Asali
Western Lowland Gorilla at National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, born 2003.
Asali represents one of the captive-born males helping maintain genetic diversity in managed populations worldwide. His parents, Anya and Lukas, produced him at Tel Aviv’s zoological center in November 2003.
The first six years of his life unfolded in Israel, where he developed under his mother’s care within the established troop structure. In March 2010, when he was still a juvenile, Asali made the journey to South Africa’s National Zoological Gardens.
Now over twenty years old, he has spent the majority of his life in Pretoria. The transition from his birth country to South Africa represents part of the coordinated breeding programs that zoos use to maintain healthy populations of this critically endangered subspecies. His subspecies, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, continues to decline in Central and West African forests due to habitat loss and hunting pressure.
| Born | 17 November 2003 |
| Age | 22 years old |
| Gender | ♂ Male |
| Subspecies | Western Lowland Gorilla |
| Current Zoo | National Zoological Gardens of South Africa |
| Born at | Zoological Center Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan |
