Dembe

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 left across their African range. Dembe was born at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in August 2012, the son of Asha and Rafiki, adding to the small population of his critically endangered subspecies in managed care.

His early years unfolded in Colorado, where he developed under his mother’s care within the established troop structure. Like all young gorillas, he would have learned essential social behaviors during this formative period at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

At five years old, he transferred to North Carolina Zoological Park in September 2017. The move marked a new chapter as he integrated into a different gorilla group. He has remained there for over six years now, growing from a juvenile into a mature male.

As a western lowland gorilla — Gorilla gorilla gorilla — he represents one of our planet’s most endangered great apes. The IUCN lists his subspecies as Critically Endangered, making every individual in managed breeding programs valuable for long-term conservation efforts.