Kakinga

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 remaining across their African range. Kakinga was born into this critically endangered subspecies at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust on December 1, 1978, the son of Nandi and Jambo.

At just six years old, he made the journey from Jersey to Calgary Zoo in November 1984. This move would define the rest of his life — he spent over thirty years as part of the Calgary gorilla community, growing from a young male into a mature silverback.

Tragedy struck in May 2016 when Kakinga died suddenly from a large tear in his aorta, causing his heart sac to fill with blood. He was 37 years old, having lived his entire life in managed care as part of the global effort to maintain genetic diversity in captive gorilla populations.