In 1986, another gorilla became famous around the world when a child fell into his enclosure at the zoo. But unlike Harambe, who was shot and killed by the Cincinnati Zoo on Saturday, this story had a happy ending. And now some are pointing to that event to say that there was nothing to fear in Cincinnati as Harambe was really only trying to protect the boy.

Thirty years later, the grainy home footage is still shocking as it shows five-year-old Levan Merritt laying on the ground unconscious after he plunged 20 feet into the gorilla enclosure at Britain’s Jersey Zoo in the Channel Islands. Immediately, a 400-pound silberback gorilla named Jambo approached and even though some were immediately scared about what he would do, he gently stroked Levan’s back. He then appeared to stand guard, blocking other gorillas from approaching the child until Levan regained consciousness and started to cry. Jambo then ran away scared and zoo officials swooped in to rescue the boy, who spent six weeks in the hospital.

“I am forever thankful to Jambo as obviously it could have gone one or two ways,” Levan Merritt said in an interview earlier this year. “It was amazing how he protected me in that way.”

Some immediately pointed to that world-famous event to say it illustrates why Harambe shouldn’t have been shot. Others, however, say that comparing the reaction of the two gorillas isn’t really that simple. “One of the key things of that situation is that the child was unconscious,” Kirsten Pullen, CEO of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, told BBC Radio 4. “So there was no potential for any of the child’s movements to ramp up the situation.” Pullen also said that while Jambo’s actions were quickly interpreted as being protective, “it could also be interpreted as keeping his gorilla family away from something new.” At the end of the day, “you have to be aware there is a lot of variation in behavior and personality” when it comes to gorillas, Pullen said.