Huerfanita

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 left across their African range. Huerfanita was born into this critically endangered subspecies at ABQ BioPark in March 1973, daughter to Samba and Moko. Her early years were spent in New Mexico before a major move would reshape her life.

At five years old, she transferred to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo in New York. This move in late 1978 marked the beginning of what would become a 28-year chapter in one of America’s most respected zoological institutions. The Bronx Zoo became her home through nearly three decades of her adult life.

In December 2006, she returned to her birthplace at ABQ BioPark. This homecoming brought her full circle after spending most of her life on the East Coast. She lived her final fifteen years back in New Mexico, where her story had begun more than three decades earlier.

Her life ended in August 2021 when keepers made the difficult decision to euthanize her due to a Shigella bacterial infection. At 48 years old, she had lived well beyond the typical lifespan for gorillas in managed care, witnessing nearly five decades of conservation efforts for her endangered subspecies.