Chella

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 remaining across their African range. Chella represents a bridge between wild and managed populations — his parents lived free in the forests of Cameroon before he entered captive care as an infant.

His early years remain largely undocumented, but by February 1996, when he was not yet two years old, he had arrived at Limbe Wildlife Centre. The facility, located in his birth country of Cameroon, has been his home for nearly three decades.

Now approaching his fourth decade, he has lived through significant changes in gorilla conservation. His subspecies carries the IUCN’s most urgent classification: Critically Endangered. Each gorilla in managed care contributes to our understanding of these remarkable apes, and Chella’s longevity provides valuable insights into gorilla development and behavior over an extended lifespan.