Bomassa

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 left across their African range. Born into this critically endangered subspecies on August 4, 2012, Bomassa entered the world at North Carolina Zoological Park as the offspring of mother Jamani and father N’kosi.

Captive breeding programs like the one that produced him help maintain genetic diversity for this subspecies of Gorilla gorilla gorilla. He has spent his entire life at the North Carolina facility, growing from infant to adolescent within the same troop structure.

Now over a decade old, he represents part of a managed population working to preserve his subspecies for future generations. The IUCN lists western lowland gorillas as Critically Endangered, making every birth in managed care part of a broader conservation effort.