A statue of the famous, deceased gorilla Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla whose death led to an international outcry, was placed in Manhattan on Monday opposite a Charging Bull statue.
The seven-foot Harambe statue was added to the financial district, where 10,000 bananas were placed as part of a protest effort.
The protest effort was started to illusrate how “bananas” Wall Street has become in recent years, according to the group Sapien.Network.
The group, which is currently building a new social media network, paid for the creation of the massive statue.
The Network said that the statue of the beloved gorilla represents millions of people who struggle under a system they said only enriches the wealthy.
The goal was to bring attention to income inequality as well, according to a report from WPIX New York.
According to the company founders, the bananas will not go to waste, and will instead be donated to local food shelves across the New York area.
The famed gorilla was shot and killed when a 3-year-old boy climbed into the gorilla’s exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.
The gorilla grabbed the boy and carried him safely around the exhibit.
Harmabe was shot by zookeepers who had feared for the boy’s safety, but criticism erupted afterward, sparking debates about primates in captivity as the phrase “Justice for Harambe” began to trend on social media.
