Gaja

Gaja was a female Western Lowland Gorilla who died on November 8, 2012. She lived to 40 years of age.

Born wild in Cameroon on June 4, 1972, she was captured from her natural habitat as an infant. Both her parents remained in the wild.

Her life in captivity spanned nearly four decades across three European facilities. She first arrived at Zoo Praha in November 1973 as a young gorilla, where she spent 17 years until September 1990. From there, she moved to Safari Park Dvůr Králové, living there for eight years before her final transfer to La Vallée des Singes in August 1998. She spent her last 14 years at the French facility, where she died in 2012.