Horst (Harry)

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 remaining across their African range. Horst, known as Harry to his keepers, was born at Frankfurt Zoo in October 1986 to parents Dorette and Matze. He spent his first nine years in Germany before moving to Ireland as part of the European breeding program.

Dublin Zoo became his home for over two decades. He lived there from 1995 until his death in 2016, becoming one of the zoo’s longest-resident great apes. During those years, he witnessed significant changes in gorilla care and conservation efforts across European zoos.

His subspecies carries the scientific name Gorilla gorilla gorilla and holds Critically Endangered status with the IUCN. After nearly thirty years in managed care, he died in May 2016 following a stroke. His three decades of life spanned important years for gorilla conservation, when zoos transformed their approach to great ape welfare and breeding programs.