filled in open viewing areas throughout the rest of the day. Children squealed and giggled at the sight of gorillas, while parents navigated strollers, and people of all ages jockeyed for position.

It felt like a zoo again. Perhaps it was fitting that the recovery was aided by a 3-year-old female gorilla named Gladys, who is Harambe’s half-sister.

Known as Gorilla World’s court jester — she is described on a zoo board next to the exhibit as “very playful at all times” — Gladys hammed it up with the crowd on several occasions, standing on a rock, stomping her feet, screaming and clapping almost like a cheerleader leading a pep rally.

As a reporter interviewed his mother, Hollie Scroggins, 3-year-old C.J. Scroggins made sure the two of them knew he was the same age as Gladys. The child said Gladys made him laugh by the way she pulled sticks and put them in her mouth.

“It’s a world-class operation,” Ms. Scroggins, 39, said of the zoo, saying she was heartbroken by the events that prompted zookeepers to shoot Harambe, but agreed they did the right thing.

She and her family have been Cincinnati Zoo members for five years.

They live a 10-minute drive away and attend frequently. Her older son, Cooper, 6, was attending a zoo day camp on Tuesday.

“This is not what Cincinnati wants to be known for. We have a lot to offer,” Ms. Scroggins said of the controversy.

“I stand by the zoo’s decision to put human life ahead of animal life,” she added. “I think the zoo absolutely made the right choice, as heartbreaking as it was.”

Harambe’s death prompted the zoo to fortify the exhibit with a stronger, taller fence, mesh netting, and surveillance cameras. 

Mr. Maynard talked about those improvements during the morning news conference. The new fence is only six inches taller, raising the previous height of 36 inches to 42 inches, but efforts also were made to fill in gaps.

When one reporter said some visitors had asked if the new fence was tall enough, Mr. Maynard said the new 42-inch height is consistent with other parts of the zoo.

Mr. Maynard also said the Gorilla World exhibit, which has had more than 43 million visitors since it opened in 1978, has met American Zoological Association and U.S. Department of Agriculture standards for years, while acknowledging Harambe’s death has led to a USDA investigation.

Joseph Deters, Hamilton County prosecuting attorney, wasn’t at the event but said Monday there would be no criminal charges filed against the parents of the child who fell into the gorilla enclosure, saying it “could happen to even the most attentive parent.”

Brittney Sparks, 31, of Alexandria, Ky., attended the reopening with her daughter, Mackenzie, 5, and son, Brody, 2.

“I really like the new barrier, 100 percent,” she said, adding that her family has been Cincinnati Zoo members for five years.

“It’s honestly no one’s fault,” Ms. Sparks said. “Accidents happen. It’s just one of those freak accidents.”

Donna Gullett, 30, of Fort Thomas, Ky., agreed.

“I think it’s definitely been a learning experience,” Ms. Gullett, a zoo member for four years who attended with her daughter, Sophie, 4, and son, Griffin, 8 months. “I’m ready to move on. It’s time to move forward.”

Harambe’s death “has been a very difficult time, as you might imagine,” Mr. Maynard said.

“This community is a zoo community,” he said several times. “I can’t go jogging, I can’t go to the grocery store without people wanting to stop and talk about the gorillas and the zoo.”

Losing Harambe, he said, “is just like losing a family member.”

“We are leaning on each other and taking care of each other. But it’s time to move on and see gorillas again,” Mr. Maynard said.

Harambe was in one of two gorilla units. The other two females with him, Chewie and Mara, are eating and sleeping normally. 

Both are 20 years old and helped raise the 17-year-old Harambe, he said.

The other unit, led by a male silverback named Jomo, was on display Tuesday. Jomo oversees seven females ranging in age from infancy to adult.

The Cincinnati Zoo will “redouble our efforts” with primates in the Republic of Congo, where it has worked 15 years with the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society and others, Mr. Maynard said.

Its plans include sending its curator of primates, Ron Evans, back to that part of Africa to help with research.

“Some of that is to make sure Harambe’s death wasn’t in vain,” Mr. Maynard said.

Behind the podium where Mr. Maynard held his news conference is a glass display called “Honoring Harambe,” where heartfelt letters from children and other supporters are encased with a large photo of the deceased silverback. At the base of the display are several bunches of flowers to help complete the memorial.

An hour later, 4-year-old Luke McKinney’s voice cracked as he looked sadly at the memorial and softly asked his mother, Heather McKinney, 42, a question to which he already knew the answer: “Did Harambe die?”

“Yes, he did,” she replied without explanation.

Ms. McKinney said her family, which lives in Miamisburg, Ohio, has talked about the events with Luke, as has her friend who accompanied her, Christina Sheaff, 35, of Miamisburg, who was there with her son, Garrison, 9, and daughters Madeline, 7, and Emery, 4.

Both said they didn’t realize Gorilla World was reopening that day. They said they came to the zoo because of the great weather.

“I think everyone’s wanting to grieve and move on,” Ms. McKinney said.

Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com, 419-724-6079, or via Twitter @ecowriterohio.

First Published June 8, 2016, 4:00 a.m.