CINCINNATI - Hundreds of thousands of signatures have already been applied to an online petition that has been created in response to the death of Harambe the gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo.

The ape was shot dead on Saturday after a young boy fell into its enclosure.

The petition, which calls Harambe’s death a “sad incident,” is asking for the boy’s parents to be “held accountable for the lack of supervision and negligence that caused Harambe to lose his life.”

WKYC-TV reports the number of signatures on the petition is growing by the second with more than 306,000 as of just before 8 a.m. Tuesday.

“This beautiful gorilla lost his life because the boy’s parents did not keep a closer watch on the child,” the petition declares.

See the petition HERE.

Local police have called the incident an unfortunate accident.

A written statement from the family of the boy says, "We are so thankful to the Lord that our child is safe. He is home and doing just fine. We extend our heartfelt thanks for the quick action by the Cincinnati Zoo staff. We know that this was a very difficult decision for them, and that they are grieving the loss of their gorilla.”

Animal rights activists have been protesting the zoo’s decision to shoot and kill the 17-year-old gorilla.