Gyasi

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 remaining across their African range. Gyasi was born into this critically endangered subspecies on a spring day in 2002 at Apenheul Primate Park in the Netherlands. Her parents, Dalila and Bongo, raised her within the established troop structure that defines gorilla social life.

Captive breeding programs for Gorilla gorilla gorilla represent crucial conservation efforts for the species. She spent two decades as part of Apenheul’s gorilla community, growing from infant to adult female under the care of keepers who knew her from birth. The park became her entire world — the only home she ever knew.

In July 2022, a bacterial infection claimed her life at age twenty. Her death marked the end of a generation at Apenheul, where she had lived through the park’s evolving approach to great ape care and conservation education.