Dayo

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 left across their African range. Dayo was born into this critically endangered subspecies at Natura Artis Magistra on 18 June 2008, the offspring of mother Dafina and father Akili.

For eight years, he grew up within the Amsterdam zoo’s gorilla troop. Captive-born males like Dayo represent crucial genetic diversity for managed breeding programs across European zoos. His early years were spent learning social behaviors essential to gorilla development.

In July 2016, he transferred to Pairi Daiza in Belgium as part of coordinated conservation efforts. The move came when he was eight years old, an age when young male gorillas begin establishing their place within group hierarchies. He would spend the final five years of his life at the Belgian zoo.

Dayo died on 15 July 2021 at Pairi Daiza, just days before his thirteenth birthday. His subspecies, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, remains listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, making every individual loss significant for conservation programs.